Detroit Department of Transportation timeline 1994-2003

A timeline of Detroit Department of Transportation-related events that took place between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 2003.

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1994

Early 1994 - Spearheaded by then-Detroit mayor Dennis Archer, DDOT and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation begin standardizing equipment and software between both agencies.

June 25, 1994 - SMART takes over operation of DDOT's Jefferson and Michigan routes, while DDOT takes over operation of SMART routes 125, 130, 150 and 495.

April 1, 1995 - Owing to DDOT's response to a SMART property tax proposal, DDOT and SMART resume operating their respective routes on Fort, Michigan, John R. and Jefferson.

August 1995 - DDOT receives 33 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s from SMART, which sold them immediately after delivery in June 1995. The buses, still in the SMART livery, were sent to the Shoemaker Coach Rehabilitation Center to be repainted into the DDOT livery and renumbered from 9533-9565 to 3200-3232. These would be the first Rapid Transit Series buses to be delivered to DDOT after management announced in the mid-1980's that DDOT would no longer be purchasing any RTS buses because management deemed them too problem-prone-these problems, however, would later be revealed by Transportation Manufacturing Corporation to be unique to DDOT.^[1]

DDOT receives 29 Goshen Sentry cutaway buses, each built on a Freightliner chassis.

June 1, 1996 - The SMART/DDOT Regional Pass, which had been possible since 1994, debuts.

August 1996 - Outdoor Systems replaces Gannett Outdoor as the advertisement provider on DDOT.

November 1996 - DDOT begins receiving 100 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s. The delivery continues until January 1997.

April 1997 - DDOT begins receiving 33 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s, also diverted from SMART. However, these would arrive already in the DDOT livery. The delivery continues until May 1997.

May 1997 - DDOT begins receiving 18 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s. The delivery continues until June 1997.

June 1997 - DDOT receives 10 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s, also diverted from SMART. However, these would arrive already in the DDOT livery. These buses are Semi-Suburban models with overhead parcel racks and high-back passenger seats.

Infinity Outdoor replaces Outdoor Systems as the advertisement provider on DDOT.

October 20, 2000 - Stops on routes 36, 39, 43 and 53 are moved due to construction at Woodward Avenue and Sears Street in Highland Park. The new stops are located a block south at Manchester Parkway.

January 6, 2001 - Winter service changes take effect:
- On route 5, the weekday and Saturday 9:30 p.m. departure from the Wyoming Loop is changed to 9:53 p.m.
- On route 17, the weekday eastbound 3:07 p.m. trip from 8 Mile and Evergreen Roads now departs at 3:12 p.m., and the Saturday eastbound 9:16 p.m. trip from 7 Mile Road & Grand River Avenue has been extended to arrive at Eastland Center at 10:23 p.m.
- On route 36, two new weekday trips are added: 12:47 AM northbound and 1:13 AM southbound.
- On route 38, weekday and Saturday westbound trips are adjusted to coordinate with Detroit Diesel's starting and ending shifts.
- On route 48, the 3:06 p.m. southbound trip from Kettering High School is changed to 3:10 p.m., and two northbound trips at 3:03 p.m. and 4:03 p.m. from Van Dyke Street and Gratiot Avenue are respectively changed to 3:07 p.m. and 4:07 p.m.
- Routes 2, 19, 21 and 47 are reroute due to construction at Kennedy Square.
- Route 3 is rerouted away from the Renaissance Center and now terminates at Woodbridge Street and Schweitzer Place.

February 2001 - DDOT begins receiving 100 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s. The delivery continues until May 2001.

December 2001 - DDOT begins receiving 60 Nova Bus RTS-06 T80-206s. The delivery continues until March 2002. This order would be the last Rapid Transit Series buses ordered by DDOT, as it would be discontinued in 2002 in favor of the LFS.