Bucks County Transport To Extend DART Service To Warrington

WARRINGTON, PA — Beginning this summer, Doylestown DART will begin offering service to Warrington Township as the transit service reintroduces itself to the broader community.

At its May meeting, the Warrington Township Board of Supervisors approved the new DART South bus route system through the township and voted to make a $5,000 contribution to Bucks County Rapid Transit to help fund the system, which provides low cost, convenient public transit in and around the Doylestown area.

DART plans to use the debut of the new route to "reintroduce the bus system" to the community “as a wider DART service for all Central Bucks residents and able to serve everyone from New Britain Township and County Line Road all the way through Doylestown Borough and down Route 611 to County Line Road,” said Lou White, the chairman of the DART bus committee.

The new DART South route tentatively includes stops at the Park at Westminster, Warrington Crossings, Grundy Hall, Doylestown Pointe Shopping Center, the Shops at Village Square, Wegman’s and the Creekview Center anchored by Target, Lowe’s and Amazon Fresh among others.

“The Park at Westminster and Warrington Crossings are over the moon about this,” reported Jeannine Fielding, the executive assistant to the township manager. ”They can’t wait. Wegman’s received corporate approval and they are also very excited to participate. The Target parking lot with Lowe’s and Amazon, we’re waiting for corporate. Some of the other smaller shopping centers are on board. Overall the interest is stellar. People are very excited.”

After a soft launch, White said DART is planning on having a “spectacular ribbon cutting” to relaunch the new DART system during a ceremony that will be hosted by the Shops at Village Square.

To get the word out, White said DART will be signing a contract with a public relations and marketing firm “to show us how we can re-energize the DART, but also pitch this new vision we have of a system of buses serving municipalities all the way from County Line Road out old 202, back into town and then all the way down to Warrington.”

According to Vince Volpe, executive director of Bucks County Transport, DART South has been discussed over the years, but it was a recent $591,000 economic development grant secured by former State Rep. Todd Polinchock that is making it possible.

“We used that money to fund the study. The funding is good through 2026 and hopefully at that time we will be able to continue that grant,” he said.

“People who have been requesting for a long time now that we provide service down to this area will be able to take advantage of it. People who live at Grundy Hall will be able to hop right on the bus and come directly down to the shopping centers,” said Volpe.

DART primarily services senior citizens (ages 65 and older) who ride free of charge, however it also services residents of all ages at a cost of $1 per person. The $1 fee allows passengers to hop on and hop off all day long without having to pay an additional fee.

The service is primarily funded by grants from PennDOT and matching funds from municipalities, Discover Doylestown, Delaware Valley University and the Mercer Museum.

At the height of its service in 2019 it was serving about 2500 riders per month. Now it’s serving about half that number, said White, due to the after affects of the pandemic and a nationwide drop in public transit usage.

White said the DART committee is hoping to boost those numbers with its reintroduction of the system and the new service to Warrington.

The Doylestown DART operates Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The weekday bus offers connections to commercial and residential locations, government offices, schools, Doylestown Hospital and other transit systems, including the train station. The Saturday service offers stops in the central business district of downtown Doylestown, Delaware Valley University and the Doylestown Shopping Center.

DART West, launched just before the pandemic, offers service to Business Route 202 on Butler Ave. through New Britain Borough, Chalfont Borough and New Britain Township out to County Line Road. The Dart West connects with the Doylestown Dart at Delaware Valley University allowing riders to access the bus route into the Doylestown area.

DART also provides service for community activities, including Doylestown Township’s Thompson Summer Concert Series and Discover Doylestown’s Arts Festival to name just a few.

The fare is $1 each way with no transfer charge between the Dart West and the Doylestown Dart. Seniors 65 and older ride for free. Bus tokens are available on board the bus at $10 for 12 tokens.

For more information about DART, CLICK HERE.