DETROIT (WXYZ) — There's a new ride in town that will go between downtown Detroit and Detroit metro airport for $8 or $6 if you book online, which is the preferred method if you want to secure yourself a seat. Seniors and children can take the ride for just $4.
Members of the Gladstone family tried Detroit Airport Xpress, also known as DAX, when it launched Monday.
"We checked the parking lots at the airport and a lot of them were full," Carl Gladstone said. "And we knew that this was starting today, so we knew we had another option."
The family headed to the airport Monday to catch a flight and found DAX much easier than driving to the airport and parking in a lot there.
More from the Gladstone family in the video below:
"It's definitely cheaper than Lyfting all the way to the airport. So, that's one thing I was looking forward to — saving some money," Anna Gladstone added.
DAX is starting just in time to get people accustomed to it before the NFL Draft next month. And while it's starting off as a 12- to 18-month pilot program, it could become a permanent service as the Regional Transit Authority monitors its progress and ridership numbers.
VIDEO: Inside the Detroit Air Xpress:
DAX will make 16 round trips per day between 3:30 a.m. and 11 p.m., 365 days a year, including holidays.
Corri Wofford, RTA director of external affairs, expects frequent riders to take advantage of their passbooks to cut the cost of each trip.
"If you're coming into Detroit often, perhaps for work or if you work at the airport, if you're a concessionaire and you travel frequently to the airport, there's an opportunity to purchase multiple passes, which boils down to about $2 per pass," Wofford said. "It's just a great alternative for those that are commuting in and out of the airport on a daily basis."
VIDEO: Press conference with Regional Transit Authority Southeast Michigan
Check out the video above to go on board DAX and hear what first-time riders of the new service had to say about it.
For more information about DAX or to book a seat, click here to go to dax-bus.com.
