The recent unanimous decision to transfer the QLINE streetcar system to the Regional Transit Authority, unlocking sustainable state and federal funding, marks a groundbreaking shift in Detroit's public transportation landscape. This wasn’t just a victory for the Detroit community — it has set a powerful precedent for the underappreciated potential for philanthropy and business to drive vital urban projects nationwide, particularly in an environment of limited federal funding.
From day 1, the QLINE has been an unprecedented endeavor. In 2007, the Kresge Foundation team, in collaboration with the Penske Corp. and the Rock Family of Companies, embarked on an ambitious mission: to demonstrate that mass transit could thrive in a city long dominated by car culture.
We committed to building and operating a world-class, nonprofit streetcar system that could eventually integrate into a broader regional transit network. We raised more than $150 million in private investments, including $60 million from our organization, to get the QLINE up and running, with participation from nearly every major Detroit-based corporation and foundation. Convinced by the hefty private support and collective civic willpower, the city, the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation also ponied up to allow the project to proceed.
The process was far from easy. We faced immense financial, political and operational challenges, whether the initial skepticism of the Federal Transit Administration, the city of Detroit’s bankruptcy in 2013 or the COVID-19 pandemic. But we kept our objective in clear view, recognizing that the QLINE was not just a method of transit — it was a catalyst for community growth and opportunity.
Fast-forward 17 years, and the QLINE’s transition to a public transit authority ensures the 3.3-mile system’s long-term fiscal sustainability while paving the way for a more integrated regional transit system, all without burdening local taxpayers. A record number of people are utilizing the QLINE, with more than a million riders annually. Ridership and reliability levels are at an all-time high.
The QLINE’s success has spurred over $10 billion in economic growth along the city’s Woodward Corridor, catalyzing new housing investments, large-scale commercial developments including the Little Caesars Arena and the Detroit Pistons' training facility, and revitalized street life and retail activity. All in, these developments represent a 6,500 percent return on investment in just a decade. And the activity continues to intensify.
By providing an affordable and equitable transit option, the QLINE serves as a lifeline for many residents who have historically been underserved by traditional transportation. Notably, 75 percent of QLINE riders identify as people of color, and over half earn less than $50,000 annually. Residents have witnessed firsthand how improved public transportation can dismantle socioeconomic barriers, empowering families and our most vulnerable citizens to access jobs, schools, health-care services and more.
Our approach to the QLINE project highlights the critical role of collaboration and innovation in tackling some of our most-pressing urban challenges. Although government agencies are understandably viewed as the primary drivers behind these kinds of initiatives, cross-sector collaboration drawing on the tools and methods of philanthropies and the private sector can be equally, if not more, effective. Particularly in an era in which governments are stretched thin and funding may be limited, foundations and private institutions can take risks and fill crucial financial gaps, providing the essential capital needed to transform bold visions into reality.
As we celebrate this pivotal moment for Detroit, it’s essential to reflect on the journey that brought us here and explore how we can translate the QLINE’s success to other vital civic projects in cities nationwide. By deconstructing gnarly municipal challenges and creatively reconstructing them through ongoing collaboration among businesses, philanthropic organizations and governmental entities, we can ensure the kind of innovation and audacity that will be required to propel our communities into a more equitable future.
Rip Rapson is president and CEO of the Detroit-based Kresge Foundation and has led the foundation to adopt an array of grantmaking and investing tools to improve the economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions of urban life.
Governing’s opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing’s editors or management.
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