Under the leadership of Carolyn Jones, Lewes Mayor and City Council approved an innovative plan to determine if the city could alleviate its parking, congestion and safety issues during the summer with public transportation. The two-year Lewes Line pilot program objectively documented that Lewes Line did not achieve its stated objectives. I don’t understand why council refuses to accept the results of the pilot.
I agree with Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba that public transportation should be a service and is not meant to be a revenue raiser. However, the service should be a needed service and a service not provided by others.
For the pilot’s second year, the stops at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal, Second and Market streets and Zwaanendael Park accounted for 82% of the ridership. A substantial number of these riders were ferry walk-ons that do not involve vehicular traffic. The ferry provided this service prior to the pilot. Also, DART’s 204 Yellow Line provides daily service every 30 minutes to these three stops.
Councilman Joe Elder, using the information provided by Acting City Manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe, computed that 85% of the seats were unoccupied; therefore, he gave the appropriate label ghost buses.
At the Dec. 11 meeting, it was decided to wait and get feedback from the ferry and DART on ways to salvage Lewes Line. Increased ridership, not money, must be the resolution. The ferry provides the most customers, while DART provides more knowledge of marketing and operating a bus service than the city.
What do Councilpersons Jones and Saliba expect from the ferry and/or DART that will increase Lewes Line’s ridership? Since the Dec. 11 meeting, have they met with them? Should DART be considered a competitor?
Accept the pilot’s results, end the discussions and vote at the Jan. 8 meeting.
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