Why Should Delaware Care?
Thousands of Delawareans rely on public transit for work, school and access to essential services. Service changes to DART bus routes follow a national trend of reduced public transit service in the post-pandemic era.
Delaware’s transit agency, DART, pared back or altogether eliminated service on 15 bus routes as part of its latest round of annual service changes that went into effect last week.
The cuts followed drastic changes implemented a year ago when DART eliminated five routes in New Castle County, and one in Kent County, citing low ridership.
The two years of changes reflect a national trend of public transit agencies reducing service in response to rising costs, pandemic-era funding running out, and ridership remaining below its pre-2020 levels.
In 2023, DART carried 6.3 million passenger trips system-wide, compared to 7.2 million in 2019.
DART Chief Customer Experience Officer Albert Loyola said the agency’s budget has remained stable, but expenses such as operator salaries and fuel costs have gone up. And that means some service had to be cut, he said.
In all, DART’s latest cuts included the elimination of two routes, Saturday service cuts for three routes and reduced weeknight service for over a dozen routes.
“We don’t make that decision easily,” he said. “If we had the resources to keep providing the service, we would.”
John Flaherty, a transit activist and Delaware Coalition for Open Government board member, said he is worried the service cuts could lead to a transit “death spiral.” The phenomenon occurs when service cuts lead to less ridership, which causes more cuts, leading to less ridership, and so on.
Flaherty said DART will have to become more convenient and reliable in order for more people to use it.
“I think the state has taken the wrong track,” he said.
While cuts accounted for most of the service changes this month, DART did also add Sunday trips to eight routes.
Loyola also said DART plans to add a new direct route between Seaford and Dover in the next few years. And the agency will add additional stops to route 307, which provides direct service between Milton and Lewes.
Loyola emphasized that DART solicits public comment before every service change, which happens at least twice a year. He said people affected by service cuts can contact the DART office for help finding alternative public transit routes.
The impact of service cuts
In mid-November, two employees of Nemours Children’s Hospital boarded the Line 28 bus following their Saturday shift for one last time. The following day, DART’s cuts went into effect.
One was Jonmiera Douglas, a housekeeper who only works on weekends. The Line 28 bus was one of only a few public transit options to get to her job. Another bus she could take would require an over 20-minute walk each way.
She said she now has to ask her boss if she can work on weekdays instead, and she is not sure she will be able to get enough hours.
Douglas said she didn’t understand why DART would cut the line’s weekend service.
“People need this bus,” she said.
Douglas said she did not know there was an opportunity for public comment before DART finalized the schedule changes.
Another worker on the bus who did not want to be named said from now on, he plans to take an Uber or Lyft to work on Saturdays, which will cost him between $20 and $25 per ride.
Those workers were the only two people on the Line 28 bus that left from the hospital at 4:11 p.m. that Saturday.
Wilmington resident Pedro Zaragoza said he is still struggling after the elimination of the 52 line last November.
“Many people used it, and now they can’t get to work,” Zaragoza said, in Spanish.
Zaragoza used to ride the Line 52 bus to get to his job at the Wilmington Country Club. Now, for his weekday shifts, he has to take the bus to the end of Line 20 then walk for 40 minutes to get to work.
In the latest service changes, DART discontinued weekday service after 6 p.m. for Line 20, further complicating his commute.
On weekends, Zaragoza said there is no way to get to work via public transit. He instead has to pay for a ride-share service.
Zaragoza said he was not aware of the opportunity for public comment, either.
