Nat and I are on vacation so a little less content than usual, but I wanted to jot down some quick thoughts about Detroit’s Q-Line. Our hotel is a little over 4.5 km from the downtown core/waterfront with its river walk and monuments, restaurants etc. Last night we took the Q-Line streetcar to get down in one straight shot – I need a little break from driving in city congestion and freeways with no idea where I’m going! The Q-Line is free, paid for by the state. It’s an articulated streetcar that got pretty packed as we went along with a ton of strollers, mobility devices and bikes. It passes right by the venues where the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings play, which is awesome. There are hooks for the bikes and the vehicle announcement noted that riders bringing their bikes on board were required to use them – though the car eventually got too full with people and devices for that to be practical. And, Detroit’s system is on the Transit app which meant I could track my ride and even contribute to the crowdsourced tracking. The car on our way down was actually significantly delayed by a stalled car further down the line, but it runs every 15-minutes or so. Glad to have the app to better time arrival at the station – it’s hot in Detroit right now.

Today we’re sticking close to our hotel here in the museum and cultural district, but I’m glad we had a chance to head out for a bite to eat and to see some of the downtown via this free service.