Detroit’s mass transit system—an insufficient network of buses and the People Mover, a mostly useless closed-loop monorail in the central business district—can be considered paltry at best. In the birthplace of the automobile, freeways remain king.
Last week, with the christening of a 3.3-mile streetcar confined to the city’s rapidly developing core, Detroit did nothing to help the underserved and instead joined the growing ranks of American cities enamored with mostly empty streetcars financed by developers and businesses who stand to gain from such projects—instead of investing in equitable transportation that serves residents who need it most.
