On May 12, the Q-line opened to the public to mixed reviews. Some people were excited about the opportunity to take a train from New Center to downtown for 3 hours for a flat rate. Some people were disappointed that the train did not reach the neighborhoods. However, it was undeniable that the mood in Detroit was different that day. Even though the wait at stations was 30 minutes, people stood there anyway. During my first ride, I was inspired by the excitement in the air. Even though it seemed like a lot of people bar hopping from Midtown to downtown when I rode, the fact that they brought themselves and their dollars into Detroit for something as simple as a train ride was an indication of the potential impact that the Q-line could have on the city as a whole.

My hope for the Q-line is an increased appreciation for public transportation in Southeast Michigan. On my second ride on the Q-line, I traveled from Midtown to a Tigers game downtown. Again, this ride was plagued by long waits and cars full of sweaty people. I was slightly less inspired by the fact that it made me late to the game. However, I noticed something while waiting on the platform that I had never noticed before: how often buses run down Woodward. As someone who lives less than 2 miles from her office, I had never walked due to distance, and sometimes didn’t like to bike if the weather was bad. That left me the only option to drive a distance so short it seemed silly and have to pay for parking (albeit at a subsidized rate) once I got down there. Standing on that platform, watching the buses zoom past made me see myself taking the bus on a rainy or snowy day when I didn’t want to bike.

If the Q-line made this big of an impact on how I think about public transportation in Detroit in its first week of existence, how big of an impact could it have over our lifetime?