SMART bus now offering expanded service in Hamtramck

By Charles Sercombe
Last November, Hamtramck asked for more bus service here in town, and the folks who run the SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation) bus service listened and then delivered.
As a result, there’s a new route called Line 500, and it goes from the SMART transit station in downtown Detroit to the Detroit Medical Center, Midtown (Wayne State University), then New Center, Hamtramck, Mound Road, and finally on to the Bel Air Center on 8 Mile.
In Hamtramck, you can catch a ride on Holbrook in front of the Hamtramck Senior Plaza, on Jos. Campau near Pope Park, and at the Imperial Market on Caniff where it turns into Mound.
To find out the times of bus arrivals, check out Google Maps, Apple Maps, or the Transit mobile app. Those sites will tell you the estimated arrival times for every stop along the route, as well as updates in real-time according to traffic conditions and bus locations.
News of the new route excited Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi.
“Route 500 is live!” Alharbi said in a Facebook posting, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 8 at Pope Park.
The mayor said, “This is a big win for our residents, who rely on public transit to get to jobs, to healthcare at the DMC, to Wayne State and downtown Detroit, while making it even easier for visitors across the area to experience our local businesses.
“Proud to see regional collaboration deliver real results for our community. Looking forward to seeing everyone on board.”
The line runs hourly on Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Future plans for the route include expanding it further north along Mound Rd., to Hall Rd. in Sterling Heights.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said this new route is part of an ongoing 10-year effort to consolidate services for the county.
“If we’re going to be a region, be a county, then connect it,” he said at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Pope Park. “Don’t have pieces of the county that don’t have transportation, other pieces that do. It’s just doesn’t really make sense.”
Evans added that this route also means “people have more opportunities, whether it’s school or people with disabilities. This is just tremendous.”
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, whose district includes Hamtramck, posted the news on her Facebook page, and the overall feedback was a big thumbs up.
Sharon Rose put it succinctly, saying “It’s about time!”
Posted Oct. 17, 2026