The Rosa Parks Transit Center has opened Downtown to rave reviews from local media. The Detroit Free Press called the Center "an airy gem" based on the visitor-friendly glass and steel building for waiting passengers and the huge flowing canopies that provides protection when boarding a bus. Columnist Jeff Gerritt said, "Its beauty and function say something important to transit riders: You are respected."

 

Those respected transit riders will be able to use over 20 Detroit bus routes, board buses to the suburbs and cross the border to Windsor. The 24-hours-per-day Center has a taxi stand and is positioned right across the street from a People Mover station which whisks people around a downtown loop.

 

The passenger terminal has rest areas and places for retail shops in an attractive, well lit lobby.

 

The Center may also help automobile and pedestrian travelers because its dramatic fabric canopies are certain to become a Downtown landmark that will help them find their way. The soaring structures also can be lit with changing colored lights.

 

Although it shouldn't matter to the thousands of travelers who use it, the Rosa Parks Transit Center is another good example of the working relationships between DEGC and its partners. The Federal Transit Authority funded most of the $22.5 million dollar construction project which will be operated by the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). DEGC managed construction on behalf of DDOT.