Biden calls Detroit comeback city, hails new bus fleet

DETROIT Vice President Joe Biden declared Detroit America’s comeback city as he and Mayor Mike Duggan celebrated the final four of 80 new buses put into commission in a town that has suffered for years from unreliable public transportation.

“Detroit is resilient, it’s tough, and it’s defined by a work ethic that’s unmatched” by anyplace else, Biden said in a speech at the Detroit Department of Transportation headquarters.

The federally funded buses mean that for the first time in 20 years, Detroit has enough buses running to meet its posted schedule, a significant step forward for a bus system that only a year ago could keep as little as 58 percent of its aging fleet on the road.

In a speech that was both a defense of the Obama administration’s economic policies and an embrace of a city that’s seeing a resurgence after emerging from bankruptcy, Biden called the bus improvements a sign of Detroit’s recovery.

Biden made no mention of his potential presidential ambitions. His visit came amid fevered speculation on whether he will decide to run against Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democratic contender in the 2016 presidential race. He was on a three-state tour, having announced federal grants for clean-energy production in Los Angeles on Wednesday and, after the Detroit visit, was headed to Columbus, Ohio, for a rally against sexual assaults on college campuses.

Some national media reports suggest he’s leaning toward entering the race, but on a recent appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show” with comedian Stephen Colbert, Biden said he wasn’t sure he was emotionally ready to run for president so soon after the death of his eldest son, Beau, in May.

Biden said federal help for Detroit wouldn’t have been possible without a strong team in the mayor’s office ready to manage it properly. He praised Duggan as America’s best mayor for taking on the task of leading a city once declared all but dead and succeeding at getting streetlights back on, blighted homes torn down, salvageable homes sold to be fixed up and re-occupied, and buses back on the streets.

Biden also defended the White House decision to bail out Chrysler and General Motors in 2009, noting that the American auto industry has roared back, restoring jobs and selling cars at a record pace.

“We would never abandon the people of Detroit,” Biden said. “It’s like abandoning the heart of America.”

Duggan described how Biden’s assistance with the buses came to pass. It was during a dinner with the vice president a month into Duggan’s term.

“He said, ‘If I can do one thing to help Detroit, what would it be?’ and I said, ‘We need buses,’ and he said ‘Buses?’ And he said, ‘Of all the things I thought you were going to ask me for, I would not have guessed buses was the first priority.’

“People stood on street corners in the freezing cold for hours and at times the buses would show up and the buses would be full and they’d still leave them on the street corner. It was heartbreaking,” Duggan said.

Duggan credits Biden with helping secure federal assistance for new buses, including the 10 new 60-foot articulated buses the extra long buses that bend being deployed this month. One of those buses, which Detroit won through a competitive national grant program, acted as backdrop for Biden’s appearance.

City officials announced that with the final four of the 80 new buses now in service, the Detroit Department of Transportation, or DDOT, had finally made its pullout target, meaning that 100 percent of its scheduled fleet was on the road.

Megan Owens, executive director of the transit advocacy group Transportation Riders United, said that as Detroit’s finances worsened over the decade, DDOT slashed its hours of service and its routes by half, leaving areas underserved and riders who work late shifts unable to get late-night and early-morning bus service.

“It definitely means DDOT is getting better,” Owens said. “There will be fewer people on the side of the road waiting for buses that pass them by. But it’s still not enough.”

Biden also reminded Detroiters on Thursday that a $40 million high-tech automotive research and development project, backed by the U.S. Energy Department, will be located in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. The Obama administration announced the project earlier this year.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s office said the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, sharing space with the Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow program, will focus on creating fiber-enhanced polymer composites, materials that are lighter and stronger than steel, which will help vehicles become lighter and more fuel-efficient.

It was Biden’s second visit to Detroit this year. He was the keynote speaker in May at the Detroit Branch NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund dinner.

(c)2015 Detroit Free Press

Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.