The discussion over funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit isn’t over.
After a group of North Texas lawmakers tried to push legislation that would have cut funding for the agency, transit leaders and advocates are regrouping following the bitter fight.
Now, the agency is holding public hearings at cities around the region this month about potential services changes – including cuts to bus routes, on-demand GoLink zones and frequency of the Trinity Rail Express – as DART moves ahead with a self-imposed 5% funding cut. It’s part of an effort by DART to regain trust from some of the member cities who have pushed, locally and at the state level, for even greater cuts to a system they say isn’t delivering enough.
KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter Pablo Arauz Peña has been covering the saga over DART funding since last year. He spoke with Morning Edition’s Andrew Garcia about what could happen next.
Andrew Garcia: So, the legislative session ended without either bill to defund DART passing – though the bill in the House did make it further. What are both sides saying?
Pablo Arauz Peña: It’s obviously a relief for DART, but its leaders are trying to be forward thinking. They want to work with all its member cities on a shared vision for the agency.
The city of Plano, which really led the push for that legislation, still wants to see kind of a “right sizing” of its payment into the system. City Manager Mark Israelson told me in an email that the city is disappointed the “efforts to address DART reform stalled” in the legislature, and that the city is going to consider "all options" in the coming months. So they’re not ruling out leaving the system entirely.
Meanwhile Michael Morris, who leads the Regional Transportation Council, says regional leaders are still figuring out the next steps now that the session is over. He said it’s been tense.
“Over the last 12 months we witnessed a full blaze, horrible tone, horrible conversations especially if you look at the history of our region on transportation over the last four decades," Morris told KERA. "I've never witnessed anything like this."
He wants everyone to come to a consensus on where the future of transit is going. He’s proposing a process that could eventually lead to a compromise legislation in the next session that DART, member cities and all regional entities can agree on.
Compromise legislation – so what's that gonna look like?
That’s not clear yet, but in March the DART board passed a resolution that would return 5% of its funds to what they call "donor cities" like Irving, Carrollton and of course Plano.
Not as big as 25%, but would still include cuts to services like low-performing bus routes, GoLink zones and Trinity Railway Express service.
So what are riders saying about the proposed cuts?
The riders I’ve talked to are celebrating the legislation failing but aren’t too happy about these proposed service changes.
DART is holding public hearings in different member cities to discuss route cuts and services changes, but each change would also require a process of meetings for them to actually go through.
Randall Bryant, who represents Dallas on the DART board, told me he’s looking forward to bringing all member cities to the table to work on what the future of DART could look like.
“We just have to do a better job of communicating, you know, what we're doing where money is going and what's the true value of transit beyond just moving people from point A to point B,” Bryant said in an interview last month.
So, it sounds like the discussion about DART’s funding isn’t over just yet.
Not at all. And state Representative Matt Shaheen, who authored HB 3187, blamed DART’s "bloated marketing department" for his bill’s failure. He says he’ll file legislation again next session if DART continues to overcharge cities.
I’ve also heard, I think in your previous reporting, that DART is going to play a huge role in the World Cup next year, is that still happening?
Yeah, Andrew, that’s still happening, and the region is going to need DART resources including buses and trains along the Trinity Railway Express to transport fans to and from AT&T stadium in Arlington. It’s one of the reasons why North Texas was picked as a host region for nine games, more than any other North American city. Dallas will also be hosting the International Broadcast Center downtown and Fan Fest at Fair Park.
Michael Morris at the Regional Transportation Council says if nothing at DART changes financially, then those plans should still go smoothly, but given the recent legislative battle, that could be a big if.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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