Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What does it take to make a Great City: Upgrading the Detroit Department of Transportation's(DDOT) Information Distribution in 2014.

The Friends of George Cushingberry Jr.
Richard C. Clement - Test Researcher

 
 
Expanding Light Rail Transportation in the tri-county area
The recent harsh weather in Detroit has created hardship and havoc among Detroit Citizens. Some people depend on their cars to maintain a living wage. If a car is not available, the next mode of transportation is the DDOT bus system. When all of the busses are working and on time, it is the greatest and cheapest form of Transportation. When busses break down or something happens to a bus, riders have no way of knowing what happened or where the bus is on the route.
 

On January 7th, 2014 @ 8am, The Friends of George Cushingberry Jr. conducted a test of the bus system recently conducted a test of the DDOT bus system, based on the information provided online.  Using the Google Maps feature, I was able to find the proper bus to catch to get downtown for the inauguration. It was -10 degrees Fahrenheit and the plan was not to stay in the cold weather very long.  Unbeknown to the test subject, one of the busses on the 10 Chene line had broken down and was taken offline.  So a 15 minute wait turned into a 55 minute wait in the cold. Luckily, the test subject was used to the weather because they were raised delivering newspapers for the Detroit News and walking to school at 12 years old in the cold weather.

The DDOT bus driver was very nice and apologetic about the bus problems. Had the test subject know about the mechanical failure, there would have been an option to hop on the bus when it was heading north and rode the loop back in a warm bus.  Needless to say I missed the inauguration ceremonies arriving at 10:15am.

Under the direction of the new City Council and Mayor’s office, a bus tracking app letting riders know the precise location of the bus will be developed. This is will be an extreme help to a rider/customer of DDOT.  This app will be designed to run on most cell phones, iPads, and tablets.  This is what an elected City Council can do for its citizens and visitors.  From using Google Glass to using your android phone or tablet, GPS tracking of DDOT busses will be a benefit to the consumer and, allow for information on the system to be disseminated in a timely manner.

This is the type of change that the Detroit City Council and Mayor’s office can make happen.  We have new council leadership that will stand up for the city when it is under attack from, people and news organizations who mean Detroiters no good.

We vow to improve the bus system for the Citizens and Customers of DDOT because no one should be left out in the elements of weather waiting for a bus that may be late or broken down.  If you agree then, we want you to come to City Council and express yourself because, being silent and complaining without a solution benefits no one.
 
Please consider donating to the car repair fund for the less fortunate by clicking on the Donate button below.
 

 

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