By JOHN WISELY
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Detroit's bus system has too many routes, too many mechanics and can't account for nearly a quarter of its fare box revenue -- up to $9 million a year, according to city officials looking for ways to cut costs.

The bleak picture of the system, which moves about 125,000 people each weekday, is spelled out in a plan Detroit filed in November with the state to explain how it will attack a $76-million deficit in the city's public transit fund.

The plan said about 100 of the city's 445 buses are out of service, even though there is one mechanic for every 2.5 buses -- more mechanics than many other cities and Detroit's suburban bus counterpart, SMART. A union official said the city does not keep motors and transmissions in stock to allow mechanics to keep the buses running.

The plan calls for consolidating routes, reducing the number of mechanics and getting more riders to use prepaid debit-style cards to reduce the need to handle cash.
"Obviously, we're looking at a lot of efficiencies and a lot of improvements," said Dan Lijana, spokesman for Mayor Dave Bing.

Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, said she fears more cuts could leave people stranded.

"They've already cut about one-third of the service over the past five years," she said.





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