Detroit, MI
Q&A: Robert Cramer, head of Detroit bus system, wants to rebuild trust with riders
Robert Cramer took the helm of the Detroit Department of Transportation in early January. The former head of the agency that oversaw the Detroit People Mover, Cramer now is in charge of a system with more than four dozen routes, nearly 300 buses and more than 5,000 bus stops.
Creating a safe and reliable bus system is his main goal for DDOT, and he understands that achieving that goal depends on a lot of moving parts and also rebuilding trust with riders. He and others believe DDOT is making progress and there is data to back up that assertion. Cramer spoke with Detroit News reporter Louis Aguilar about his new role and the importance of public transit in Detroit.
Question: Could I just ask the basic question — why did you want this job?
Answer: I thought this was a great opportunity, because I think there really is an incredible chance to make a big difference. As part of what makes me, you know, get up and come to work every day through my transit career, is that you get a chance to impact — hopefully for good, sometimes not so good, depending on how you do — tens of thousands of people every day.
DDOT has been around in one form or another for over 100 years. Certainly, there’s a lot of pride in honoring, in joining, that kind of organization. Being part of the city of Detroit team is something that I was excited about. At the People Mover, I had kind of got a taste of it, as the People Mover is an ancillary organization. It’s not a city department, but (I) got a good flavor there, just as a professional working with the team members of the city, the council members and their staffs every day. It’s clear that all of those people all want the city to move forward and be the best they can for the residents every day. This wasn’t a hard choice.
Q: You’ve had a career in transit. I’m just curious what drives a person to be passionate about transit, mass transit, especially in Detroit?
A: So, my background is in planning and transportation planning and GIS mapping. I’ve always kind of had that interest in in transportation, especially from a planning and community impact perspective. I started my career in the private sector doing planning and transportation plans and stuff with contracts with MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation), with counties, cities, even in other states. I got a good feel for how transportation can really impact people, businesses, people of all ages, communities can really be affected for good or for bad with transportation. And I had an opportunity to go to SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation) and work. I started there in the grants department, which is really helping find money for different projects. And from there, I worked my way up. The more and more I worked in it, the more you really get a sense for how it impacts people. It’s pretty unique. There’s a lot of different pieces that make the bus go, so to speak.
I don’t think I’ve told this story before, but my grandfather grew up in the east side of Detroit, and I’ve got over 20 cousins. But I was one that was always kind of willing to go on whatever adventure he wanted to go on. I remember he could name every church steeple and how many parishioners were there, you know, just by seeing a little piece of it as we would drive around the city. He would always say that what the city really needs is better mass transit. Like, I don’t know how he got to that, but he would say that. I do think about that from time to time. It’s not something when you’re growing up, you’re like, “Well, I really want to, you know, be in charge for transit agency.” But it’s something that is very rewarding.
Q: I’m sure you’re aware how often young people and others who care about the economic progress of the city bring up their concerns about mass transit. Mass transit is something they see lacking. I don’t know what your impression is about that, about how much you can change that, or how much you think you can change that?
A: Change the impression, yeah, well; providing more reliable service is a way to get there. The overarching vision, message, guiding principles, is we want to provide safe and reliable service that thinks about making the customer experience the best it can be. Regardless of whether our schedule says there’s one bus that’s coming every day or whether we have a bus that’s coming every five minutes, those are still the same principles you can use. For us to make progress, we have to rebuild the trust and reliability that people see in the system, so that we’re moving from — and I don’t know if we’re exactly this point right now — but we’re in that neighborhood of “How much longer until I can save up enough money to not have to rely on the bus?”
We don’t move out of that, that layer of the atmosphere, into “Hey, this is really an attractive, reliable alternative.” But maybe it only goes half the places I want to go, so they’re kind of moving into that realm of “OK, well, when I need it, and it goes where I need to go, now I can count on it.” Now you can build on top of that — where are places we can ramp up service? Are there new connections we can make? Can we have better coordination with SMART or with the People Mover or with other services so that now we’re adding, we’re moving up to that next tier, and eventually, if you keep building in that way, then now you get to a higher quality transit system. That’s the only way, really, to convince people. There’s nothing I can say where they’re going to say, “Oh, yeah, you’re right. It’s not a problem.”
Q: So, one of the goals is to expand service, add more routes and buses?
A: Short answer is yes. The question is, how much? If you’re sticking to the values of safe, reliable service with a good customer experience, we want to make sure that we don’t get to the point where the schedule is more than we can deliver. So that’s how we’re going to decide how we go, right? The City Council could say tomorrow we’re going to triple the budget of DDOT. But that doesn’t mean anything, unless we can magically triple the number of buses and triple the number of drivers that are hired.
The attractiveness of DDOT and of transit as a whole is to start with: the service is safe and that you can rely on it. Meaning, if it says it’s going to be there, it’s going to be there, and if it’s not going to be there, we find a way to let people know that. We’re going to keep pushing for this and this is high on the mayor’s priority list. All the council members I’ve talked to, all want us to put out as much service as we can. I think you’ll see that that’s what we’re going to do each quarter; each quarter is when we have our service adjustments. Each quarter, we’re going to be moving up at steps that we believe we can keep maintaining the reliability while continuing to ramp up the overall service.
Q: Do you have a goal, like a percentage of whatever service reliability, like 80% of on time?
A: The industry average is 80% on time performance. Right now we’re really close. I think last week we were at 78%. Also, we look at pullouts, so that’s making sure the buses we need to leave the terminal are out on the road, because if they’re not on the road, they’re certainly not providing the service. Last week, we were at 98% pullouts, meaning they got out on time with a driver that’s in the bus. So those are the things that we track. There’s also about 3,000 other things that we track, all trying to help us inform. You know, are there adjustments we can make to the schedule? Are there adjustments we can make to the routing, to the way buses have different pieces of work lined up? There’s lots of variables that you can adjust that can impact performance. One thing I was really excited about coming to DDOT, is they do have a lot of data. They have put effort into making sure that it’s quality data and that they have it in ways where it can be really analyzed and manipulated. That can help inform our decision.
Q: On your website, it shows that since March 2024 more than a million people have used DDOT every month. That seems a considerable jump compared to the previous months that’s on the website. Why the increase?
A: It’s important to put in context. Our ridership is still not all the way back to where it was pre-pandemic. This is kind of the same thing we were dealing with the People Mover, like we celebrated having one million rides on the People Mover last year, and that was with three months closed. So it was worth a milestone, worth celebrating. But pre-pandemic, most years we had over 2 million rides.
So, what you’re seeing, which is a marked increase from last year, means that we are making progress, not only with the service on the street, but also the reliability that makes people want to use it. If it’s not reliable, then people will do everything they can to find another alternative, or maybe they won’t have a job, they won’t go to the doctor, all that sort of thing. It’s reflective of the progress we’re making. But it’s it is not mission accomplished. Next year, you should be asking me the same question.
Q: So last year, we did report that one-third of DDOT buses were routinely out of service due to repairs. The mayor said at the time that represents about 96 of the department’s 292-bus fleet. Can you give an update on those figures and any context you want to provide with that?
A: The 96 that was reported in August had a lot of different layers to it. Some of those are, you know, there’s coaches. If they’re in a major crash, then that’s something that needs to be sent to an outside vendor. There certain tasks that rely on outside vendors. Sometimes we have to wait for a specialized part. Sometimes it’s a quick fix. So, within those 96 on any given day, there’s some that need more work and there’s some that need less work. The severity, whether it’s something down for a day or longer than that — that changes. There’s a lot that goes into that number. I’d say that’s a fair estimate.
Q: What is the percentage of your funding from federal sources?
A: The way that transit funding works is kind of complex. The federal funding that would be most impactful to DDOT’s operations is that it funds a high portion of our capital projects. So, all those buses we talked about; the hydrogen, the battery electric, and the hybrids, those are all federally funded with a state match. If that funding were to go away, then we don’t have the funding to replace that cycle of buses.
Q: I hear mass transit fans often say we should have had a subway. Do you think the region would be better off if we invested in subways long ago?
A: That’s a hypothetical enough question that I can say yes. I think the region would have benefited from having a subway, just because, I think that it’s something that drives economic development, it drives land use and growth. The more we can do to connect different neighborhoods and different communities is always going to be a win.
Q: What is the most common complaint you heard so far about DDOT from people who ride the bus?
A: To be honest, most of what I’ve heard in my little bit over a month is really appreciation and recognition that DDOT is moving in a positive direction. DDOT has really put a lot of effort into engaging the community, talking with advocates group, listening to City Council and their staffs, the Mayor’s Office, public partners, and most importantly, to just riders in general. Most of what we hear is, yes, we would like more, but we see that this is really improving, and we appreciate that. Again, that’s kind of what drives all of the staff at DDOT.
Q: How often do you take the bus?
A: Not as often as I’m about to. I used to ride SMART to work every day.
laguilar@detroitnews.com
As part of our 30th anniversary celebration last month, we asked Hour Detroit readers to vote for their favorite covers from the magazine’s history. With all votes tabulated, here are the top 10 Hour Detroit covers, as voted by our loyal readers.
10. May 2022
Our May 2022 cover story by Nolan Bianhi highlighted the rise of Detroit City Football Club. The cover itself, photographed by Sal Rodriguez and featuring DCFC’s rabid Northern Guard Supporters, also birthed the very funny #EdDuckerForever social media trend.
As explained by Editor-In-Chief Kate Walsh in her Editor’s Letter in the June 2022 issue, “When the DCFC fans noticed a fan holding a scarf that said “Ed Ducker Forever,” some were left scratching their heads…Most people figured out that Ed Ducker was born to cover a profanity front and center on our cover, but they didn’t leave it at that. #EdDuckerForever became a thing on Twitter, with DCFC fans and others creating a backstory for this fictional character, including tales of his prowess on the pitch and in the sheets, saving (or dropping) babies, his love of beer, etc.”
Truthfully, the whole incident is symbolic of the overall vibe at any DCFC match. If you’ve never attended one yet, what are you waiting for?
Another piece of trivia: former Hour Detroit digital editor Christina Clark is among the group of fans — she’s the one with pink hair. Coincidentally, the photo was taken before she joined the magazine.
9. July 2023
Featuring a stunning aerial photograph by William Cunningham, the cover for the July 2023 issue of Hour Detroit just draws you in with its beauty. The cover story by Kate Townley chronicled the many reasons (65, to be exact) why the Great Lakes are so great. Frankly, there are plenty more reasons to add to this already extensive list.
8. April 2024
Like the DCFC cover, the cover for the April 2024 issue, created by Ryan Olbrysh, has an incredible kinetic energy. Based around Detroit hosting the NFL Draft, the “City Guide” cover story explored all of the details any visitor to metro Detroit should know and featured contributions from Bill Dow, Dana White, Juliana Lumaj, Mickey Lyons, and Jack Thomas.
7. May 2020
For the May 2020 issue, Hour Detroit chronicled the impact of COVID-19 on metro Detroit in a nine-page special report by Steve Friess, Amy Haimerl, Joanne C. Gerstner, and Ashley Winn. The cover depicts the Spirit of Detroit monument wearing a mask and hospital scrubs. The poignant image is an original oil painting by Luke Mack for Hour Detroit.
6. January 2018
Abdul El-Sayed graced the January 2018 cover of Hour Detroit, was profiled by Lou Blouin, and photographed by Matthew LaVere. At that time, he was a 33-year-old Michigan gubernatorial candidate gaining lots of attention for his rising grassroots campaign.
The former director of the Detroit Health Department lost the Democratic nomination to Gretchen Whitmer. However, the man some thought could be the first Muslim governor in the United States now has a chance at becoming the first Muslim person elected to the United States Senate. El-Sayed, now 41, is in a very competitive 2026 Democratic primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Primary elections for the open Michigan Senate seat vacated by a retiring Sen. Gary Peters will take place on Aug. 4, with the Democratic and Republican primary winners facing off in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
5. February 2021
On this cover photographed by Julia Pickett, contributor Steve Friess summed up Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 rather perfectly: “A pandemic. An ‘SNL’ parody. A kidnapping plot. And mean tweets from the president. Did anyone have a more bizarre and intense 2020 than ’the woman in Michigan’?” Friess’ cover story on Whitmer explored her 2020 experiences and describing them as “surreal” could be the most apt use of that word ever.
4. January 2024
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell headlined our annual “Detroiters” list in 2024, which highlights the people making unique impacts on metro Detroit. His striking portrait, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, appeared on the cover, with contributor Jim McFarlin detailing the rise of Campbell becoming one of the most beloved Detroit sports figures in recent history.
3. June 2005
Detroit has been very fortunate to have some incredible local news anchors over the years. WDIV-TV’s Carmen Harlan is certainly among the most iconic. A Detroit native, Harlan joined WDIV-TV in 1978 as a general assignment reporter. Three years later, she became an anchor. Paired with Mort Crim, another legendary Detroit news anchor, Harlan continued to serve as anchor until her retirement in 2016. Photographed by Roy Ritchie, Harlan appeared on the cover of Hour Detroit in June 2005 for our “Best of Detroit” issue. In the 2005 edition of our readers’ poll, Harlan won three honors: Best local TV anchor, best TV hairdo (female), and best-looking TV personality.
2. April 2026
Our latest “City Guide” feature took on the theme of “Hidden Detroit.” In it, we examined lesser-known aspects and treasures in metro Detroit. The cover was of Tintoretto’s “The Dreams of Men,” which is featured in the Detroit Institute of Arts, but it’s in a surprising location. If you’re looking to find out where to spot this gorgeous painting, Jack Thomas and Kate Walsh share its location in their piece appropriately titled “Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.”
1. June 2019
The 2019 “Best of Detroit” list served as a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away in Aug. 2018 at age 76. Not only did the “Queen of Soul” win the honor of “Detroit Legend,” but she appeared on the cover via an original oil painting by Kim Frank Fujiwara. (Fujiwara won in the category of “Best Fine Artist.”) Simply put: This is a breathtaking cover. We admire and agree with our readers’ outstanding taste in their choice for the best Hour Detroit cover.
Detroit, MI
First responders honored after rescuing 12 people from capsized sailboats near Belle Isle
DETROIT – Detroit first responders and several private citizens are being credited with helping rescue a dozen people after multiple sailboats capsized in the Detroit River near Belle Isle during severe weather last week.
The incident occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. on June 10 as a line of thunderstorms moved through southeast Michigan, bringing strong winds to the area.
According to the Detroit Fire Department, crews were dispatched to Belle Isle near the beach following reports of overturned boats and people in the water.
Firefighters, EMS personnel, Engine 27, and Fireboat 2, known as the Sivad Johnson, responded to the scene.
When crews arrived, they found multiple small sailboats overturned in the river.
Officials said 20 people aboard seven sailboats were involved in the incident.
Twelve people were rescued from the water, while eight others safely returned aboard two boats that remained upright.
Fireboat 2 rescued four people from the water.
The Detroit Police Department Harbormaster rescued two more, while a private boater assisted three people. Another three were brought to safety by a nearby boat club vessel.
The operator of the sailing group said as many as 26 people were on the water before the storm arrived, with six making it back to shore on their own before rescue efforts began.
Despite the dangerous conditions, no serious injuries were reported. Officials said all rescued individuals declined medical treatment.
Authorities praised the coordinated response among firefighters, police officers, boat club members, and private boaters who assisted during the emergency.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” said Detroit Fire Department Fireboat Operator Daniel Familant. “To be honest, we do make a lot of the saves by the private boaters out there that are fishing or just having a good time, and people were out there screaming, ‘Help, help,’ and there they go, so everyone helps out. It’s an all-hands effort.”
Emergency crews remained on scene until everyone involved was accounted for.
Officials noted that one member of the Fireboat 2 crew was serving on the vessel for the first time during the rescue operation.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on restructuring
Archbishop Edward Weisenburger and Fr. Mario Amore on the archdiocese restructuring on Nov. 17, 2025 in Detroit
The list of Catholic parishes targeted for the possible stoppage of weekend Masses has grown to about 90 parishes across southeast Michigan, according to the latest proposed models the Archdiocese of Detroit has released as part of its major restructuring process.
The archdiocese released on Thursday the models for potential parish groupings for the six remaining planning areas in the archdiocese, and 32 parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. Previously released models showed that 58 other parishes could stop holding weekend Mass.
The Archdiocese of Detroit recently completed listening sessions meant to garner feedback on the models, but parishioners can still share input through a survey that is open until July 31.
The archdiocese has been divided into 15 planning areas, or geographic areas, and three or four models are being proposed for each planning area, said the Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The models have different proposed groupings of parishes ― called pastorates ― in which a grouping would share a pastor and potentially other priests. In some cases, selected churches in the grouping would no longer hold Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass.
The models released on Thursday are for planning areas 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 15, which include parts of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and parishes in St. Clair and Lapeer counties.
Sixteen of the parishes wouldn’t have weekend Mass under any of the models, including St. Alphonsus-Clement Parish in Dearborn, Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Redford Township and Our Lady of Hope Parish in St. Clair Shores.
The models are part of the archdiocese’s biggest restructuring plan in years. Announced last fall, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger said the archdiocese can’t maintain the roughly 200 existing parish buildings and is working to “right-size” the archdiocese, along with its personnel and financial resources.
Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Detroit, emphasized that the models are just draft proposals “intended to solicit feedback from parishioners.” She said no decisions have been made regarding pastorate groupings, weekend Mass schedules or any other aspect of the restructuring process.
The Rev. Mario Amore, executive director of parish renewal for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said in May that parishioners understand that the archdiocese “needs to do something” about its challenges. But when it becomes personal for people, it’s “very difficult,” he said.
“And there’s a lot of human emotions, and … we need to honor that,” Amore said. “We need to be attentive to that, and no one’s saying that it’s an easy process, and it’s not a process that … we’re happy that we need to undertake, but it is one that we do need to undertake.”
What the latest Wayne County models show
Planning Area 6, which is in the southern section of Wayne County, excluding the Downriver area, includes 16 parishes. Eight of them would stop holding Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass under at least one of the models for the planning area.
They include St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy in Westland, St. Richard in Westland, St. Aloysius in Romulus, St. Sabina in Dearborn Heights, St. Linus in Dearborn Heights, Divine Child in Dearborn, St. Alphonsus -St. Clement in Dearborn and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Dearborn.
Planning Area 7, which includes the northwest portion of Wayne County, has 15 parishes, four of which wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Loretto in Redford Township, St. John XXIII in Redford Township, St. Priscilla in Livonia and Resurrection in Canton Township.
What the latest Oakland and Macomb Co. models show
Planning Area 8, which is in southern Oakland County, has 13 parishes, six of which wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one of the models. They include St. William in Walled Lake, St. Gerald in Farmington, Prince of Peace in West Bloomfield, St. Joseph in South Lyon, Church of the Transfiguration in Southfield and Our Lady of Albanians in Southfield.
Planning Area 11, which includes the southeastern section of Macomb County, the Grosse Pointe communities and one parish in Detroit, has 14 parishes. Seven of them wouldn’t have weekend Mass under at least one model. They include Our Lady of Hope in St. Clair Shores, St. Lucy in St. Clair Shores, St. Basil the Great in Eastpointe, St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores, Holy Innocents-St. Barnabas in Roseville, St. Matthew in Detroit and St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park.
What the models in St. Clair, Lapeer counties show
Planning Area 14, which is in St. Clair County, has 12 parishes, five of which wouldn’t have Saturday Vigil or Sunday Mass in at least one model. They include Sacred Heart in Yale, St. Edward on the Lake in Lakeport, Holy Trinity in Port Huron, St. Christopher in Marysville and Immaculate Conception in Ira Township.
Planning Area 15, which is in Lapeer County and part of northern Macomb County, includes ten parishes. Two wouldn’t hold weekend Mass under at least one model. They include St. Mary Burnside in North Branch and St. Cornelius in Dryden.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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