Austin's bus system - VERY UNIMPRESSIVE

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by spinx

Fast forward to today. The Dillo service has been cut to 2 routes and now there are fees. (I don't have to ride anymore, thank goodness.) CapMetro's reason for cutting the routes: too many complaints about the Dillos not being on time and not having enough buses to cover the routes. WTF? That's valid. Because you can't keep the buses on time, just cut the service all together!! Give me a break. I knew so many people who relied on that service downtown. It's really sad that CapMetro couldn't get their stuff together and keep on going.

Actually, the Dillo was canceled altogether early this month. It's history. http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/100109_Last_Day_for_the_Dillo (broken link)

[the minx]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Actually, the Dillo was canceled altogether early this month. It's history. Last Day for the Dillo (http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/100109_Last_Day_for_the_Dillo - broken link)

Wow, I hadn't heard that. Guess it was bound to happen.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by spinx

I knew so many people who relied on that service downtown. It's really sad that CapMetro couldn't get their stuff together and keep on going.

It is odd that you say that, because they shut the dillo down because no one was using them. The buses were almost always empty. Ben Wear wrote an article in the paper talking about how he road the dillo's for most of one day and there were very few riders other then himself. Here it is.

Dillos ride out of luck (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/10/05/1005wear.html - broken link)

[the minx]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

It is odd that you say that, because they shut the dillo down because no one was using them. The buses were almost always empty. Ben Wear wrote an article in the paper talking about how he road the dillo's for most of one day and there were very few riders other then himself. Here it is.

Dillos ride out of luck (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/10/05/1005wear.html - broken link)

Not when I rode it. I rode the Red and Orange Dillos 5 days a week and sometimes there was only standing room. The UT route (orange, I think) was always busy. The red route served the court house, too, and was always busy at certain times of the day.

Maybe it makes a difference that this was in the early 2000s. I haven't ridden the bus in years - maybe since 2004.

[verybadgnome]

I have ridden the 10 and 110 for the past year. No real problems with the riders or the bus drivers. Sometimes the afternoon bus was 4-5 minutes late but that was the worst of it.

Cool, unexpected thing was that it was mostly regulars who were quite willing to banter. Much different than DC metro where strangers didn't speak to one another.

[brubaker]

So..where can we get schedules? They seem more precious than gold.

I asked a bus driver and after two or three tries she finally deemed me fit to talk to and
told me that if they weren't in the 'pockets' behind her then there weren't any.

"Do you know if I can get 'em online?"
"I dunno."

hahahah.

Okay thanks, Mrs Busdriver!
I love when people AT WORK act like I'm interrupting some personal thing they got going on when I ask them something.
Like I'm knocking on their door at 10 PM or something...you're at WORK right? This is what you DO...correct?