Transit riders and advocates are pushing back on proposed cuts to Dallas Area Rapid Transit's funding.
More than two dozen North Texas residents packed a small room in a downtown Dallas office building on Saturday to organize and discuss the future of DART.
At least half of DART’s member cities have expressed interest in cutting back their contributions to the agency by 25% in recent weeks. The agency’s CEO Nadine Lee, along with some board members, have said that reductions would lead to service cuts and hurt the agency’s budget. Ultimately, the decision would be up to the agency’s board of directors.
Connor Hulla, who helped co-found the transit advocacy group, said education and awareness are top priorities.
“The main goal, we want to talk to city council members or staffers because we want to make sure that they're hearing from people on how they feel about the proposed budget cuts that are being talked about,” he said Connor Hulla.
The group’s efforts include a petition calling for all of DART’s board of directors to reject any proposals to reduce sales contributions.
“Should the board vote on this matter, we implore every member to stand against the cuts,” reads the petition.
Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Irving, Plano and Rowlett passed resolutions to reduce their contributions; University Park City Council tabled a vote on a similar measure. Dallas city leaders are eyeing revenue meant for DART as a way to fill a gap in the city's pension fund.
Hulla was surprised with the turnout for a Saturday event with little advertising. Organizers only promoted the event through a post on Reddit.
Tammy Greenberg has been riding DART for almost 20 years and often attends the agency’s monthly board meetings. She said she’s seen the impact of past service reductions and route changes where she lives in the Cedars neighborhood of South Dallas.
“I work seven days a week and I’ve even had to walk from Akard Street to CVS [on] Main Street, because there's no buses on Akard anymore on the weekends, and then they cut midday [service] on the weekdays,” Greenberg said.
Ken Duble is a frequent DART passenger. He said mobility access is being overlooked in discussions about funding cuts.
“What I'm hearing from the critics is all they're talking about is the is what they could do with the money by reducing the sales tax by a quarter of a cent,” Duble said. “What I'm not hearing is what the cost would be to mobility in the North Texas region.”
Duble said the region’s rapid growth should be the driving reason for expanded service — not less. Studies by the North Central Texas Council of Governments show that the region’s population will balloon to more than 11 million people by 2045.
“The traffic is going to continue to get worse no matter what we do, and we do need alternative means to get around,” Duble said.
Ian Seamans, with the climate advocacy organization Environment Texas, said he regularly rides the red line to Dallas City Hall. He said he sees public transit as one solution to the climate crisis.
“If anything, we should be expanding DART’s funding, I would argue, because this is the time that we need public transportation,” Seamans said. “It's a great way to get around, you're not causing nearly as many greenhouse gas emissions, and you're not contributing to the ozone pollution crisis here in Dallas.”
Many North Texas counties have been in non-attainment for ground-level ozone pollution for several years, according to NCTCOG.
Conor Hulla, the group’s co-founder, said they're beginning to form committees for each DART member city and plan to hold meetings every third Saturday of the month. He added the group will monitor Dallas city council’s agendas as it moves toward a decision on the proposed cuts in September.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org. You can follow him on X @pabloaarauz.
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