Only 4% of Detroit's 5,100 Bus Stops Have Shelters. DDOT Plans to Change That.

A bus shelter on Woodward in Wayne State area

Compare bus systems in Detroit to those in cities like Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon, and it becomes clear that Detroit has a long way to go.

The Detroit News reports that only about 4 percent of the Detroit Department of Transportation’s 5,100 bus stops have shelters. On a sweltering hot day, a bone-chilling cold day, or a rainy one, that’s far from ideal.

The good news, according to News' reporters Maureen Feighan and Louis Aguilar, is that the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) plans to install approximately 60 new shelters by the end of July. This is the first phase of an ambitious plan to expand and improve the system's infrastructure. The new shelters will include USB ports so riders can charge their phones.

In its second phase, The News reports, DDOT will add another 100 shelters, either new ones or updating existing ones, by the end of  2026.

Recent violent incidents on buses have also highlighted some of the other challenges facing DDOT.

In one instance, a bus driver got into an argument over a fare and stabbed a rider. The next day, a passenger shot another passenger.

Detroit police have vowed to step up patrols on city buses.