1. Art and Diseño

Riders of the Month
for Fall 2012
♦ Your Rider of the Month for September
is Francine Weeks.
Ms. Weeks rides
DART Routes 8 and
36. Francine states
that she “gets to work
on time always. Her
name was submitted
by
DART rider
Charles Matara.
♦ October’s Rider of the Month is Joanne
Parker, who rides DART Routes 40,
41, 42, 55, 62 and
65.
DART rider
Jack Grimes says,
“My friend Joanne
Parker, was able to
finish an associate
degree
program
in
Hospitality
Management after
six years at DelTech by using DART
buses. So DART helped her become a
more productive citizen.”
♦ Rue Mathabire is
November’s Rider of
the Month. Ms. Math
-abire rides DART
Route 61. In nominating Rue, Sonya
Pinckne stated that
“Rue is a wonderful
young lady who is
an absolute joy to be
around. She is always
willing to go the extra mile to make sure
passengers and friends are OK on the bus.
And she is not above paying for riders
who don’t have a fare. She is the best and
is my favorire rider.”
♦ To each of the winners, Congratulations
and thank you for riding DART. We urge
others to take advantage of the benefits of
the “Rider of the Month” program.
Winners will receive a purple DARTCard
valued at $52.90, DART promotional
prizes. In addition to the prizes the winners photo will be featured on DART’s
website and our quarterly newsletter.
Persons nominating winners will also receive DART promotional prizes.
Getting There
4
For up-to-date transit news and service changes
Sign up for DART Rider E-Mail Notices or
Check the DART Rider Alerts on
www.DartFirstState.com
Getting There...
DART First State, Marketing Dept.
119 Lower Beech Street, Suite 100
Wilmington, DE 19805-4440
Prst Std
U. S. Postage
PAID
Wilmington, DE
Permit No. 1886
Getting There...
Delaware Transit Corporation’s
Winter Quarterly 2012-2013
In This Issue
 Executive Director’s Letter
 EDTAC Chair’s Letter
 Neighbors Helping Neighbors
 Transportation History
 Charity Begins at Home
 Providing for Better Service
 And More...
Reminders:
This and several previous issues of “Getting There are available in a full color PDF
format on our website at www.DartFirstState.com, under DART Programs.
Providing For Better Service
In mid-October Delaware’s Third Track Construction Project was
launched at a ceremony adjacent to Amtrak’s National Training Center
in Wilmington. The project involves the addition of a third parallel
main line track along a 1.5-mile segment between Ragan and Brandy
Interlockings on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), south of Wilmington
near Banning Park. When completed this new track will allow for more
efficient movement and increased performance along the NEC by commuter and intercity passenger trains. Joining DelDOT Secretary Shailen
Bhatt as speakers were U.S. Senators Thomas R. Carper and Chris
Coons, U.S. Congressman John Carney, and Amtrak’s Stephen Gardner,
Vice President of NEC Infrastructure & Investment Development. Sec.
Bhatt said, “This nearly $53 million project represents funding from
the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Administration,
Federal Transit Administration, Amtrak, and the State of Delaware. It’s
a project that epitomizes how far we can go and how much we can
accomplish when we have the public and private sector working together.” In addition to a third track to correct a significant choke point
on the Northeast Corridor, the project will upgrade infrastructure, rehabilitate two railroad bridges, and improve signals and communication
apparatus in the area south of Wilmington. Though certain segments
of the overall project will come on line as finished, the completed third
track endeavor is scheduled to be up and running by early 2015.
Sunday, December 2:
Statewide Fixed Route Service
Change took place, Be sure you
have current schedules.
Mid-January:
Dates and theme for 13th Annual
Student Transit Poster Contest to
be announced.
Contact Info:
General Customer Information
Fixed Route (Statewide)
1-800-652-DART (3278)
GoLink & ADA Certified
Paratransit Services
1-800-553-DART (3278)
Customer Relations
1-800-355-8080
RideShare Delaware
1-888-RIDE-MATCH
Job Hotline
1-302-577-3278, Option 6
Website
www.DartFirstState.com
Customer Newsletter
Volume 9 - Issue 2
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
In response to a request from New Jersey
Transit (NJT) following the devastation
left behind by Superstorm Sandy, DART
arranged for the loan of buses to assist
NJT in shuttling commuters to and from
New Youk City while rebuilding and repairing of their equipment and infrastructure takes place.
On Monday, November 5, a fleet of 20
DART buses set out to the NJT facility
in North Bergen, North Jersey. Though this is said to be a short term loan,
the fact that the buses are from DART’s Resort Transit fleet, the loaned vehicles can remain in service for as long as needed without shortchanging
Delaware’s customers.
“We’re fortunate that Delaware didn’t get the brunt of the storm and we’re
happy to help our neighbors, a fellow transit agency,“ said DTC Executive
Director, Lauren Skiver. “It’s what we do.”
A number of other transit providers also joined in the effort to assist commuters in New Jersey and
New York City.
Photo Credit: (Top) DART bus entering
Hoboken Terminal. (Left)
Still wearing its “ad” wrap, one of
DART’s Resort Transit Buses rolls along
through Hoboken, New Jersey in service to NJT. Photos provided by Kaire
through Geraldo.
A Piece of Transportation History
A recent addition to Wilmington’s Riverwalk is the 1941 switcher that was
built by Atlas Car & Locomotive Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The 50-ton engine
was built for the U.S.Navy and served in
both Philadelphia and Norfolk berfore retiring in service to Sardo & Sons of Wilmington. The locomotive was once powered by two Detroit 671 Diesels. Exhibit
was made possible by Riverfront Development Corporation.
3
2
Dear Riders,
As we move through the Holiday season and enter the New Year, we are all reminded of
the things that are most important to us. Health, family, friends and community are at the
top of that list. In this issue of “Getting There” you will read articles relating to sharing and
community outreach. Everything from sharing physical resources with a neighboring state in
need of assistance, to collecting food for Delaware residents in need, to improving our basic
infrastructure in order to provide better service.
At DTC we are focused on making our efforts more efficient and cost-effective, while improving customer service. We hope to institute several new initiatives in 2013 designed to
measure results of key performance indicators (KPI’s). These indicators have been developed
to improve the rider experience, increase efficiency and reduce costs. We plan to share our
goals and progress with you on our website and are working on information that will be posted soon.
These KPI measurements are extremely important based on the economic uncertainty that we face. It is imperative
that DTC use all its resources wisely and ensure that changes to any of our practices, services or approaches are current,
relative and effective in delivering quality transit services that meet the needs of you, our customers.
I plan to share more information with you in the coming months regarding DTC’s goals, objectives and progress.
Thank you for riding DART and have a wonderful and safe holiday season and a Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Hello Fellow Riders;
The EDTAC Committee is requesting more public involvement from riders to participate in our meetings. There
are vacancies for riders to join the committee. We do request that you attend a few meetings prior to applying so that
you make the commitment to participate in all of the meetings. Individuals interested in learning more about joining
EDTAC should contact Bonnie Hitch by email at [email protected] or by phone at 302-760-2809.
The EDTAC meets 6 times annually, every other month on the third Wednesday in both Wilmington and Dover via
video conference.
See You on the Bus
EDTAC 2012 Meeting Schedule
Lauren Skiver
Executive Director, Delaware Transit Corporation
Charity Begins at Home
DART’s 15th Annual “Stuff the Bus” Thanksgiving Food Drive got underway on Monday, November 5 at two locations: the Acme Market along Rt. 13 in Dover and the Walmart in Milford. Wednesday, November 7 “Stuff the Bus”
moved onto the Acme at Fairfax with Thursday and Friday seeing the event move onto Wilmington’s Rodney Square.
The challenges for this particular “Stuff the Bus” campaign were made more critical by the the fact that no collections
were made on Tuesday, November 6 as it was Election Day and the entire event took place in the wake of Hurricane
Sandy and the following Nor’easter. And yet, with your help, the DART Team was able to collect 21,595 pounds or
10.8 tons of non-perishable food stuffs for the Food Bank of Delaware, bringing the 15 year grand total to 134.29
tons. Donations were received from the general public, as well as businesses, schools, organizations, and state agencies from throughout the entire First State. These donations were distributed through the more than 440 hunger relief
partners of the Food Bank of Delaware to residents in need, statewide. Again this year, DART partnered with WAFL
97.7 FM and WNCL 101.3 FM, which are part of the Delmarva Broadcasting Company. Thanks to staff and listeners
of both radio stations, “Stuff the Bus” in Milford and Dover were a great success. Also we want to thank the WJBR
99.5 FM staff and listeners who helped to fill the buses in Rodney Square.
The student body at St. Andrews School,
Middletown
participating in the
2012 “Stuff the Bus” campaign.
Getting There
EDTAC FYI
Before the official winter season began we were confronted with Hurricane Sandy and a cold and windy Nor’easter. Elderly & Disabled Transit Advisory Committee
Though parts of Delaware received a taste of the damaging
winds and rain of both storms, we were spared the more
devastating results that derailed public transportation and caused widespread property damage in our neighboring
states. DART continued essential medical and evacuation services during the “State of Emergency.”
Great Job to All
The purpose of the EDTAC is to monitor and make recommendations to DART regarding quality public transportation services to the elderly & disabled citizens of Delaware and to advocate and maintain service levels that we
have become accustomed to.
Meetings are held on the third Wednesday every other
month - from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
at both the Wilmington and Dover DART
Administration Buildings and are linked by
DTC’s video-conferencing system.
The dates of the next three meetings are:
♦ January 16 ♦ March 20 ♦ May 15 ♦
Always call to confirm meeting time/location.
Paratransit customers should make trip reservations in
advance if they wish to attend.
For additional information call 1-800-553-3278
Lloyd Schmitz
Lloyd Schmitz
EDTAC Chairman
All DART Fixed Route Buses are
Wheelchair Accessible
And Bike Rack Equipped
Share the Ride...Share the Savings
Use DARTCards &
Travel with Family, Friends & Co-workers on DART
Dedicating the New
On a bright and cheerful Thursday morning in late
August, Local, State and Federal officials joined
SEPTA, Amtrak and Delaware Transit representatives at the Joseph R. Biden Wilmington Amtrak
Station to dedicate four new commuter rail cars.
The Silverliner V units are the first such rail equipment ever owned by the state of Delaware. By
adding these four cars to SEPTA’s fleet, more service to and from the First State can be realized.
The Delaware cars are part of an overall SEPTA
purchase of 120 new Silverliner V units. This fact
is particularly important as the Track Three Project
(see page page 4) will soon be adding capacity between Wilmington and Newark.
Photo Credits: Masthead photo).
Unless otherwise noted, this and all other photos and graphic images are from DTC and DelDOT files.
Volume 9 - Issue 2