The Ford Museum is probably the only major attraction in Detroit which is a bit far off from downtown.
It is almost 12 miles, so walking was not an option.
The Smart Bus #261 came to rescue. This bus can be availed from the Rosa Parks Transit Center or simply the main bus stand of Detroit.
The SMART bus looks like this. These are two busses joined together like railway bogies.
Inside the bus are comfortable seats with some reserved for the differently abed, an accessible entrance, and reserved space for luggage.
Also, a large panel display upcoming stops and the approximate time.
Alight the bus at the Mason Stop on Michigan Avenue.
The bus stop looks like this and is adjacent to the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce.
There is also a nice clock tower at the bus stand but more on that later.
Now start waking in the opposite direction of the bus and cross Mason Street and Monroe Street.
Then take a right at the Oakwood Boulevard.
On this road, pass under the railway bridge.
When you see Village Road, take a left.
Continue walking on the sidewalk and enter the gate.
Take the next left again and you will the entrance to the Ford Museum at the far end.
Also, you will see a huge parking on the left.
Caution: When walking along this road, many traffic signals are weak in brightness, and you may not realize that the walk sign is ON. Take a general judgement about the other stop signals and cross the road when there are no vehicles around.
At some places, the signal will simply say ‘DON’T WALK’.
On your return journey, walk to the bench on the Michigan Avenue outside the District 12 burger joint.
The return bus stops here. Remember #261
As a visual hint, you will see a petrol pump also called a gas station locally, on the opposite side.
The frequency of the bus is 1 hour officially but I found that busses were available every 20 minutes. Till then watch how the many brands of amazing American cars pass by in perfect discipline everyone following the traffic rules without fail.
On entering the bus, give back the change card of 50 cents = 0.5 US Dollars that the original bus gave you back. The full ticket is One Dollar.
Some busses will not have the display functioning. In that case the bus driver will announce the next bus stop. Also, there are stop buttons near every seat. You may press that to request a stop.
My stop was the last one - back to Rosa Parks Center.
Here I met a Sikh person, Jassi, whose original name was Jaswinder, and was distributing free brunch like Samosa and Pizza to the homeless in Detroit.
The Sikh people are famous all over the world for distributing free food to everyone who needs it.
It was about a mile walk = 1.6 km, but it was enjoyable.
In this way, I saved almost 60-70 dollars required to take a taxi to go to the museum and come back to downtown Detroit.
How to Reach
Read how to reach downtown Detroit from the airport.
Where to Eat
Try the coney hot dog at the American Coney Island.
Detroit Attractions and Things to Do
