DTC, Board of Directors

Detroit Transportation Corporation

Transportation

Thursday, March 28, 2024
4:00 p.m. EDT

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team

Note-taking by Sandi Nelson

The People Mover is seeing increased ridership with free fares. Board is focused on safety for the upcoming NFL draft, with improvements to cameras and redundancy measures in the control center. DTC received a clean audit and the board picked a new payroll system provider.

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Live reporting by Anna Harris

Anna @sister_threads

Helloooooo, Detroit! I'll be live-tweeting the Det Transportation Corp (DTC) Board of Directors Meeting at 4:00pm ET for @DetDocumenters #DETdocumenters. Media partners: @media_outlier @BridgeDet313 @PlanetDetroit @freep @wdet @metrotimes @chalkbeatDET @MichiganRadio @wxyzdetroit

02:41 PM Mar 28, 2024 CDT

Anna @sister_threads 2/26

The DTC owns and operates the People Mover and is the agency for the Transit Police for the City of Detroit. Board members:
G. Michael Staley, Vice Chairperson
John Naglick, Secretary/Treasurer
Hon. Mary Sheffield (city council president)
Luke Polcyn
Hilarie Chambers

Anna @sister_threads 3/26

We are underway promptly at 4, beginning with a roll call and the approval of today's agenda and last meeting's minutes. We will now discuss the purchase, installation and staff training for a new payroll system. PayCor is being proposed, and will be implemented next year.

Anna @sister_threads 4/26

This motion passes.
Next, the board is approving a proposal for a vendor to replace an overhead door repair for the Huntington Place station. This motion passes.
Next, the board considers external council services for employment, procurement, and labor expertise as needed.

Anna @sister_threads 5/26

$54k has been allocated toward these services. The motion passes.
A time extension to solicit and complete procurement processes is approved.
Next, the board discusses on-site support for the escalators during the NFL Draft. These escalators keep the People Mover ADA-compliant..

Anna @sister_threads 6/26

...and so having additional support during a high traffic event is crucial. More details will be discussed closer to the event, but the board seems in agreement with approving such support.

Anna @sister_threads 7/26

Next, there is a discussion about upgrading the video workstations, also in light of heavier traffic during the NFL Draft. This pertains to surveillance, and there seems to be interest in purchasing new video monitors, and the motion to authorize upgrades passes.

Anna @sister_threads 8/26

We will now see the FY 2023 Financial Audit Report from the Alan C. Young firm, presented by Rajeev Shah.

Anna @sister_threads 9/26

Financial statements are prepared by DTC, and the auditors issue an opinion on those statements. DTC issued an "unmodified" assessment for this year for DTC, which is the highest possible outcome.

Anna @sister_threads 10/26

Compared with 2022, total assets and liabilities are slightly down in 2023. Expenditures and revenues are up, in no small part because of the loss of revenue from COVID in 2021.

Anna @sister_threads 11/26

ACT issued a "clean" opinion on DTC's FY 2023 Federal Program Audit. Audit findings (concerns/flags) were down from 6 to 3, which is great. Mr. Shah concludes his presentation and asks for questions.

Anna @sister_threads 12/26

There are no questions, just some commentary on the timeline for this year's report.
Robert Cramer will now give the general manager's report.

Anna @sister_threads 13/26

The DTC receives an allocation from City Council, so the CC Budget Hearing process is relevant to funding for this body.
The city is also considering a funding agreement to implement compatible parts for the rail cars - more details to come.

Anna @sister_threads 14/26

The Upcoming Triennial Safety Review by the Federal Transit Commission is upcoming in the next few weeks.
Cramer estimates it would take $5m to implement updated fare collection infrastructure for seamless payments.

Anna @sister_threads 15/26

Currently, the People Mover is free to ride, and ridership is at 100%. Cramer wants to keep it that way, but if fares were to be collected again, updated processes are necessary.

Anna @sister_threads 16/26

Many equipment/infrastructure/software projects will be wrapping up before the NFL draft - station painting, escalator repairs, column lighting, train wraps.
Additionally, the website is being replaced with a new, simplified interface. This will launch by the end of next week.

Anna @sister_threads 17/26

Monthly ridership for 2024 has surpassed projected numbers post-free fare program, but is still below 2019 numbers. Cramer seems optimistic about the NFL draft boosting those numbers. We are currently on track to surpass March 2023 by 130%.

Anna @sister_threads 18/26

Frequency for the draft will be 5 minutes using 3 trains, with 24-hour service Thursday-Sunday during the draft.
The net promoter score (rider feedback) is 73/100 currently.

Anna @sister_threads 19/26

Cramer seems optimistic about preparations for the NFL Draft.
There is a question about the Millender Center station renovations, and Cramer discusses the specifics.

Anna @sister_threads 20/26

PUBLIC COMMENT
One in-person speaker is pleased with the upgrades to the People Mover stations and screens. She wants to know about continuing the fare-free program, and what would happen to the $5m for upgrades allocated. She also asks about sharing ridership data w/advertisers

Anna @sister_threads 21/26

Cramer notes that the $5m is an estimate, and is not currently allocated. If we did start collecting fares, we would need to work within the budget to find that money. He also notes that ridership is counted by sensors in the turnstiles.

Anna @sister_threads 22/26

Upgraded systems for train cars could include wifi and cameras. He would like to see ridership tallying via on-car camera, as he thinks the turnstile method is faulty.

Anna @sister_threads 23/26

A Zoom participant, a transit activist, comments that he is encouraged by investments in the People Mover as prioritizing tourism in Detroit. He talks about riding the People Mover as a kid. He recommends getting more sponsors for the DTC to increase ridership.

Anna @sister_threads 24/26

There are no other commenters.
A motion to adjourn is introduced and passed at 5:02pm.

Anna @sister_threads 25/26

This concludes my coverage of the DTC Board of Directors meeting. The next meeting is on April 25th, 2024. For more meeting coverage, check out

detroit.documenters.org

Anna @sister_threads 26/26

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line. Thanks, everyone!

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Agency Information

Detroit Transportation Corporation

www.thepeoplemover.com

(313) 224-2160

See Documenters reporting

The Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC), City of Detroit, is owner and operator of the Detroit People Mover. The Detroit People Mover (DPM) is a fully automated light rail system that was developed as part of a planned regional transit system. The People Mover operates on an elevated single track loop in Detroit’s central business district. The 2.9 mile system provides connections between the courts and administrative offices of several levels of government, sports arenas, exhibition centers, major hotels, and commercial, banking and retail districts.

DTC is also home to the Detroit Transit Police.

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