Another example of DART buses taking up space at Rodney Square, no route signage, creating confusion and causing other buses to have to unload passengers out in the street, while blocking traffic lanes.

I got to Rodney Square a little early, about 8:05 a.m. or so, and there were these two buses lined up on King St. almost to 10th St. Drivers missing, doors closed, no route signage. This bus with the Horizon ad finally turned on its route 19 signage, opened up for business and pulled out about 8:15.

Meanwhile, buses were pulling in behind these guys to load passengers, and were lined up all the way down the block to 11th St. Other buses were stopping in the traffic lane to unload passengers, because there was no place for them to park. As they did so, they were of course blocking traffic. If anyone wants to know why the rush hour traffic at Rodney Square is such a mess, this is a primary reason. There aren't really too many buses. But there are some drivers who pull in way too early and take up needed  curb space for to long a time. Often they leave their buses unattended while they go get coffee or whatever. They disrupt the flow of traffic in the parking lane and in the adjacent traffic lane.

 This is the bus, No 530,  that was parked on King at the corner of King and 10th St. when I arrived. When I left on the 33, over 10 minutes later, it was still there, with no driver, no route signage.

These layovers should not be permitted, especially during busy times. Surely there is somewhere else these buses could park temporarily. This is both a planning and a supervision problem, I suspect. Surely there is a solution that doesn't involve massive traffic tie-ups and lack of parking for buses trying to pull in to drop off and pick up passengers. Not to mention snarling traffic in adjacent lanes.

Complaints

Well, I e-mailed my complaint to DART yesterday, regarding the issue I posted about yesterday. I've recently seen drivers pulling out from Rodney Square before the scheduled departure time. I soon got a robo-email back saying they had received it. I don't submit complaints frequently, but in the past I've sometimes gotten a second follow-up e-mail telling me that they had forwarded my complaint on to a supervisor. Other times, I've never heard anything further.

You, too, can e-mail in comments, compliments, or complaints HERE. (form shown to the left.) Unfortunately, their form seems to work only on a computer. I tried once to send a comment on my Blackberry and was unable to get it to go through, although I send e-mail on my phone all the time. Oh, well, another issue for my DART wish list. If anyone else has had better luck e-mailing DART on another type of smartphone, I'd be interested in hearing it about it in the comments.

I think DART's response may depend on the type of complaint. I think I've gotten follow-ups mainly on very specific complaints, ones that include date, time, location, bus or route number. Once I even got an answer, telling me that no, I did not need to stand out in the street in order to be picked up by the route 6 bus. A driver had told me that, one Saturday morning when she flew by the stop well above the 25 mph posted speed limit and overshot the stop by half a block. She said the parked cars blocked her vision and so I should stand "way out," presumably so she didn't have to slow down. Per DART's response to my e-mailed complaint, passengers are not supposed to stand in the street at all.

I talk to a lot of other riders, and most of them have things to complain about re DART's service. But most never complain at all. If they do, it's mostly to make a frustrated phone call when a bus does not show up. Clearly there is not a lot of supervision of drivers. I think if more riders would send in specific complaints for the more egregious stuff (not every little thing), DART would be better able to sort out the bad behavior. And I think an e-mailed complaint, or even a letter, is the best way to go. A paper trail (even an electronic one) then exists, which would look very bad if the referenced situation really went south. Nobody wants that, so my guess is that action may more likely be taken for e-mail or letters.

The great majority of DART drivers are wonderful. We need to be sending in complements, too. It's just the minority of drivers who are idiots and make things bad for everybody. I wish they could all be like the wonderful, professional guys who drive route 54 in the mornings. They are so good. Over and over, I've seen them go above and beyond to help their passengers. Including me, over a year ago when I lost my cellphone on the bus... and thanks to one of these drivers got it back right away.

Route 19 Bus Leaving Rodney Square Early in p.m.

Some DART drivers just don't seem to grasp the goal of their work. One of these is driving a route 19 bus in the evenings. My schedule has changed, and on Mondays and Wednesdays I'm now taking a later route 40 bus and thus arriving later at Rodney Square in the evenings. If the 40 is on time (not a given by any means!) I will be able to catch the route 19 bus which, according to the schedule, leaves Rodney square at 5:55 p.m.

Well, I have missed the 19 a couple times now, due to the chronic lateness of the 40. But last Monday we got in earlier and I was very happy to see the route 19 bus waiting up the block on King St. I boarded and got out my reading... I was rather early. I was surprised when the bus pulled out at 5:50! That's a full 5 minutes early! No wonder I'd been missing it when the 40 was late.

On Wednesday I again was able to board the 19 early, noted the same driver, who again pulled out early, at 5:52, three minutes early. Of course I checked my watch in both cases against my Blackberry, to be sure I was time-correct... and I was.

This tendency of some drivers to pull out early from Rodney Square, a few minutes before the scheduled departure time, is very unprofessional. In this case it's particularly obnoxious because the 5:55 route 19 is the last run of the day for this bus. Riders who get to Rodney Square on time, but miss the bus because it has left early, may have real difficulty getting home, depending where they live.

I don't know why drivers do this... it's so improper and so easily documented. Maybe this guy wants to get off work a few minutes early by cutting corners. He is otherwise very mannerly in behavior, but clearly he doesn't give a rip about his passengers.

I think all drivers should be forced to try to get around for a month or so using only the buses. Then they might develop a feeling for how discouraging it is, after a long day of work, to miss your connection and have to wait another half hour or hour for a bus, just because a driver decided to pull out a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Bus Layover Disrupting Flow at Rodney Square

I took this photo this morning about 8:20. This is something that really gripes me, and I cannot understand why supervisors allow it. This bus was already parked at Rodney Square, along King Street, when I arrived about 8:10 or so. It was NOT pulled up to the corner, as you can see. As the 8:15 buses kept arriving, taking on passengers, and then departing, this bus was taking up space needed by other buses. A little after 8:20 it finally took off. It was not taking passengers, or getting ready to take on passengers. It was just laying over. 

I see buses do this regularly. They pull up, drop their passengers, and then the driver locks up, gets out and goes to get a cup of coffee or whatever, leaving his bus right in the middle of the block. Arriving buses are supposed to pull up behind each other, but with a bus parked smack dab in the middle of the block, not pulling up because there is no driver in it to do so, you have a logistical mess. Some arriving buses will, if there is no room at the back of the line, drive up and park ahead of the layover bus. This is very confusing and difficult for passengers, who don't know where to stand! If they stand down at King and 11th, where some buses are arriving, they may not be able to get up to the far corner, at King and 10th, if the bus they are waiting for jumps to the head. For passengers with disabilities or poor vision, it is even more difficult. If there is a large crowd on the sidewalk, it can be difficult to make it from one end of the block to the other in time to catch your bus.

All this mess caused because one driver decided to "lay over" and temporarily abandon his bus. This just should not be allowed. 

Who's Adopting the Bus Shelters?

Almost nobody is signing up to adopt shelters, it looks like. DART recently initiated an adopt-a-shelter program. Individuals, organizations, or businesses are encouraged to "adopt" one of the roughly 277 bus shelters here in Delaware. DART says these volunteers will...

help maintain bus shelters throughout the State. DART believes that these partnerships will result in more attractive and cleaner shelter environments for its customers while also reducing the number of incidents and associated costs of vandalism. It is also an opportunity for individuals and/or groups to be publicly recognized for their contribution to the community. DART will publicly recognize shelter adopters with a plaque at the shelter, in media releases, recognition on DART's popular web site, and with a framed wall certificate.

The program was announced well over a month ago. DART maintains a list of shelters available for adoption. It is dated July 1, 2011, and it shows only four shelters to have been adopted in New Castle County.

1. Hockessin Goodyear has adopted the shelter at Lancaster Pike and Yorklyn Road.
2. Tower Hill School has adopted a shelter at Pennsylvania Avenue and Rising Sun Lane.
3. Joan and Jim Hicks have adopted a shelter at Foulk Road and Fairfax Boulevard
4. Canaan Baptist Church has adopted the shelter at their location on Route 9 in Wilmington.

Hopefully there have been additional adoptions that are not yet shown.

Many of the shelters I have used are in terrible shape. There clearly is vandalism involved, but DART seems not to repair even long-standing damage. For example, I've used a shelter located near the intersection of Routes 7 and 40 in Bear.  Almost all the plastic panels are missing and have been for at least two years. There is nowhere else close by to get out of the rain, so when a gusty downpour starts, you and all your stuff just get soaked. A number of passengers and I ended up dripping, soaked to the skin, in a summer thunderstorm at that location one afternoon last summer. It was one of those sudden storms where the heavy rain is blown horizontally. Our umbrellas did not even help. Had all the panels been in place, we could have sheltered downwind, but the one remaining panel wasn't nearlybig enough for all of us.

This same stop is in a very dark area, with the nearest streetlight too far away to light the shelter. It is kind of scary at night. There is no shelter lighting at all here, although this stop serves busy Route 40 and is fairly high-volume. A shelter serving route 54 in a nearby neighborhood does seem to have lighting, although this other shelter is much less used.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which shelters DART keeps in good shape and provides lighting for. But it's really a scandal how damaged some of the shelters have become, with no repairs for years and years. Other shelters seem to remain well-cared for.

I applaud the public adoption program, and especially those few who  have stepped up to volunteer.

If you're interested, according to the agreement that volunteers must sign, participants will be expected to do a weekly pick-up of trash, cleaning of the shelters, and removal of snow. DART says it will power wash the shelter "on an as needed basis." At the volunteer's request, DART will perform graffiti removal, removal of overgrown grass, and shelter repairs. Volunteers should report "concerns about snow removal," vandalism, disturbances, safety issues, and rider articles left at the shelter.  They should report to law enforcement any suspicious packages, drug paraphernalia, and illegal looking items. Participants will be given reflective vests and trash bags. DART says it will consider contracting security and/or maintenance services upon participant request. Let's hope more businesses and organizations sign up for this program. However, in the meanwhile DART is responsible for this stuff, and in some places the shelters are an absolute disgrace.

Another Reason Your Bus Might Be Late...

This video was recently posted on YouTube. It shows a route 203 DART bus filling up on diesel one evening... at an Exxon station! The footage was taken down in the Rehoboth Beach area, but the date is not specified.

This is pretty funny, and there is probably a good reason for it. But it doesn't look good, does it? One wonders what the real story might be.

For the record, I've never heard of buses filling up at gas stations here in New Castle County! So our bus was probably not late last night because it had to stop for a fill-up.

Where Are the Schedules?

Well, it was back to work for me yesterday morning. You know that service change that went into effect a couple of weeks ago? And the new schedules corresponding to that service change? Well, I've ridden on quite a few buses since then, and only once have I even seen a few schedules available. And those were for a different route than the bus I was on!

I have scored some schedules at two different libraries (Bear and Woodlawn). In both cases, however, the library racks were out of schedules for the route/routes that serve the immediate area of that library!

DART schedule distribution seems so hit-or-miss! I'm lucky because I have easy access to the internet and a printer, and can just pull up and print any schedule i need. For those without the equipment and/or skills, what are they supposed to do?

When I lived in Southern California, you could go to any drug store or book store and buy a little paperback book that contained maps and current schedules for ALL routes. You could tuck the book into your bag and go, knowing you had schedules for wherever the day would take you. They cost a few dollars and had a fold-out map pasted in the back, showing all routes.

It's gotten expensive to produce books, and perhaps the cost would now be prohibitive. But how about this. Bus schedules that are mobile-friendly. (Hint to DART - pdf files are NOT mobile friendly.) How about Google Map overlays that show bus routes... to scale, on REAL maps instead of the current not-to-scale crappy maps you can barely read, and then only if you already know the area and the referenced landmarks? I have taken classes on MAKING maps, and I can just barely figure out the current DART route maps. Google Map overlays would be a huge help.