Public transportation

DDOT

The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) operates buses within the city of Detroit including frequent north-south service along both Woodward and Cass, which makes getting to and from neighborhoods including Downtown, New Center, Boston Edison and Palmer Woods quick and easy. Both the Woodward (4-Woodward) and Cass (16-Dexter) routes are also useful for getting around campus. The Woodward bus picks up outside the Mike Ilitch School of Business (on Woodward at Sproat). Travel time to Old Main and Main Campus is approximately 15 minutes.

Fare for the DDOT bus is normally $2.00 for four hours. A 31-Day Dart Pass is $70 and good for unlimited rides on DDOT, SMART and the QLINE. Wayne State students and employees ride free with a special eligibility code. Request your eligibility code at go.wayne.edu/waynerides-request and follow the instructions provided to begin riding.

SMART

SMART operates bus service in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties with local travel within and between suburban cities as well as service into downtown Detroit. In addition to regular fixed-routes, SMART offers limited-stop FAST routes along Woodward, Michigan, and Gratiot. These FAST routes make getting to campus from places like Ferndale, Dearborn, and Roseville relatively quick and easy. For example, The Woodward FAST bus picks up outside the Welcome Center (on Woodward at Warren). Travel time to Ferndale is approximately 30 minutes and all FAST buses are equipped with free onboard Wi-Fi.

SMART accepts Dart passes and offers a couple of unique options, including $11 and $22 value passes. Wayne State students and employees ride free with a special eligibility code. Request your eligibility code at go.wayne.edu/waynerides-request and follow the instructions provided to begin riding.

QLINE

The QLINE, operated by M-1 Rail, is a 6.6-milecirculating streetcar loop with 12 stops along Woodward between Downtown and New Center and the North End. Since re-launching in September 2021, the QLINE has achieved its goal of delivering service every 15 minutes 70% of the time. Travel time from New Center (Grand Boulevard) to Downtown (Congress) is approximately 30 minutes, traffic permitting.

The QLINE is currently operating fare-free.

MoGo

MoGo is Detroit's first public bike-sharing system with 620 bikes at 75 stations in greater Downtown, Northwest Detroit, Ferndale, Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Berkley, and Royal Oak including seven stations on or immediately adjacent to our campus:

  • Second and Burroughs (TechTown, I2C, and I-Bio)
  • W. Kirby and Third (F/AB, Towers, and AWD Apartments)
  • Trumbull and Merrick (Athletics)
  • Cass and Gilmour Mall (Law, Nursing and McGregor)
  • Cass and W. Hancock (Old Main)
  • John R and E. Canfield (Medical Campus)
  • Temple and Second (Mike Ilitch)

Designed for quick trips around town, MoGo is a fun, flexible, and convenient way to get around. Purchase a pass online, with the Transit App, or at any one of MoGo's 75 stations and start riding. Wayne State students and employees can acquire a free Annual MoGo Pass (regularly $90) by signing up with their Wayne State email at MoGoDetroit.org/WSU. For trips that extend beyond 60 minutes, users pay $0.25 for each additional minute until the bike is securely locked in any MoGo station.  Registered members of a state program (ex. Food Assistance) can purchase an Annual Pass for $5.00 (called an Access Pass).