DART Resort Transit Has Another Year Of High Ridership and Park & Ride Usage

Wilmington -- DART First State announced on September 28th that the ridership for the 2011 Resort Transit bus service was the second best year on record, with a total of 377,794 passenger trips and 34,121 vehicles parked at the Park & Ride lot on Shuttle Road. This successful season, which ran from May 26th to September 18th proves that the public will embrace riding public transit when the service specifically meets their traveling and budget needs. Even with the challenges from Mother Nature, an earthquake, the evacuation of the beach area due to Hurricane Irene, a tornado and tropical storm Lee, the 2011 ridership was down just 4% compared to the 2010 record breaking season.

There are many reasons for the repeeat success this year. There was the domineering marketing media program, an economic climate where people stayed closer to home to vacation, the new Resort Transit buses, millions of hits on the Ride DART at the Beach web site, and the consumer friendly bus schedules. All of these factors played an important part in making the 2011 Resort Transit season a success.

The DART Park & Ride at Rehoboth Beach saw 12.79% more cars parked over last year. This made a total of 34,121 vehicles for the season versus 30,253 last year during the same time. A majority of the increase was due to a continued partnership between DART First State and the City of Rehoboth. Use of the Discounted Employee Parking Program at the Park & Ride increased by 18% over last year.

Resort Transit Bus Route 201, serving the Rehoboth Boardwalk, was by far the most popular Route in the Rehoboth area. This season DART transported 254,724 passengers on this route.

DART Route 305, Beach Connection, provided weekend and holiday service between Wilmington and Rehoboth from May 27th to September 5th. This route experienced another good season by transporting 4,688 passengers, which was just 0.59% less than last year.

During the 2011 season, Resort Transit transported 5,055 bikes, which is a 14.7% increase over 2010. In addition, passengers who use wheelchairs increased by 44.72% from the previous season.

In the summer, Resort Transit runs 7 bus routes in the resort area, serving Rehoboth Beach and the Boardwalk, Lewes, Long Neck, Dewey Beach, Ruddertowne, Bethany Beach, South Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, and Ocean City, MD. The service operates 7 days a week from 7 AM to 1 AM. The DART Route 305, Beach Connection, operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day and provides service from Wilmington to Rehoboth Beach on Friday nights, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. All buses are air-conditioned, ADA accessible and equipped with bike racks.

DART Executive Director, Stephen Kingsberry, said, The DART Resort Transit bus service plays an important part in eastern Sussex County by reducing traffic congestion on the Route 1 corridor, which in turn helps reduce air pollution in the area. In addition, it provides employees with convenient, reliable and cost-savings transportation for work. DART is pleased to be offering this Resort Transit Service for over 20 years so the public can enjoy the Delaware beaches in comfort while riding DART.