Delaware's beach bus starts Friday

DART's weekend express bus service to Rehoboth from New Castle and Kent counties will launch Friday, the beginning of the Delaware Beaches summer tourism season.

Bus route 305, which carried approximately 3,700 passengers last year, will pick up riders at the Amtrak station in Wilmington, Christiana Mall, Odessa Park and Ride, and Scarborough Road Park and Ride in Dover before it arrives at the Rehoboth Park and Ride. The weekend express service is in its 16th season.

The service "has been streamlined this year, replacing the less-used stop at the Smyrna rest stop with a new stop in Middletown at the Odessa Park and Ride, and removing the other low-use stop in Milford, resulting in a time savings of 10 to 12 minutes southbound and 15 to 25 minutes northbound," said Julie Theyerl, spokeswoman for DART.  "All of the Route 305 buses now offer free Wi-Fi."

The cost to ride the express bus ranges from $7.80 to $13 depending on the starting point. Riders can also buy a $22 round-trip, day-pass, which also can be used on local beach routes.

"It’s a daily pass so it can be used as many times on that day," Theyerl said.

From the Rehoboth Park and Ride, passengers can transfer to local routes, which stop at area outlet malls, Lewes and the beach communities along Del. 1 including Ocean City, Maryland.

Dewey Beach Mayor Diane Hanson said the DART buses that pass through her community can be more convenient for visitors because parking spots are difficult to find, particularly during holiday weekends.

"Memorial Day is usually the busiest, craziest day of the year," she said. "It can get to be too much, but overall it's a good thing."

More visitors than normal have come to Dewey Beach so far in 2016, despite "yucky" weather, she said. Mostly sunny skies are in the forecast for the beach on Saturday with a high of 74 degrees.

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Beach-goers driving into the area can park at the Rehoboth Park and Ride for $8, which includes daily passes for up to four people on the local buses.

The coming weekend is a sort of a kickoff to the Delaware Beaches' roughly 5-month tourism season, said Gene Donaldson, traffic manager at the Delaware Department of Transportation, and with it will come increased congestion on Del. 1 – Delaware's primary north, south artery.

"We expect a substantial amount (of traffic) this weekend," said Donaldson. "Saturday is one of our worst days because people are coming and leaving at about the same rate."

Travelers leaving from northern Delaware on Friday should avoid rush-hour and instead leave during the early-afternoon or after 8 p.m., he said.

"Memorial weekend sees a big surge," Donaldson said.

The beach buses can help alleviate some pressure on the roadways as it's another option for people, he said.

A new transit hub is being developed near Lewes, which DART officials say will allow them to provide more bus service to the Delaware Beaches.

The first phase of the project at 17616 Coastal Highway includes a 248-space park-and-ride lot. The lot is expected to open in summer 2017.

Nearly everyone who has traveled to the beach area has experienced traffic on their way there, said Lewes Mayor Ted Becker. But convincing tourists to use buses can challenging, he said, as the area is spread out, causing bus waits to be arduous.

Nevertheless, Becker expects Lewes and the area's other resort communities to experience a bustling weekend.

"It's Memorial Day weekend and good weather. It's a good way to start the season," he said.