Client Stories

Bertha Marselis

Hopelink transportation customer Bertha Marselis has never owned a car. It used to be by choice. Now, it’s out of necessity.

“Even when I had the money for a car, I chose not to have one and used public transportation instead,” Bertha says. “Now, I don’t have an option. I can’t afford one. Thank goodness for the DART bus service.”

Bertha started taking DART buses, operated by Hopelink, several years ago when she lived in Kent. She worked as a culinary guide teaching people how to make quick, nutritious meals and used DART (Dial a Ride Transit) to get to work as well as to classes at Green River Community College. Today, Bertha takes DART from her apartment in the Inglenook neighborhood, sandwiched between Kirkland, Bothell and Kenmore, to Bastyr University, where she is a student in the health psychology program. Bertha also relies on DART to get her to transfer points so she can travel to other necessary destinations.

“When I lived in Kent, DART went places that regular buses didn’t go,” Bertha says. “I got to know the drivers. They were very friendly. If they saw me running down the street, they’d stop for me. When I moved up here and saw DART buses and stops, I started riding. They are so convenient.”
“DART is the only service up on this hill,” Bertha continues. “Otherwise, I would have to walk 13 blocks to the nearest stop for a regular Metro route. It’s much further to the Totem Lake transit station. If DART didn’t exist, I would be stranded.

“During the snow of 2008, DART was running when nobody else was,” Bertha adds. “There was no lack of bus service up here. The regular Metro was on snow routes, but DART was on its regular routes, just like always.”

A lifelong resident of large cities, including New York, San Francisco and Chicago, Bertha has always been a public transportation consumer. She said DART compares very favorably to the bus service she took in those other cities.

“What I like about DART is that it’s a little more personal and intimate, which is why I rode it a lot in Kent,” Bertha comments. “I feel safer on DART. You see the same people often so you can make friends, and it is a little more comfortable. They don’t have that kind of bus service in the big cities, I can tell you. But then I think what they’re really trying to do is move masses of people. DART is much more about the individual rider and where they need to go.”
Hopelink operates the DART service in a contract with Metro. While anyone can ride DART, many Hopelink clients don’t live on or near a regular Metro route. They have no other transportation options for visiting the food bank, getting to work, accessing other social services and attending appointments. It may be an important convenience for people like Bertha, but for many clients, DART is an absolute lifeline.
The DART service consists of 16 different routes around King County served with vans instead of full-size buses. They operate on a fixed schedule but with more flexibility than a regular Metro bus route. DART vans are able to deviate from their regular routes to pick up and drop off passengers. Bertha lives along a regular DART route so doesn’t need this aspect of the service, but if she didn’t, she could make a reservation to be picked up or dropped off outside that regular route. This reduces or eliminates the need to walk, sometimes long distances, to or from a regular Metro stop.
“I’m moving soon and when I was looking for a new apartment, whether it was on a DART route was a determining factor,” Bertha concludes. “Without it, I would be isolated. As long as I live in this area, I will be a DART rider.”