When I first started riding the bus, once I figured out which bus route I needed to use to get where I was going, I then needed to know at which stops I should get on and off. That was a little tricky, and still is. DART's paper bus schedules only show a few of the available stops along the way. More complete planning tools are often needed. The best I've discovered are:
DART's spreadsheet-format listing of all bus stops in Delaware
You can get to this downloadable table from the page on DART's website where you access bus schedules. If you use these tables, you'll notice that the far left column is for the route number, starting with Route 1. All the OUT (outbound) stops for a given route are listed first, then all the IN (inbound) stops for the same route. (In case you didn't know, "outbound" means the route going away from Rodney Square or other transit hub, "inbound" means heading towards the hub.)
This list is NOT smartphone-friendly, and is hard to read even on a laptop computer. Stop locations are not always specific or clear, either. But it is up-to-date and includes all current stops. If you print it out, keep in mind that it may change twice a year, whenever the new service changes are rolled out.
Google Maps with the transit overlay, or Google Transit
These Google maps are much more usable than either DART's paper bus schedules, or the tables referred to above. Under the option "Get Directions," Google lets you list your departure and destination addresses, click on the "transit" icon, and then get directions for one or more alternative bus or train routes. The directions include bus route information, and show how far you need to walk (or take a taxi) to your destination address. You can even plug in desired departure or arrival times, and get some idea of when you need to get to the bus stop or train station, and when you will arrive. Very, very quick and helpful.
The local Google map will show little blue bus stop icons ONLY IF you have the transit overlay option selected. Keep in mind also that stops are only shown when you have zoomed to a fairly large scale version of the map. However, Google's maps, including the transit overlay, seem to work really well on almost all smartphones, tablets, and computers. I can even use this on my old Blackberry. Works perfectly, if not at lightning speed!
Be aware, however, that Google's data for stop locations and schedule times may not be totally complete nor up-to-date. Especially after a service change, you might want to double-check stops and especially times. In the past, I've noted a few stops that were not shown on my phone's Google map. (These were of course included on DART's bus stop table.)
Another thing to be careful of is Google's assumption that buses run approximately on schedule. We DART passengers know differently, don't we? Realistically, the Google transit directions often need to be tweaked to allow enough time at transfer points. My experience has been that it I need to allow at least 15 minutes for a transfer at Rodney Square. Even so, I'll still sometimes miss my transfer, due to tardy arrivals and (even more annoyingly) ahead-of-schedule departures by a some drivers.
Dart Drivers
Some of the best sources of information about routes and bus stops are the DART drivers. I've never failed to get reliable information from drivers. However, they may not necessarily know the locations of destinations or landmarks that you use to determine the best bus stop to get off. So I like to do my own homework beforehand.
DART's spreadsheet-format listing of all bus stops in Delaware
You can get to this downloadable table from the page on DART's website where you access bus schedules. If you use these tables, you'll notice that the far left column is for the route number, starting with Route 1. All the OUT (outbound) stops for a given route are listed first, then all the IN (inbound) stops for the same route. (In case you didn't know, "outbound" means the route going away from Rodney Square or other transit hub, "inbound" means heading towards the hub.)
This list is NOT smartphone-friendly, and is hard to read even on a laptop computer. Stop locations are not always specific or clear, either. But it is up-to-date and includes all current stops. If you print it out, keep in mind that it may change twice a year, whenever the new service changes are rolled out.
Google Maps with the transit overlay, or Google Transit
These Google maps are much more usable than either DART's paper bus schedules, or the tables referred to above. Under the option "Get Directions," Google lets you list your departure and destination addresses, click on the "transit" icon, and then get directions for one or more alternative bus or train routes. The directions include bus route information, and show how far you need to walk (or take a taxi) to your destination address. You can even plug in desired departure or arrival times, and get some idea of when you need to get to the bus stop or train station, and when you will arrive. Very, very quick and helpful.
The local Google map will show little blue bus stop icons ONLY IF you have the transit overlay option selected. Keep in mind also that stops are only shown when you have zoomed to a fairly large scale version of the map. However, Google's maps, including the transit overlay, seem to work really well on almost all smartphones, tablets, and computers. I can even use this on my old Blackberry. Works perfectly, if not at lightning speed!
Be aware, however, that Google's data for stop locations and schedule times may not be totally complete nor up-to-date. Especially after a service change, you might want to double-check stops and especially times. In the past, I've noted a few stops that were not shown on my phone's Google map. (These were of course included on DART's bus stop table.)
Another thing to be careful of is Google's assumption that buses run approximately on schedule. We DART passengers know differently, don't we? Realistically, the Google transit directions often need to be tweaked to allow enough time at transfer points. My experience has been that it I need to allow at least 15 minutes for a transfer at Rodney Square. Even so, I'll still sometimes miss my transfer, due to tardy arrivals and (even more annoyingly) ahead-of-schedule departures by a some drivers.
Dart Drivers
Some of the best sources of information about routes and bus stops are the DART drivers. I've never failed to get reliable information from drivers. However, they may not necessarily know the locations of destinations or landmarks that you use to determine the best bus stop to get off. So I like to do my own homework beforehand.
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