Hello Readers,

*Almost 2 weeks ago I went out on a trip to gain a greater context of what the experience of relying on public transportation in the City of Detroit might be like. In doing so I created a persona of a 64 year old veteran named James who went to four places:

Capture

 

Leaving from his home I visited the Michigan Veterans Foundation, walked through Brush Park to the Eastern Market, and waited an hour at one point as I made other stops along the way before returning to work.

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All in all, a trip  of about 6 square miles ended up taking me from 10am to 3:30pm. In those 5+ hours in sporadic rain and bus service I recorded my experience and found three themes that I thought I would share.

1. Taking the bus can be a dreadful, lonely experience.

2. Taking the bus in Detroit is not the same as taking a bus during college.

3. Even though lines reach much of the city, it can feel like part of the city, part of the people have been forgotten.

I don’t have an action plan for what you should do about this but I wanted share my small glimpse into a hypothetical life of the people we touch – our friends, family, and neighbors. And please feel free to agree or not, according to Socrates “the only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing” so teach me more, help me understand and I will try to do the same.

 

*This trip was not meant to be all encompassing or objective nor a “look what I did” experience. It was meant to take a step outside of my daily life and see – even for a day- the reality of how important transportation is in the 21st Century. 
Best,
Zeke