Dillons Bus Service

The 250 bus in the morning is on time. The 250 bus in the evening is worthless. I can get to work but I can’t get home. What’s the point?

So, Dillons is going to significantly raise their prices effective 25 June 2015. I hope they also raise their quality of buses and service.
Overall, I have to say that I love not needing to drive or take the Metro into DC. But if the cost gets much higher after this raise, it’s going to defeat the purpose and savings of me not Metroing.
As others say, lots of times they’ll be late – as in 10 mins or more – and still expect you to pay. Sometimes a driver has some sense and doesn’t charge. Other fewer times, they come early… and if it’s just a neighborhood stop rather than a park-​and-​ride stop, you better be there early too or they’ll just fly by!
The buses break down a lot. The mechanics are jokes. They don’t actually fix the buses, they just rig up the bus so it temporarily works. Or they even claim the problem that the driver had doesn’t exist and return the bus. If Dillons wants to improve their financials, they should hire some REAL mechanics.
Dillons doesn’t really have much incentive to improve their customer service. They are the only bus option from MD to DC. You go ahead and get mad and say you’ll drive in or Metro in to DC, but that only costs you more in the long-​run (and your sanity of dealing with traffic yourself).
Tip– Consider doing the math on getting 10-​trip passes rather than monthly. In some cases, it could be cheaper over time. I have a flex schedule and work 4 days a week… that’s 5 days of a month at least that I don’t go in. Or if you take vacation, that’s days wasted on a month pass. Or a snow day. Or… they give you that rare freebie ride!

I really wish I didn’t have to give them any stars. So my son’s school went on a field trip to Hershey Park which is a 2 hour trip up and 2 hours back. So one group gets home at 9:15pm but the other group doesn’t get back until after 10:00pm because they had to stop at a rest stop to get water and air and then again because one girl had passed out because the bus didn’t have air conditioning. The day starts at 5am and the bus driver pulls up knowing the A/​C is not working. The teacher said they needed to figure a way to get another bus available. So they were going to switch it out with another one or something to that effect. So the kids played at the park and competed in their concert for band and chorus. The day was long and hot. They get to the bus and it’s the same one with no air conditioning. So can you imagine a 90+ degree day after running around pllaying and sweating only to get on a e sick, had headaches and the driver did have the windows down but then closed them all before they left. We parents paid a lot of money for this bus and were given this kind of service. I’m glad the school has decided to never use this company again. Incidents happen, we understand that, but this should have been fixed first thing.

950 Afternoon/​evening routes are totally unreliable. Some buses are late others don’t show up
at all

On Sunday 4÷27÷2014, bus #65 429, license plate 016-​P15, was driving recklessly and ridiculously close to my car rear, switching lanes rapidly to pass me. The driver was unable to do so because the traffic was not very light and just stayed close. I was already speeding to keep space between my car and the bus and the driver just sped up more.
Not only that, but when I had to slow down due to traffic slowing down, the driver nearly hit my rear and honked and cursed at me, as if I had control over traffic. Quickly after, the driver switched lanes and switched back into my lane, nearly smashing my car into the construction railings and FLIPPED ME OFF WHILE DOING IT.
I called the company to report the driver and snapped a picture of the back of the bus. They never apologized and have yet to call me back. This driver nearly killed me and caused an accident while driving recklessly, not to mention she was incredibly rude.
While I have no used this bus service, I would still not recommend it based on this horrible experience. DO NOT USE THIS BUS SERVICE.

Writing this review because I wish that I had some advice when deciding how to make my commute from Howard county to Baltimore each day. This review is specifically about the 310 commuter bus service from Columbia to Baltimore which I have taken for the past two weeks. My experience has been largely positive so far, but I think there are a few things people should know before hand.
My main issue is one that is obvious and unfortunately completely unavoidable. The timetables are almost never correct because of traffic. The posted arrival times seem highly idealized. You should expect to be up to 15 minutes later than the time listed (maybe less if you are one of the first stops). The bus also left 10 minutes late one day from the park and ride which made me angry. From talking to other passengers this seems to be a rare issue– you can generally expect to leave on time, no earlier & no later.
The drivers are nice and seem to know all the ‘regulars’. Some drive a little more aggressively than others but all have seemed efficient AND safe so far. The passengers have been a mixed bag. Most keep to themselves which is great for getting in some work or sleep. Others talk on their cell phone loudly or want to know your life story. Depending on how crowded the bus is, sometimes you can get a double-​seat to yourself which is ideal. Sit near the back to score your own seat!
Some bus times are more crowded than others. The number of riders on the same time-​slot has also varied quite a bit day to day. I’ve been taking the 7:30AM morning ride which is only about half full. I took the ride home at several different times — the last ride leaving Hopkins at 5:35PM ended up being quite full on some days. I’m not sure what they do if the last bus is full at the last stop (since I’m the first stop it’s not an issue for me) but I could see how that could become an issue. Another issue is that the last bus leaves at 5:35PM. I wish I had the option to leave a little later.
The price seems a little high, but still saves quite a bit over paying for gas & parking. The monthly pass saves you a little but I figured the savings would have been more over the individual ticket price. Also no student discount — there are student discounts for ALL other MTA services but the commuter bus?!
That’s it for now– I will update if my sentiments change. So far I love not driving but I think I would ultimately make it to my destination faster if I drove myself. The major issue for me is the variability in the arrival time in the morning, but I would have the same problems with traffic if I was driving myself. If you hate driving and are OK planning around the bus schedule, this is a great option!