After receiving rider feedback at several outdoor Community Conversations and a virtual Public Hearing Workshop, DART has approved service and fare changes to become effective February 14, 2021. See below for service highlights by County and statewide fare information. For specific route changes and more details, please visit DartFirstState.com.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY
Starting in February 2021, DART bus service will be impacted in New Castle County by DelDOT’s I-95 Rehabilitation Construction project, “Restore the Corridor”. The project begins from the I-495 split south of Wilmington to north of the Brandywine River Bridge. Some routes will be redirected away from I-95 to/from Wilmington to help with anticipated delays in travel time. In addition, some routes will be combined to be more efficient and offer one-seat rides, some routes will have trips with low ridership discontinued where warranted. Schedule times on some routes will be adjusted to improve on-time performance and connections.
Highlights include:
• Re-routing buses away from I-95 to/from Wilmington
• Route 33 will enter Wilmington via I-495 and US 13
• Route 40 will travel via US 13, instead of serving Christiana Mall to I-95
• Routes 54 & 55 will discontinue service between Christiana Mall and Wilmington
• Route Combinations
• Routes 10 & 34 – NEW Route 10
• Routes 12 & 25 – NEW Route 25
• Discontinued Service
• Routes 16, 45, 48
• Trip Reductions on Routes 4, 8, 18, 20, 31, 35, 52
• Service Extensions
• Route 28 – portions of Routes 14, 48
• Route 42 – to DE 896 & DE 4 Park & Ride
• Route 44 – to Delaware City
• Route 47X – to Wrangle Hill Park & Ride
• Route 63 – to Middletown Walmart in both directions
• Route 64 – to Christiana Mall and DE 7; new weekend service
• Route 301 – to Boyd’s Corner Park & Ride
• Other Changes
• Route 5 – to/from Wilmington Transit Center via 4th St.
• Route 11 – reduced rush-hour trips; increased mid-day trips, short-turn at Matson Run
• Route 14 – All trips will serve the Dunleith community in both directions to/from DHSS or Baylor. Service to Cherry Lane, Probation & Parole, Riveredge Industrial Park and Steel Drive will be served by Route 28.
• New Bus lane on portions of northbound US 13 approaching Wilmington
• Holiday Service will be offered on Routes 2, 4, 5, 6, 13, 15, 33 and 40 operating a Sunday schedule and Route 47 operating its Saturday schedule on Memorial Day, July 5 and Labor Day, with Paratransit operating complimentary ADA-only service. Regular Sunday service operates on Independence Day, Sunday, July 4.
KENT COUNTY
• Routes 104, 109 and 117 – Minor schedule adjustments will be made.
SUSSEX COUNTY
• Schedule times will be adjusted to improve on-time performance and connections.
INTERCOUNTY
• Schedule times will be adjusted to improve on-time performance and connections.
• Route 301 – Route will serve Boyd’s Corner Park & Ride to accommodate Route 45 riders. Select weekday and all Saturday trips will continue to serve Christiana Mall.
BEACH BUS
• DART’s daily Beach Bus service will operate from Monday, May 24 through September 12, 2021. Route 305-Beach Connection will operate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from May 29 to September 6, including Monday, July 5.
FARE UPDATES Effective February 14, 2021
ZONE REDUCTION – Fare Zones have been reduced from 7 to 3 zones. The new boundary for each fare zone is the county line. For local routes that travel within Smyrna and Milford, and cross over the county line by a short distance, a one zone fare is charged.
PRICE REDUCTION FOR PASSES
• Daily Pass – from $4.20 to $4.00 (1 Zone); from $8.40 to $8.00 (2 Zone); from $12.60 to $10.00 (3 Zone for Route 305 only)
7-Day Pass – from $18.00 (1 Zone)/$24.00 (2 Zone) to $16.00 (per County)
30-Day Pass – from $65.00 (1 Zone)/$96.00 (2 Zone) to $60.00 (per County)
In general, frequent riders may benefit from a Daily, 7 or 30-Day Pass (depending on trips/day and days/week); infrequent riders may benefit from 20-Ride Ticket. Buy a Daily Pass if you are taking three or more trips in one day (Daily Pass same price as two one-way fares); buy a 7-Day Pass if taking more than 8 trips in 7 days; buy a 30-Day Pass if taking more than 30 trips in 30 days
INTRODUCTION OF 20-RIDE TICKET – $26.00/zone (35% discount); available on DART Pass mobile app only
INTRODUCTION OF A STUDENT FARE – $1.00/zone; cash only
Student defined as a passenger above 46″ in height and enrolled in primary, secondary, private, parochial, charter, trade, college, community college, university or home-schooled full time or part time (children 46” in height or under ride free with a fare-paying adult). Student ID is required for 17 years and older.
AGENCY 2-RIDE (A1- Qty. 25) – price will increase from $38.89 to $40, not $50 as originally proposed.
DISCONTINUATION OF DARTCARDS – Sales end February 15, 2021; cards accepted through August 15, 2021.
ROUTE-SPECIFIC FARES -.
Routes 61 and 62 – $1.00 (connectors from SEPTA Train to employment centers)
Route 64 – $2.00 (original shuttle route has expanded to full route)
SEPTA KEY CARD – Discontinued acceptance of SEPTA Key Card was effective January 1, 2021.
DART passes can be purchased on DART Pass mobile app, online at DartFirstState.com, by phone at 1-800-652-DART, by mail – DTC Individual Sale Orders, P.O. Box 1670, Wilmington, DE 19899-1670, and at sales outlets throughout the State. For locations, call 1-800-652-DART or visit DartFirstState.com.
Source: DART