DETROIT (WXYZ) — Record attendance for the first day of draft translated to record ridership for the Detroit People Mover post pandemic.
7 News Detroit learned 22,880 people rode the train on Thursday, according to Ericka Alexander with the Detroit People Mover.
She said that’s the most riders in a single day since the people mover re-opened post pandemic in May of 2022.
Bengals fans Harry Panson, his son Harry the third, and daughter Katy, a Philadelphia Eagles fan are up visiting from Cincinnatti. They said they're moving a bit more strategically today after draft gates closed on them Thursday due to capacity.
“So we got here early today, obviously, because we wanted to take the people mover and see the whole city from above and show my daughter and son just kinda what it looks like," Panson said. "Then we’re going to get in early,"
He said of the People Mover, “This is kind of new for me. But yea, it seem to work great for this city."
Tamisha Hodges, who’s visiting from Houston, has not changed her allegiance to the Lions. She prepared to ride the People Mover with her mom and sister and said it’s a familiar way to get around having grown up in Detroit.
“Yea, we did. All the time. Probably more so in our teens," Hodges said.
But rarely did she see a sight like the one on Thursday and Friday. The trains were packed.
“It’s great to see. It’s great to see. I’m glad to see that people see that Detroit is a good city. It is a place that you should want to visit and live," Hodges exclaimed.
Donning matching Houston Texans Blazers, Erik Brannen and Jaime Medina are visiting from San Antonio. This is their first time in Detroit.
Medina said, "Detroit’s been an awesome host city."
Brannen added, "Everybody’s been friendly."
When asked what public transit is like down in San Antonio, Brannen said, it's "pretty sparse."
"Just the bus system, pretty much. We could use some trains like this though. We really like this getting around," he said of the People Mover.
Medina said, “Yesterday, as we were walking around towards the draft, we saw it going by (and) we’re like hey why don’t we use that instead of walking.”
Joe Kandravi, a packers pan in town from Green Bay, Wisconsin, rode without a care in the world.
“I just wanted to see... the best way to get around and see what’s happening from above," he said.
Kandravi said, "Everybody used to talk about how bad it was down here. It’s totally awesome. I don’t see any problems down here at all. You walk the streets freely. I mean, it’s pretty cool.”
