Snow delays some DDOT busses

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Johnnie Austin is 86-years-old with a heart condition.

“I had a doctor's appointment and it costs money to cancel, so you can't cancel.”

She says she checked the schedule, before braving the snow to a bus stop on Puritan at Linwood. She waited almost two hours, but the bus didn't come.

“My appointment is for 12:00 p.m. It's 11:30 a.m. I'll never make it, because I've got to get the Woodward bus too.

She stood in the road and waited.

“I was over there, it's sort of clean over there, but I said he's not going to pick me up over there so I came back over here, but there's nothing coming anyway.”

According to DDOT, 200 out of 201 busses were in service Monday.

“Most of the busses were running pretty much on time,” said Dan Dirks, Director of DDOT.

There were some delays. The longest was on the Joy Road route.
“We know we were running a little bit late although our General Services Department and the Department of Public Works did a great job of clearing roads. In many cases they're getting a little bit late at the end of routes were they’re turning around,” said Dirks.

Johnnie was about to give up and go back home.

“It’s my fault that I'm here, because I didn't call my Medicare ride in time. You have to call three days in advance.”

Instead, with ten minutes to spare, we got her an Uber, and she made it to her appointment on time.

DDOT recommends using the DDOT bus app. You can keep up to date on all the bus schedules and possible delays. However, there are some people who don't have smart phones, like Johnnie. On days like this, it's best to plan ahead, try to get a ride, and avoid being in the cold too long.

If you’re disabled or elderly, you may be eligible for special DDOT ADA service. Call (313) 578-8268 to see if you qualify.

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