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Now You Can Ride Detroit's QLINE For Free All Summer Long

DETROIT (WWJ) - All aboard! You can now ride Detroit's new light rail for free through the entire summer.

Thanks to a contribution from The Kresge Foundation, riders can get free fares on the QLINE until Labor Day, Sept. 4, as officials continue to work through bugs in operation procedures.

During the nine-week extended free fare period, QLINE and its service provider, Transdev, will make specific improvements to the new streetcar service, which opened to the public on May 12.

The QLINE served over 100,000 riders during its first month, with average vehicle wait times of 20 minutes Monday-Saturday and 30 minutes on Sunday. Wait times improved 10 percent during the first month of service, however reducing vehicle wait times and improving the consistency of service is a top priority for M-1 RAIL over the next two months.

"The QLINE holds much promise as an integral piece of a true regional transit system and we are invested in its long-term success," Kresge President & CEO Rip Rapson said in a statement. "With dozens of summer festivals and activities up and down the Woodward Corridor, our motivation to extend free fares is to expose every city and metro resident to the QLINE. Building a sustainable ridership will enable the streetcar to continue to serve as a positive demonstration project for regional transit."

Improvements expected to be addressed throughout the summer include:

Station Information Kiosks
M-1 RAIL is working with its real-time transit information provider to improve the accuracy of predicted streetcar arrivals.

Peak / off-peak operations
Additional operators are currently being trained and will be deployed in the coming weeks to allow the full implementation of a four-car service during off-peak operations and a five-car operation during peak service times.

Traffic Policy and Signal Preemption
QLINE operational policies have been revised to limit unnecessary time in traffic along the route. In addition, M-1 RAIL continues to work with MDOT and the City of Detroit to authorize signal priority at select intersections along Woodward Avenue.

Stop Policy
QLINE station stops without passengers boarding or exiting the streetcar will be bypassed. The QLINE will stop at all stations with waiting passengers. It will also stop when onboard passengers push the "stop" button aboard the streetcar, indicating their intention to exit the streetcar.

Reducing Charge Times
The performance of the QLINE's battery powering system has exceeded expectations, reducing the amount of time needed for vehicle charging along the route. The QLINE will begin to operate approximately 80% off-wire, eliminating approximately three minutes of battery charge time on every roundtrip.

Transit Police Enforcement
New development along Woodward Ave. has continued at an aggressive pace. M-1 RAIL continues to work closely with transit police to enforce policies that keep the QLINE route free of vehicle and construction obstructions.

 

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