DART plans to discontinue 6 bus routes this November. Here's how to submit public comment

DART , Delaware’s statewide multi-modal transit system, will be enacting some major changes in its route frequency and availability in the coming months, and the public comment period is nearly over.

As part of its DART Reimagined plan, published in March, a number of bus routes will either be discontinued or undergo frequency changes effective Nov. 17 of this year.

Public hearings have been held over the past month, but there is still time to make your voice heard on the changes.

Here’s what to know about the upcoming changes and how to submit public comments on the plans.

DART Reimagined

DART Reimagined has been in the works for the past year, during which the transportation company reevaluated their service as Delaware’s population and transportation patterns have changed.

According to the final report , the state has seen fewer 9-to-5 commuters, which indicated to DART that offering numerous commute-oriented schedules may not be as necessary today as it was in pre-pandemic days.

Among some of the challenges that DART has seen since its last assessment is that its resources are spread too thin and fixed bus routes are no longer optimized to meet the needs of Delaware bus passengers.

The new plan of action will be implemented in three phases spread between now and at least 2028. Phase 1 is the first batch of discontinuations and route changes that are scheduled to be enacted this November.

The plan’s Phase 2, which will take place between 2025 and 2026, will expand on the discontinuations in New Castle County, specifically routes 14, 44, 53 and 54. Phase 3 will begin implementing DART’s new “microtransit” services that will make up for some of the route losses seen.

With these changes in play, the cost of DART’s fleet by the end of the plan’s implementation will be an estimated $50 million less than 2023’s cost of $150.3 million.

In May, service changes were announced that added service to places like Christiana Hospital and the Amazon warehouse in Middletown.

Last month, DART released its summary of proposed changes for Phase 1 of the three-phase plan. These changes included the proposed removal of five routes in New Castle County and one in Kent County, reportedly due to low ridership.

The summary of proposed changes can be viewed online at www.dartfirststate.com , at the reception desks of the DART Administrative Offices in Wilmington and Dover; the Lewes Transit Center; and the public libraries in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown.

Open houses and public comment sessions were held Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 7 and 8.

What DART changes are coming?

Here is a summary of the proposed route changes coming to DART this fall.

A number of the routes up for discontinuation also would cause a difference for paratransit riders. Some routes would shift to a “demand response trip,” which would respond to specific calls from paratransit passengers and would result in higher fares effective May 2025.

New Castle County

Canceled routes:

• Route 37; alternative use of Route 46 will be available, which will extend to Middletown on Saturdays
• Route 42; alternative services available on Routes 33 and 40
• Route 44
• Route 52
• Route 62

Frequency changes:

• Route 10: This route is proposed to be rerouted to serve Basin Road and South DuPont Highway between Reads Way and Wilmington in both directions; no longer operating on I-95, I-495, Maryland Avenue or MLK Boulevard.
• Route 13: The majority of trips serving Bellefonte would no longer deviate into the community and would instead stay on Philadelphia Pike. Ten weekday trips would continue to serve Bellefonte from Claymont to Wilton and 11 trips from Wilton to Claymont. Seven trips on Saturdays and four trips on Sundays would be available in each direction. All other trips would remain on Philadelphia Pike.
• Route 15: Two weekday trips to the Creekwood facility would be added between 2 and 4 p.m.
• Route 20: Service would be reduced to two round trips in the morning and two round trips in the evening rush hours.
• Route 46: Saturday service would be extended to the Amazon Warehouse in Middletown and the Odessa Park & Ride for select trips.
• Route 64: Weekday and Saturday services would be extended to Christiana Hospital and Fairplay Station.

Kent County

Canceled routes:

• Route 120 would be discontinued due to low ridership. Its resources will be merged with Route 302, which will serve all Route 120 bus stops. Weekday service on Route 302 would be improved to every 55 minutes, and a new limited Saturday service will be introduced.

Frequency changes:

• Route 101: Weekday service after 6 p.m. would be discontinued. Saturday service would end at the Greentree Shopping Center and the Dover High School would no longer be served.
• Route 105: Weekday service after 6 a.m. and Saturday services would be discontinued.
• Route 108: Saturday service would be discontinued.
• Route 210: Service after 6 p.m. would be discontinued.

Sussex County

Frequency changes:

• Route 212: On-site service to the Georgetown Professional Park would be discontinued.
• Route 215: Service after 9:30 p.m. would be discontinued.
• Route 301: Service to Boyd’s Corner would be reduced to eight trips traveling toward Wilmington and nine trips traveling toward Dover.
• Route 302: Service would be rerouted through Middletown to serve Broad Street via Catherine and Green Streets. Weekday service would be improved to every 55 minutes and a new Saturday service would be introduced.

Community backlash over DART route discontinuations

One of the proposed changes that has received the most backlash is the cancellation of Route 52, which runs down Kennett Pike and serves the Greenville and Centreville areas. The route makes direct and indirect stops to areas like Winterthur Museum and Garden, A.I. du Pont Middle School, the Red Clay Adult Learning Center, the County House retirement home, the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science and dozens of other small businesses.

Kellie Tetrick, principal of the Red Clay Adult Learning Center, and Ron Robinson, site coordinator for the school, found out that Route 52 was being discontinued through word of mouth. Knowing that the demographic of their students is primarily low-income minority individuals who do not have access to a car, they decided to poll their students on how many rely on the particular bus route.

Their survey revealed that 67% of their current and future students replied that they would definitely or likely be relying on DART’s Route 52 to get to school.

“Education is a very important opportunity for all students, and I don’t think that any barrier should ever be placed to make it more difficult for someone that’s trying to better themselves,” Robinson said. “We should always be trying to accommodate the needs of students and employees who are trying to improve their quality of life.”

Employees from Winterthur Museum and Garden joined Tetrick, Robinson, a handful of students from the Red Clay Adult Learning Center and other business leaders in the area and attended a public meeting on Aug. 8 to express their concerns with this particular route cancellation.

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“For Winterthur, as an institution that tries to make itself available to the community, this is very disappointing,” said Jason Brudereck, communications manager at Winterthur. “For our employees and students who take the bus, this is more than just an inconvenience, it is a significant disruption.”

Julie Theyerl, chief customer experience officer at DART, explained DART’s reasoning for cutting this route from its catalog.

“It is never easy to make the recommendation to discontinue a transit route,” Theyerl said. “But it is out responsibility to maximize our resources to serve Delawareans as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Theyerl showed that the average ridership per trip on Route 52 is less than five people and that plans are in motion to implement other routes to cover Route 52’s ground, including Routes 10 and 20, which cover roughly half of the current Route 52.

DART’s public comment period will be open until Friday, Aug. 16. Until then, nothing is set in stone, Theyerl said.

“Delaware Transit Corporation will be reviewing all comments submitted prior to making a final decision on the entire proposal, including Route 52,” Theyerl said.

How to submit public comments

Public comments must be received by Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. There are three ways to submit comments.

DART’s customer relations office receives public comments via phone at 800-652-3278, using option 2 to voice complaints.

Comments can be submitted via email at DOTDTCWeb@delaware.gov or mail at DART Public Hearing, 119 Lower Beech St., Wilmington, DE 19805-4440.

Written concerns and complaints can also be submitted online at www.dartfirststate.com .

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com . Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety .

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: DART plans to discontinue 6 bus routes this November. Here's how to submit public comment