Why Should Delaware Care?
Thousands of residents in New Castle County rely on public transit for work, school, and access to essential services. Changes to several key DART routes could alter commutes, impact service to vulnerable communities, and alter how Delawareans navigate the region.
Delaware transit officials have proposed a plan to reconfigure two popular DART bus routes that cross through the New Castle area and eliminate another in its entirety.
The proposed adjustments, which DART says are part of a larger transit overhaul to get more people onto the buses, would impact routes 13, 40, 54, and 64.
The popular Route 13, which currently runs along U.S. Route 13 from New Castle to Claymont, would be refocused to the corridor north of Wilmington in a move that DART officials hope could improve the reliability of the route.
The popular Route 40, which connects Glasgow and Wilmington, would shift some trips away from Wilmington to better serve the New Castle area.
And Route 54, which connects New Castle and the Christiana Mall, could be eliminated in its entirety, with its most productive segments folded into an expanded Route 64.
“So the 54 will go away, but it’s most productive to just be a part of another route, which is 64,” DART spokesman Albert Loyola told Spotlight Delaware.
Loyola also said the proposed changes are “conceptual” and not set in stone before an upcoming public meeting on Saturday.
The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at the Bear Library, located at 101 Governors Place.
Of the four potentially impacted routes, Route 13 is most popular with almost 27 riders per trip, according to data provided by DART, the statewide transit system.
The change would mark the third phase in a broader overhaul of DART’s system, following previous rounds in November 2023 and May 2024 when schedules were tweaked and routes adjusted with “on-road” performance.
Last year, DART also removed the routes 37, 42, 44, 52 and 62 in New Castle County, and Route 120 in Kent County, due to low ridership.
Previous changes have also included seasonal route adjustments and frequency reductions tied to driver shortages and fuel costs.
Beyond changes to bus routes, Delaware’s sole commuter rail line may also be eliminated as a result of a funding crisis at Pennsylvania-based SEPTA, which operates the service, running regional rail to stops in Claymont, Wilmington, Christiana and Newark.
Such cuts would mean those stations would lose access to commuter trains to Philadelphia. The cuts would also transform Claymont’s new $90 million station into a bus stop with no access to trains, because unlike Newark and Wilmington, Amtrak does not serve Claymont.