People Mover Route Optimization
Balancing distance, access, and cost — using downtown Detroit's elevated transit loop.
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Standards
HS-ETS1-2 — Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems.
Why Does This Matter?
The Detroit People Mover is a 2.9-mile elevated automated transit loop through downtown, built to connect major destinations with tight cost and space constraints — the exact kind of route-design problem you'll solve today.
Objective
Design and evaluate a transit route connecting a set of required stops while balancing total distance, ridership access, and cost.
Materials
- Stop data: people_mover_stops_model.csv (schematic station positions in tenths of a mile and illustrative ridership — not real survey data). Assume a construction cost of $40 million per mile.
- Ruler
- Calculator
- Colored pencils (to draw candidate routes)
Note: This is a map-based design lab — no physical safety hazards.
Procedure
- Review the provided map and list of required stops, their estimated daily ridership, and the per-mile construction cost.
- Draw a first candidate route (Route A) connecting all required stops in a loop.
- Measure Route A's total length using the map scale and calculate its total construction cost.
- Sum the ridership served by Route A's stops.
- Draw a second candidate route (Route B) that takes a different path or drops a low-ridership stop, and repeat the length, cost, and ridership calculations.
- Calculate a "riders per construction dollar" score for each route to compare their value.
Data Table
| Route | Total length (mi) | Total cost | Total ridership served | Riders per $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route A | ||||
| Route B |
Analysis Questions
- Which route had the better riders-per-dollar value? Does that automatically make it the better choice? Why or why not?
- What did Route B gain or lose by taking a different path or dropping a stop?
- If the city's goal were "serve the most people" rather than "spend the least money," would your recommendation change? Explain.
- Real transit planners also have to consider walkability, safety, and future growth. Pick one of these factors and explain how it might change your route recommendation.