I agree with the last post. I have been a passenger on DDOT buses many hundreds or thousands of times and it is most uncommon for a passenger to abuse the equipment. The drivers never do. What does happen is the roads abuse the buses [[they are in very bad shape in some areas) and the spacing of stops abuses the buses [[no vehicle will last very long if it has to start and stop, every block or every other block, for six or eight or ten miles).

As to swiping parts from one bus to fix another bus, that would work somewhat if the buses were all the same, but they aren't. The buses were purchased in batches over the years and there aren't as many interchangeable parts as you might think.

The big problems are too few mechanics and a shortage of repair parts, and both of these problems are budget-driven.