The Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority (or DART) is the transit agency in Dallas, Texas that operates buses, light rail (including an underground station), commuter rail, and HOV lanes in Dallas and 12 of its suburbs. It is the largest Light Rail operator in the state of Texas.
History
Precursor agencies
The Dallas Transit System (DTS) was the publicly owned mass transit service operated by the City of Dallas, Texas (USA), from 1964 to 1984. DTS resulted from a consolidation of various privately owned transit companies and streetcar lines. In 2000, DART employees restored a 1966 DTS bus to its original state [1].
Creation of DART
DART was created in 1983 as a regional replacement for the DTS. Citizens of 15 area cities had voted to levy a 1% sales tax to join the system by the time it began transit services in 1984 (though formal acquisition of the Dallas Transit System wouldn't be complete until 1988).
In 1985, member cities Carrollton and Farmers Branch held elections to pull out of DART, though the measures failed. But shifting suburban politics and a loss of confidence in DART management after voters declined to support DART's measure to incur long term debt in 1988 led to 7 more pullout votes, two of which (Flower Mound and Coppell) were successful. Just one suburb joined DART -- the tiny community of Buckingham, which was later annexed by DART member city Richardson.
DART also assists in the operation of the M-line Streetcar, with a joint operating subsidy given to the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority along with the Uptown Improvement District.
DART's Light Rail system
Before the 1983 election, DART had a plan for 160 miles of rail. After the election, the plan was pared down to 147 miles when Duncanville, Grand Prairie and Mesquite, who would have had rail lines, didn't opt to join the agency. DART chose light rail transit as it's primary mode of rail transportation in 1984. The plan was pared down again to 93 miles before the 1988 bond vote. After the vote, the agency again pared down the regional rail system to 66 miles. That plan would be amended after the starter system finished to the current plan that keeps evolving today.
Presently, DART's Light Rail system has a daily ridership of 62,400 [5] and is the seventh most-ridden light rail system in the country.
The following lines are currently active, under construction, or in the final planning stages:
- Red Line (Opened in 1996, completed in its current state in 2002)
- Blue Line (Opened in 1996, completed in its current state in 2002, additions scheduled for completion in 2012 and 2018)
- Green (Northwest/Pleasant Grove Line; proposed opening 2009, scheduled for completion in 2010)
- Orange Line (Irving/DFW Line; proposed opening 2011, scheduled for completion in 2013)
- Trinity Railway Express TRE commuter rail
Starter system
After 6 years of scandals involving finances, delays in construction of the rail system, a failed bond election and nine pull-out votes, the year 1990 was a turning point for the agency when DART broke ground on its light rail system in October. The light rail system began service on time and on budget in June 1996, inaugurating the first light rail system in Texas and the Southwest. Commuter rail service to Irving began in December, after some delays.
To the surprise of critics, who expected the low ridership of some other systems, the new light rail system was embraced by Dallasites, with ridership exceeding expectations. The suburbs' confidence in DART was also expressed at the ballot box: five cities held highly publicized pullout elections in 1996 (with the financial assistance of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones [2]), but DART won handily in all five.
The 20 mile starter system opened on June 14, 1996, which spanned from the Westmoreland Station on the Red Line in Dallas (West Oak Cliff) through Downtown Dallas to Pearl Street Station. There were also two stations on the Blue Line, Morrell and Illinois that opened on that date.
The next stage of the starter line opened on Jan 10, 1997 when the Red Line was extended from Pearl Station to Park Lane. It includes the underground portion of the line between Pearl and Mockingbird Station, also the site of Dallas's first modern transit village. The Blue Line's northern terminus was still Pearl Station.[3]
The starter line was completed when the Blue Line was extended from Illinois to its current southern terminus at Ledbetter. This came on May 31, 1997, nearly one year after the first part of the starter system opened.
The final change to the starter system came on December 18, 2000 when DART opened Cityplace Station, the first subway station in the Southwest (excluding the Tandy Center Subway, a small private subway in Fort Worth, Texas between an office building and a parking lot which ceased to operate in 2002).
Commuter Rail on the old Rock Island right-of-way began during the series of openings of the light rail starter system. On December 30, 1996, the Trinity Railway Express opened the first segment as the South Irving Transit Center was connected to Union Station in downtown Dallas with a stop in the middle at Medical Market Center. The agency had to lease rail cars due to a delay in the current stock until March.
Suburban expansion
After the success of the light rail starter system, voters approved DART's request to use long-term bonds to expedite the construction of the regional light rail system. While DART had originally planned single-track extensions of the Blue Line to Garland and the Red Line to Richardson and Plano, the starter system was so popular that the agency made plans to double-track the entire route.
Work began on the extensions of the Blue Line and the Red Line on January 15, 1999. Later that same year, on September 27, the Blue Line designation was extended from Pearl Station to Mockingbird Stations, for its eventual expansion to Garland.[4] The first station since 1997 to open came on September 24, 2001, when the Blue line was extended from Mockingbird Station to the new White Rock Station. A little over a year and a half a year later, the Blue Line debuted another station as light rail pushed outside the LBJ Loop when the LBJ/Skillman Station opened on May, 6 2002.
The first extension of the Red Line opened on July 1, 2002 when the line added 7 stations from a newly opened Park Lane Station to Galatyn Parkway. Richardson became the first Dallas suburb to be served by light rail.
The Blue line was completed in its current form on November 18, 2002 when Garland became the second suburb to get light rail service. The two new stations of Forest/Jupiter and Downtown Garland were opened to the public.
The final stage of the light rail expansion was completed six months ahead of schedule when Plano's first trains ran on December 9, 2002, completing the north central and northeast expansion.
In addition, the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter rail line connected downtown Dallas with downtown Fort Worth. The TRE, created by an interlocal agreement between DART and the Fort Worth Transit Authority, "The T", connected the cities' centers by rail for the first time since the 1930s.
Green and Orange Lines
On July 3, 2006, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approved a $700-million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) -- the largest grant ever awarded to DART -- to kick-start a $2.5-billion expansion of the light rail system. Now under construction, this phase will include two new light rail lines that will double DART's existing light rail mileage. [5] Construction began in September 2006, with the first new stations set to open in Fall 2009 in time to provide service to the State Fair of Texas. When the project is complete in 2013, DART's light rail system will have doubled to 90 miles. [6]
The new Green Line will run southeast from downtown to Fair Park and then to the Dallas neighborhood of Pleasant Grove. This line will also operate northwest from Downtown Dallas via Love Field airport, and extend into the suburbs of Farmers Branch and Carrollton, where plans are to connect to a future rail line operated by the adjacent Denton County Transportation Authority. The first segment of the new line, serving Victory Station, was designated as a "Segment of Independent Utility" and was opened on November 14, 2004. It currently is used for special event service to the American Airlines Center. It is scheduled for regular service in September of 2009 when the first stage of the Green Line opens. It will connect Victory Station to downtown Dallas, Deep Ellum and Fair Park.
The second line, the Orange Line, will run concurrently with the Green Line from downtown to just past Love Field, where it will branch off toward Irving with eventual service to DFW Airport. DART is cooperating with DFW and Love Field to link the two airports via rail. In the other direction, initial DART plans called for the Orange Line to run concurrently with the Red Line from downtown to LBJ/Central Station. [7] Current maps have the Orange Line's terminus at Pearl Station in downtown Dallas.
In maps before 2006, DART labelled the Pleasant Grove to Carrollton route as the "Orange Line", and the Irving route was the "Purple Line". Green was generally used on DART maps to denote the route of the Trinity Railway Express. By the time construction started, DART was using the new "Green Line" designation as part of its marketing efforts, saying "Like the color green, this line is a symbol of our city on the move." [8]
2030 Plan
In October 2006, the DART Board of Directors unanimously approved the following measures for the next round of rail expansion.[9]
- An 2.9-mile extension of the Blue Line to Bonnie View Road and Interstate 20 to the new SouthPort intermodal port in southeast Dallas. This line will terminate just north of Lancaster and Hutchins, cities that are not currently members of DART.
- A 4.3-mile light rail extension of the Red Line south to Red Bird Lane. This line will terminate just short of Duncanville, another non-DART city, and passes near the headquarters of AAFES.
- A 4.3-mile light rail extension of the Green Line along Scyene Road to approximately Masters Drive, just short of non-DART member city Mesquite.
- A 6-mile light rail line in West Dallas along Fort Worth Avenue or Singleton to Loop 12/Jefferson Boulevard, terminating just east of Grand Prairie, which also did not join DART. This line would serve the largely poor, Hispanic portion of Dallas.
- A station for the Lake Highlands neighborhood of northeast Dallas on the Blue Line, between the White Rock Lake and LBJ/Skillman stations. The area previously opposed rail service, so the line moved on without a station at the turn of the century.
- And the most controversial plan, a nearly 26-mile commuter rail line in the east-west Cotton Belt corridor from the Red Line in Plano to DFW International Airport. This line would provide rail service to the existing bus transfer station in Addison, and would intersect the Green Line at Downtown Carrollton Station. The line would pass through Coppell, which pulled out of DART in 1989.
DART's 2030 plan also calls for a comprehensive network of enhanced and rapid bus corridors consisting of 77 miles of enhanced bus service corridors and 20 miles of rapid bus service corridors with strengthened and new express bus service. The plan also calls for additions to the current 31 miles of high occupancy vehicle lanes to 116.
The final 2030 plan included several changes from the draft plan released in July 2006. Removed from the final plan was a 6.3 mile branch of the Red Line from Forest Lane Station to Addison Transit Center, which would have included several miles of subway under Interstate 635. DART officials cited the line's high cost, $700 million, and lack of strong support from the city of Dallas. The Blue Line extension to the Dallas Southport Center (intermodal terminal) was added after strong pressure from Dallas officials. Also, the proposed light rail line serving West Dallas was also not originally considered as a priority for rail service.
The Cotton Belt corridor plans continued to generate controversy right up to the day of the vote on the 2030 plan. DART leaned toward diesel powered commuter rail for the Cotton Belt corridor, similar to the Trinity Railway Express. However, the line would pass through affluent Far North Dallas neighborhoods. The neighborhood formed the Cotton Belt Concerned Coalition to fight the line in 1990. The group made a concesssion in 2006 to allow electric light rail vehicles on the line to avoid perceived air and noise pollution associated with diesel rail. The group also proposed that the line be placed in a below-ground trench. These proposals were accepted by the City of Dallas in June 2006 in a unanimous resolution. DART, however, balked at the cost of trenching the line, which they estimated at $250 million. This set up a confrontation between DART and the city of Dallas, which appoints eight of the board's 15 members. The final plan compromised by promising $50 million "to help address neighborhood concerns". [10]
The current freight line runs just south of the Downtown Plano Station on the Red Line, but DART maps of the 2030 plan show the line will route to the nearby Bush Turnpike station, the nearest station to the south of downtown Plano [11]. The Cotton Belt line runs through Coppell between Carrollton and DFW Airport; although no station locations are included in the plan, the promise of a future station could entice Coppell into rejoining the agency.
DART's Bus system
DART currently operates 117 fixed-regular bus routes and several circular and shuttle routes. There are 32 local routes, which serve downtown Dallas. Some locals link the suburbs with downtown Dallas. There are 11 express routes which ferry passengers between two areas with no to limited stops in between. These utilize HOV lanes on freeways when possible. There are 26 suburban routes, whick link the suburban members of DART with no stops in Dallas. DART has 19 crosstown routes which run in Dallas, but not downtown. These can also, and frequently do, link the suburbs to points-of-interest in Dallas. The final fixed route category is is bus that serve rail stations, and there are 29 of those.
DART numbers there buses according to the type of route the bus is running. Local use 1-185, express buses are in the 200 range, the suburban routes are numbered in the 300, the crosstown routes are the 400's, while the routes serving the rail stations start in the 500's.
It should be noted the number of routes will change in February. DART has proposed adding three suburban routes, while a crosstown route will be split into two rail bus routes. Two rail routes will be lost, as one will be changed to a suburban designation and the other will combine two rail routes into one[12].
In addition to the above regualr fixed routes, DART will also contract with its neighbors or buisness's and run circulars, like the SMU or Northpark Mall circulars or shuttles for Texas Instruments or UT Southwestern Medical Center. The circular routes are given a a number in the 700 range, while the shuttles are listed in the 800's.
DART runs their bus system similar to the hub and spoke model that airlines use. DART has several bus-only facilities, which include transit centers, transfer centers and park and ride's.
DART has 9 transit centers, which are:
- Addison Transit Center in Addison, a future rail station on the Cotton Belt in the 2030 plan
- J.B. Jackson Transit Center in Dallas, a future rail station on the forthcoming Green Line
- Lake June Transit Center in Dallas, a future rail station on the forthcoming Green Line
- Lake Ray Hubbard Transit Center in Garland
- North Carrollton Transit Center in Carrollton, a future rail station on the forthcoming Green Line
- North Irving Transit Center in Irving, a future rail station on the forthcoming Orange Line
- Red Bird Transit Center in Dallas
- South Garland Transit Center in Garland
- West Plano Transit Center in Plano
There are 5 transfer locations in the DART bus system, which are:
- Bernal/Singleton Transfer Location in Dallas, a possible future rail station on the west rail line toward Grand Prairie in DART's 2030 plan
- Cockrell Hill Transfer Location in Cockrell Hill
- East Transfer Center in downtown Dallas
- Malcolm X Boulevard Transfer Location in Dallas
- West Transfer Center in downtown Dallas
Finally, DART has 3 park and ride locations:
- Farmers Branch Park and Ride in Farmers Branch, a future rail station on the forthcoming Green Line
- Glenn Heights Park and Ride in Glenn Heights
- Rowlett Park and Ride in Rowlett, a future station on the Blue Line extension
- A fourth, the Northwest Plano Park and Ride is in the planning stages. It will be off the Dallas North Tollway just north of Spring Creek Parkway in Plano
In addition, most rail stations act as hubs for DART buses, to make transfers easier.
Proposed fare hike
The DART Board of Directors allowed public comments on a possible fare increase during the regular board meeting on Tuesday January 9, 2007. This would be the first fare increase since 2003. If approved, the following partial fare structure would go in effect on October 1. [13]
| Service Type | Current Fare | New Fare | Pct Inc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Single Ride | $1.25 | $1.50 | 20% | |
| Local Day Pass | $2.50 | $3 | 20% | |
| Local Monthly Pass | $40 | $50 | 25% | |
| Premium Single Ride | $2.25 | $2.50 | 11% | |
| Premium Day Pass | $4.50 | $5 | 11% | |
| Premium Monthly Pass | $70 | $80 | 14% | |
| Reduced Single Ride+ Reduced High School Single Ride++ |
$0.50 | $0.75 | 50% | |
| Reduced Day Pass+ Reduced High School Day Pass++ |
$1 | $1.50 | 50% | |
| Reduced Monthly Pass+ Reduced High School Monthly Pass++ |
$15 | $25 | 67% |
+ Reduced Fares are applicable on bus and rail for Seniors and non-Paratransit persons with disabilities; Children, elementary through junior high school; Light Rail service within the Dallas CBD (Pearl Station to Convention Center Station); and Designated bus circulators
++ Reduced High School Fare for students with valid photo ID from a school within the DART service area (effective 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. on school days)
DART member cities
In addition to the cities that voted to join DART at its creation, the legislation that created DART specifies that any city adjoining Dallas may join the agency. In addition, any city that adjoins a DART member city becomes eligible to join. Member cities fund DART with a 1% sales tax. This levy prevents some cities from joining, due to Texas laws that cap the total sales tax that may be charged.
In 2003, the Texas Legislature enacted new legislation enabling countywide transit districts in areas adjacent to major metropolitan areas (such as the Denton County Transportation Authority), but DART's membership rules were not affected.
List of DART member cities
All of these cities joined the Dallas Area Rapid Transit authority when it was originally created in 1983. All but Glenn Heights (and Flower Mound, which later withdrew) would also be eligible for DART membership because they are adjacent to the city of Dallas.
- Glenn Heights is the only one of Dallas' southern suburbs that has joined DART, besides Cockrell Hill, which is an island city in southern Dallas.
- Includes Buckingham, a DART member city that was annexed by Richardson in 1996.
Original cities that declined DART
The following cities had DART on the ballot in 1983 but voted the transit agency down. Only one city is in the affluent northern sector of the region.
- Duncanville
- Grand Prairie
- Lancaster
- Mesquite
- The Colony (The only northern suburb to decline DART service)
- Wilmer (The only city on the list that is not eligible today)
Eligible cities that are not members of DART
These cities are eligible to join DART as they are adjacent to DART member cities (see below), but have not chosen to levy the required 1% sales tax required for membership and regular service. However, DART can establish service to non-member cities under certain conditions. In addition to the Trinity Railway Express interlocal agreements, DART serves destinations like Eastfield College, which is within the city limits of Mesquite.
- Allen (adjacent to Plano)
- Balch Springs (Dallas)
- Cedar Hill (Dallas)
- Coppell (Carrollton, Irving, Dallas via North Lake)
- Coppell withdrew from DART in 1989
- Duncanville (Dallas)
- DeSoto (Dallas)
- Euless (Irving)
- Flower Mound (No longer eligible)
- Flower Mound withdrew from DART in 1989. In 2003, voters also rejected membership in the Denton County Transportation Authority.
- Frisco (Plano)
- Grand Prairie (Dallas)
- Grapevine (Irving)
- On November 7, 2006, Grapevine voters approved a sales tax to fund a commuter rail service operated by the Fort Worth Transportation Authority by a 3-1 margin.[14]
- Heath (Rowlett, Dallas via Lake Ray Hubbard)
- Hutchins (Dallas)
- The City of Hutchins held an election in May of 1992, but the measure failed by 50 votes.
- The adjacent suburb of Wilmer is not currently eligible, as it does not share a border with Dallas.
- Lancaster (Dallas)
- Lewisville (Carrollton)
- In 2003, Lewisville voters approved membership in the Denton County Transportation Authority, which levies a 1/2 cent sales tax.
- McKinney (Plano -- at the corner of Texas 121 and Farm to Market Road 2478)
- Mesquite (Dallas)
- Murphy (Plano, Richardson)
- Oak Leaf (Glenn Heights)
- Ovilla (Glenn Heights)
- Parker (Plano)
- Red Oak (Glenn Heights)
- Rockwall (Rowlett, Dallas via Lake Ray Hubbard)
- Sachse (Rowlett, Garland, Richardson)
- Seagoville (Dallas)
- Sunnyvale (Dallas)
- The Colony (Plano, Carrollton)
Agency Executive Directors
- Charles Anderson 1986-1994
- Roger Snoble 1994-2001
- Gary Thomas 2001-present
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
Criticism of DART
Some people have raised criticisms of the agency.
- One common criticism is that the expense of the system is not worth the results. For example, the Dallas Business Journal has noted that despite "$1 billion in taxpayer spending aimed at reducing traffic congestion", the number of people using DART transit to get to work dropped from 40,000 per day in 1990 to 36,900 per day in 2000. [15] Supporters of DART defend such expenses by pointing to statistics showing not just increasing ridership of DART light rail but measurable increases in rents and revenues from nearby commercial properties. [16] Critics of DART argue that these increased rents and revenues are simply a natural result of the government taking money from a wide area and channeling it into concentrated locations, namely the train stations. They believe that the argument that DART has created wealth with its projects is a classic example of the "broken window" fallacy. On the other hand, supporters will point out that transit stations allow cities to take a different and more dense approach to development, an approach that is difficult without the stations. These denser developments allow for increased tax revenue to the cities.
- Critics often point to the fact that DART, like other transit agencies, does not cover its operating expenses with farebox and advertising revenues. DART relies on sales tax revenues to make up the difference; from 2002 to 2004, sales tax collections averaged $354 million per year. In 2004 sales tax revenues exceeded operating expenses by $63 million, allowing the agency to apply the excess towards construction of new capital facilities, including rail extensions. [17] While critics argue that DART's planned expansions will likely only increase the size of its annual operating loss, DART proponents respond that the operating cost per passenger mile is at least significantly lower for light rail than for traditional bus service. [18]
- Another criticism of DART is that some areas whose residents pay the DART sales tax do not receive much from DART in return. As the Dallas Morning News has reported, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, and Rowlett have "only bus and paratransit service to show for decades of DART membership" and hundreds of millions of dollars contributed to the agency. [19] However, almost 30 years after joining DART, both Carrollton and Farmers Branch are scheduled to be served by light rail by 2010, with an extension to Rowlett expected in 2012. [20] It should be noted that Rowlett voted to join the agency in 1983 with bus-only services. They weren't scheduled to get LRT service until the DART board decided to extend the Blue Line at the turn of the century.
See also
External links
References
- ^ http://www.dart.org/news.asp?ID=15 DART Breathes Life into Retired Dallas Transit System Bus
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/1996/07/22/editorial2.html Keep DART in Irving - Dallas Business Journal
- ^ http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/Dallas/DART/
- ^ http://web.presby.edu/~jtbell/transit/Dallas/DART/
- ^ http://www.dart.org/news.asp?ID=714
- ^ http://www.dart.org/mis.asp?zeon=DARTRailDouble
- ^ http://www.dart.org/nweis/nwfeisfigures.htm NW Corridor FEIS, Figure 2-19 LRT Operating Plan
- ^ http://www.dart.org/publicmeetings.asp?ID=267 Community Meeting/Public Hearing Notices - DART Green Line Expansion, November 16, 2006
- ^ [1] DART's 2030 plan
- ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-dart_25met.ART0.North.Edition1.3e3a81a.html DART green-lights 40 miles of new rail for 2030
- ^ [2] DART 2030 plan map
- ^ [3] DART 2007 proposed bus service changes
- ^ http://www.dart.org/meetings/publicmeetings.asp?ID=271 DART Proposed Fare Increase
- ^ [4] Grapevine transportation election results
- ^ http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2002/06/17/editorial4.html DART's billion-dollar boondoggle
- ^ http://www.lightrailnow.org/features/f_000003.htm Dallas Light Rail Sparks Development Boom
- ^ http://www.dart.org/DARTAR2004Financials.pdf
- ^ http://www.lightrailnow.org/news/n_dal011.htm Dallas: Light Rail Ridership Heads Toward 70,000 a Day
- ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/061406dnnatdartsider.825856b8.html DART turns attention to rail growth
- ^ http://www.dart.org/mis.asp DART Expansion Plans