Dallas Area Rapid transit riders will soon see longer wait times, fewer routes and higher fares.
Despite public and even some internal opposition, DART’s board of directors voted Tuesday night to approve systemwide service cuts that will roll out next year. It comes as the agency is cutting spending to return funds to cities that say they’re not getting their money’s worth in services.
Olinka Green is a disabled DART rider who told the board that she's concerned about the impact of the cuts on Black and low-income communities.
"It's selfish and it's greedy, and it always seems like the poor, the oppressed and the disabled are always the ones that get hit the hardest," Green said. "This is ugly and this is not fair and to those that vote for this, I hope that this rides your conscience."
Under the service changes, bus routes 209, 225, 254, 255, 305, 378, and 383 will be eliminated. Other bus routes, along with light rail, would see peak service frequency reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20.
The approved changes had been delayed by two weeks after board representatives for the city of Dallas, as well as Plano, voted to wait until the agency got feedback from member cities on the plan. This cost the agency about $1 million.
The board also approved raising fares for single-rides and paratransit services, but pulled back an earlier proposal to also reduce paratransit zones.
During a committee meeting earlier Tuesday, Plano’s DART representative Anthony Ricciardelli asked the board to consider additional service changes, including frequency cuts to several other routes in Dallas and Garland, along with the implementation of “true single-zone" for city-wide on-demand GoLink service in Plano.
Ricciardelli referenced a 2023 report by the consulting firm Ernst and Young that showed a disparity between what Plano pays into the transit system and its return on investment.
“I'd like to see us make a serious run at correcting that,” Ricciardelli said. “While I appreciate that there are some service additions for Plano in these service changes, they're frankly fairly small compared to the magnitude of that disparity between Plano's contribution to DART and DART's investment back in Plano.”
Plano is one of seven cities eligible to receive additional DART funding through a new General Mobility Program. It led a push earlier this year to pass legislation to cut DART’s funding.
Mark Enoch, who represents Garland, Glenn Heights and Rowlett, said he opposed Ricciardelli’s motion because the agency’s staff has already done what it can to expand service in Plano.
“If I go from North Plano to South Plano, that might be helpful to some people in Plano,” Enoch said. “I'm not sure it helps the regionalism of a regional agency, and sometimes I think that gets missed by some of our city councils.”
Enrique MacGregor, who represents Dallas and Cockrell Hill on the board, echoed that sentiment.
"I appreciate the concerns that Plano has in the wanting to do what, in their mind, is equity in terms of what you're putting in, what you are getting back," MacGregor said, "but the overwhelming feedback from public is don't reduce services."
Rob Smith, DART’s vice president of service and planning, said any additional changes would have to go through another public hearing process.
The approved changes are still subject to the federal Title VI policy, which requires transit agencies to analyze whether major service changes have disparate impact or burden on historically underserved or low-income areas. That would include mitigation measures that could restore discontinued routes if there is enough funding in the future.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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