[DetroitMan]

Detroit's QLine ridership increased 62% year over year

Ridership on Detroit's Woodward Avenue streetcar system increased 62% year over year during an eight-month period.

In its annual report released Thursday, QLine leadership attributed the increase, in part, to improved service as it works toward its goal of having riders wait no more than 15 minutes for a stop. The report says streetcars are arriving within 15 minutes or less for 71% of trips, compared to 66% last year.

The M-1 Rail nonprofit running the 6.6-mile loop between Congress Street downtown and West Grand Boulevard in the New Center area said an average of 2,629 people rode the QLine per day this year between January and August; it was 1,608 last year.

Total ridership during that period was 644,187 compared to 397,265 last year.

The report says that 75% of riders are people of color and 68% are Detroit residents.

Last year, the state Legislature extended a $5 million annual QLine subsidy through the 2038-39 fiscal year. The system has received that allotment since the 2019-20 fiscal year.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/transp...-past-8-months