![]() ![]() Since launch DBC has given thousands of scooters away to Detroit's kids via the PlayFreeBird project, provided hundreds of free voter rides through our Vote Rides project, and connected tens of thousands of people to Detroit's story through tours and events. DBC provides thousands of free rides to kids in Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck each year. In 2015 this program became Ride for Ride, a freestanding 501c3 non-profit. In 2013, The Detroit Bus Company launched the Youth Transit Alliance to begin providing free rides to Detroit kids in need from school to after school programs. Soon, there was a TODAY Show piece about the company, a Dark Rye documentary, and a whole host of other national media. The Detroit Bus Company grew from 1 bus to 2, to 3, up to 15 buses - all on earned revenue. They started a small charter services outfit using DBC's wildly-painted Art Buses to liven up streets wherever they go. This initial route was another terrible financial decision - but soon individuals began calling to rent Andy's buses privately for weddings, corporate events, and shuttles. Andy decided to start a route that ran a similar loop that riders could ride all day for just $5. Originally the plan was to drive the bus up and down Woodward Avenue in protest of the streetcar line that was canceled because of regional infighting. Later in 2011, Andy was frustrated with the state of public transit in Detroit and decided to buy a 1996 Ford B600 school bus. This took the duration of the summer but yielded a modest profit. In 2011, Andy got his big break when he landed the Farmer Jack equipment liquidation at the original Farmer Jack facility on Borman Avenue in Detroit. His shopmate back in the small Ferndale warehouse showed Andy how to buy and sell industrial equipment so he switched his focus to this so he could pay for the mounting utility bills at Paper Street along with his racing habit. ![]() He approached a building owner in Ferndale about leasing out his building and starting a small business incubator so other small businesses could find a place to operate. In 2010, Andy was looking for another workspace and found the options available to him lacking. As it turns out trying to make money building racecars is a horrible business - especially for a teenager. Andy started an automotive performance shop called Team Deluxe that did terribly. After the city cited Andy for fixing cars in his dad's Roseville, MI backyard he rented the corner of a very small warehouse in Ferndale to set up shop properly.Īfter the Ferndale shop he rented a small warehouse in Fraser to be the center of his business operations. He resigned from Slim's after learning a ton and set up shop for himself. He got a job shortly after at Slim's Hotrodd Garage to learn automotive repair and was ultimately a terrible employee. Andy used his busboy savings to buy 3 cars. A friend introduced Andy to car auctions where you could get a rundown Cutlass for $100. Professionally he started bussing tables at Ferlito's Family Dining for $4.30 an hour. Either way, here's an entirely unbiased account of the founder of The Crew, Andy Didorosi.Īndy is a Detroit-native born at Hutzel Hospital in downtown Detroit in 1987. You probably found your way to THE CREW via Andy's TikTok or other social media contrivance. ![]()
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