More than a dozen Southern Maryland residents vented their frustrations about using commuter bus service at a meeting Wednesday night in Waldorf. The complaints ranged from dealing with customer service to buses arriving late to bus drivers not knowing their routes.
Maryland Delegates Peter Murphy (D: 28th) and Sally Jameson (D: 28th) were both there along with all of the Charles County commissioners. Murphy and Charles County Commissioner President Candice Quinn-Kelly (D) made brief comments after the public statements.
George Clark, Ride Share Coordinator for the Tri County Council for Southern Maryland, Nelson Cross from Dillon’s Bus Service, Simon Taylor and Glenn Saffron from the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) all took time to respond to questions.
Some residents shared their horror stories about confrontations with bus drivers. Other common complaints were about K Street in DC, the 901 routes and one customer service representative.
Kathy Hudgens travels to work every day from Warsaw, VA. Because of the length of her drive, she drives to La Plata and takes the 901 route to Washington, DC. “I’d like to have a bus service that works,” Hudgens said. “Bus service has gone downhill. It starts with management.”
Hudgens complained about dispatchers as well, stating that even the drivers are complaining about dispatchers. As far as the 901 route, Hudgens said, “I’m going to pray for that one.”
Another resident said the 950 route in Annapolis “runs like clockwork”. Multiple residents said K Street itself is not the problem because DC city buses had no problems on K Street.
In response, MTA officials blamed budget cuts. The budget cuts explanation did not sit well with residents who believe, if service improved, more riders on the buses would increase revenue for the MTA and the State of Maryland.
Simon Taylor, of MTA, said the agency will address customer service issues, K Street and air conditioning on buses. He said the problems cannot be fixed if riders do not make the MTA aware of the issues via phone or email communication.
Some residents during the forum said that they have emailed the MTA and felt it was unsuccessful. “I’m disappointed to hear that if that’s the case,” Taylor said. “Obviously there are two places they can send information. They can send information to either Dillon’s Bus Company or to the MTA. (The MTA) has a direct account to their commuter bus staff. They see all those emails and are responding to them.”
Taylor told The Bay Net that there are steps the MTA can and will take if Dillon’s Bus Service does not get their act together including, but not limited to, terminating the contract.
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