Detroit dedicates transit center in honor of bus driver who died from COVID

The city's new transit center, located at the former Michigan State Fairground, was named Friday for a former bus driver who died from the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic.

The Jason Hargrove Transit Center is expected to open in May, Mayor Mike Duggan announced at a Friday press conference. Hargrove, 50, was a Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus driver whose video went viral after he posted about a maskless passenger coughing on him during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

In the video, Hargrove urged the public to be more considerate and respectful towards bus drivers. Ten days later, on April 1, he died from complications with the coronavirus. He left behind his wife, Desha and six children.

“When Jason died, it broke all our hearts," Duggan said during the press event. "He was doing everything right, showing up to work at the onset of a pandemic to make people could get where they needed. He was supporting his family. And he was trying to keep himself and others safe.”

"Jason was a hero to all of us, and for the next 100 years, he will be remembered by everyone who uses this beautiful new transit center," Duggan said.

Duggan's office has requested a resolution from the City Council supporting the naming. Hargrove will be in the company of Rosa Parks, the Civil Rights icon after whom the city’s only other transit center is named.

“That is how strongly Detroiters feel about Jason Hargrove,” Duggan said.

In his March 21 Facebook post, which contained obscene language, Hargrove spoke heatedly about a woman, whom he believed to be in her 50s or 60s, coughing openly on the bus without covering her mouth.

"This is real," the driver said. "Y'all need to take this serious."

During the Friday press conference, Duggan was joined by DDOT Director G. Michael Staley, members of the City Council, Desha Hargrove and their six adult children, four of whom traveled with her from Texas to be a part of the announcement. 

Later this spring, Desha and three of her children will move back to Detroit as she's been hired to work for the city’s building safety department in customer service.

“With unwavering courage and boundless compassion, he tirelessly drove each passenger through the challenges of our time," Desha Hargrove said of her late husband. "This tribute not only celebrates Jason's remarkable commitment, but also pays homage to the countless individuals who paved the way before us, echoing the resilient spirit of Rosa Parks."

“May this terminal serve as a lasting testament to the unsung heroes who propel our communities forward, carrying forward the legacy of those who came before us and those that will come after us," Desha added.

The terminal will be the centerpiece of a $31 million redevelopment of the former fairgrounds. A portion of that includes adaptive reuse of the former dairy cattle barn into the new indoor transit hub and a new public open space anchored by a restored portico of the historic State Fair Coliseum that once stood on the site. 

The outdoor space will be used for community events, host concerts and food trucks.  Developers Hillwood Investment Properties and the Sterling Group, which built the new Amazon fulfillment center at the fairgrounds, contributed $7 million toward the construction of the new transit center, according to the mayor's office.

Work started in 2022 on the 52,000-square-foot transit center to ensure buses will be able to pull in and out of the building.

 The new transit center will serve both Detroit Department of Transportation, SMART and those using rideshare, MoGo bikes and scooters.

srahal@detroitnews.com

X: @SarahRahal_