Pontiac, MI (PNT)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$646,040

Station Ridership

FY 2011

16,066

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Located on the southern edge of downtown, the Pontiac Transit Center (PTC) accommodates Amtrak and Greyhound passengers. In addition, SMART buses serving the greater Detroit metropolitan area make frequent stops on nearby Woodward Avenue.

The PTC was formally dedicated at a ribbon cutting ceremony held on August 8, 2011. Complete funding for the $1.4 million project was made available through the Michigan Comprehensive Transportation Fund, which grants money to public transit agencies for capital projects and operating assistance. City leaders envision the PTC as the centerpiece of a proposed transportation-oriented development that will contain commercial, residential, and office space in the heart of downtown.

The old Pontiac Transportation Center was completed in 1983, but was demolished in 2008 after the discovery of structural problems that dated to construction. Composed of simple, interconnected volumes, the building featured a scored concrete base, an upper story faced in brown brick veneer, and a distinctive angular roof. The new one-story red brick PTC is a marked improvement, and features a bright and spacious waiting room with wrap-around windows, as well as restrooms and a space for train crews to gather when starting or ending their shifts. Canopies at the entrance and along the platform protect passengers from inclement weather while they wait outside for the arrival of the train. The rehabilitated parking lot includes a pick-up and drop-off area with bright security lighting, while ornamental trees and shrubbery around the station create a welcoming landscape.

Situated northwest of Detroit, Pontiac was permanently settled by European-Americans in 1818 and named for Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa leader romanticized during the 19th century for his role in a rebellion against the British military. He and his fighters laid siege to Fort Detroit in 1763, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

The town holds a special place in Michigan rail history as one of the original endpoints of the Pontiac and Detroit Railway Company, which in 1830 was the very first railroad to be chartered in the state. This route was proposed because it would connect growing Detroit with a rich agricultural region to the north noted for its flour mills. When the line finally opened in 1843, the early locomotives only traveled at an average speed of fifteen miles per hour, but this was considered a tremendous improvement over the poorly maintained regional road network. Toward the end of the century, Pontiac became an important stop on the Grand Trunk Railway that linked southern Canada with Chicago and the upper Midwest.

Although within the orbit of more populous and expanding Detroit, Pontiac boasted important woolen and grist mills located along the Clinton River. By the turn of the 20th century, Detroit and its surrounding towns became the center of the burgeoning automobile industry, and General Motors located a facility in Pontiac. Today the city promotes its rich automobile history during the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event that celebrates the era of hot-rodding from the 1950s and 1960s.

Pontiac is served three times a day by the Wolverine service to Chicago via Detroit.