[animatedmartian]

Kinda hard to imagine them expanding the system with the same size streetcars.

QLine goes through teething pains
By BILL SHEA. Crain's Detroit. May 20, 2017.



As it turns out, operating a streetcar in Detroit for the first time in six decades is harder than expected.

Despite months of testing, managers of Detroit's new $187 million QLine streetcar system are struggling to cope with what they say are unexpectedly high early ridership numbers after one week of service, and they're learning to co-exist with the realities of traffic on Woodward Avenue.

Why QLine executives were surprised at the scope of the initial wave of curiosity, which saw riders fill streetcars starting from the first stop at Grand Boulevard and remain on the train for the entire train loop, isn't clear. But it's certainly far too soon, after just a week, to proclaim the QLine a success or failure.

After seeing an estimated nearly 50,000 riders in the line's first seven days, QLine officials on Friday delayed paid passenger service until July 1, keeping it free another six weeks rather than introducing another element of confusion and delay — how to pay to ride — for a system that's a week into its teething phase.

The scramble is to help ensure the system builds a loyal, content clientele instead of creating a chorus of critics who avoid the streetcars because of a perceived reputation as needlessly overcrowded and slow.

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The QLine said it intends to use more of its six-car fleet to trim ride time during peak periods. Each can carry about 125 or more passengers, and during the first weekend every car was regularly packed, QLine officials said. They didn't expect that.

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The line is expected to see additional rider demand with the Movement electronic music festival over Memorial Day weekend, increased Tigers crowds once school is out, and when the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons move into new Little Caesars Arena — which has its own QLine stop — beginning in September.

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If the line averages 5,000 riders a day, that still leaves it with fewer passengers than the oft-maligned Detroit People Mover, the downtown elevated 3-mile monorail loop that opened in 1987 and was intended as a piece of a wider system that failed to develop. The 12-car People Mover last year had 2.1 million riders, averaging nearly 6,000 a day — numbers that get inflated because of events such as the Detroit auto show and Red Wings games. It has 13 stations, while the QLine has 20 stations spread over 12 stops.

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http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...teething-pains