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Public Hearing Friday To Discuss Detroit Bus Service

DETROIT (WWJ) - Slow bus service in Detroit is reaching a boiling point.

Citizens are waiting for hours as bus stops in Detroit while the Mayor accuses city mechanics of deliberately slowing down repairs to disabled busses and the union accuses the mayor of laying off too many mechanics.

Calling the level of service "unacceptable", Detroit City Council will hold a public hearing this Friday to tackle the issue.

WWJ Newsradio 950's Pat Sweeting ran into Michael Senate who rides the bus every day.

"I'm a single father with two daughters and I have no license. I may not have the best past, but now I'm a single father, I'm a grown man ... you know, I depend on these busses to get from point A to point B," said Senate.

Senate said he didn't make it on time for an appointment in court on Tuesday due to a bus delay.

"I was an hour-and-a-half late and they looked at me like it was my fault," said Senate.

"I had to explained, I got up at 4 this morning and I had to walk to a bus stop to wait for a bus to wait for another bus, and every bus that's late, that's just more time off from where I'm going," he said.

Council members have said that, on any given day, more than half of the city's busses are out of service.  In recent weeks, the council has been flooded with complaints about the bus system.

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