Editor’s note: Gabriel Díez Lacunza is a freelance journalist based in La Paz, Bolivia, and a fellow with the International Center for Journalists based at Outlier Media.
I never caught the name of the man in the thick-framed glasses at the QLine stop. But by the time the streetcar finally rolled up, I knew plenty about him: his views on God, his soon-to-be-ex wife and his opinions about shopping malls and handcrafted women’s purses.
When I walked up to the stop near West Warren Avenue in Detroit, he said he’d already been waiting 10 minutes for the southbound train. More than 30 minutes later, we were still standing there in the wind, snow and cold. There was no sign of the streetcar, but I’d made a friend.
Transit agencies to riders: Plan trips carefully
We asked local transportation officials about wintertime delays:
- The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan, which operates the QLine, said it acquired a snow removal truck that “routinely travels the route to prevent and clear track blockages.”
- The authority and the Detroit Department of Transportation recommend riders use the Transit app and plan ahead, especially in bad weather.
January’s frigid temperatures gave way to slightly warmer days. But for Detroit’s public transit riders, this winter “has been a challenge,” said 21-year-old Wayne State University student Michael Rahaman. The signs at QLine stops promising a streetcar every 15 minutes, he said, feel more like a taunt…