Irving residents who have been missing bus service along two routes have a new option for getting around town.
There’s also a new way to move through Las Colinas coming soon.
The City of Irving recently launched its Irving Connector van service in partnership with Via, a private microtransit company. The vans run along the previous DART 225 and 255 bus routes, which were discontinued in February. The incoming "Loop at Las Colinas" is also a Via project.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART, officials previously identified the 225 and 255 routes as low performers. The routes were cut alongside other bus routes across the Metroplex, in addition to service reductions for some bus and light rail lines.
In February, the Irving City Council voted to rescind an election asking voters to decide whether the city remained in DART. Other DART services have continued in Irving.
Irving Connector replaces DART routes 225 and 255
Irving’s Citymapper app allows users to see route schedules for the new Irving Connector service and buy tickets, which are valid for two hours after activation. Reservations are not required.
Irving Connector vans are ADA-compliant and have space to store mobility aids. The vans each seat up to nine passengers. Service runs daily from 5 a.m. until midnight, with a frequency of every 35-60 minutes. Rides are $1.50 each, regardless of the start and end point.
Irving City Council member David Pfaff told KERA the council voted to bring the price down to $1.50 per ride after resident feedback suggesting an earlier proposed price was too high.
He noted that the city copied the DART routes, so stops are the same as residents are used to.
Via also has partnerships in cities like Plano, Frisco, Denton and Arlington, which means their service is familiar to the Metroplex.
“It’s not like running out and just getting some brand-new vendor and no one has a track record,” Pfaff said. “They have a pretty good track record working with everybody.”
During city council meetings and public forums in recent months, residents and public transit activists offered comments on how losing routes 225 and 255 has impacted them. They cited a common concern that they wouldn’t be able to do basic errands without the bus services.
Before the bus routes’ discontinuation, Irving resident Kressie Warren said she rode route 225 several times a week to travel to doctor’s appointments for her 15-year-old son, whom she described as “medically complex.”
For the past few months, Warren said she has struggled to get her son to his appointments on time without the bus, which used to connect them to several DART stations. In some cases, this has led to her son going several months without seeing his medical specialists, she said.
Instead, Warren says she paid $9 per trip for her and her son to take GoLink, DART’s on-demand curb-to-curb service.
“It really killed my pockets because I had to pay out of pocket for GoLink to get us to where we needed to go.”
Although the city’s new Connector service seeks to fill the gap of the discontinued bus routes, Warren anticipates it will still put a financial burden on her family.
Before, she was able to ride the bus for free through her son’s Paratransit card and DART passes provided by her son’s school. But the new city service does not currently accept these payment methods, meaning Warren would have to pay $6 per round trip for both her and her son to ride.
“We're still in the same boat, pretty much,” she said. “Because we have to put out extra money to get on this.”
Warren is a single mother and is considered low-income, like other families in her area. With the continued financial strain, Warren said she has struggled to get her son in to see his 10 to 15 medical specialists.
"It's just still hurting a lot of low-income families, like myself,” she said. “I'm trying to get all [my son’s] appointments back on schedule, you know, but it's hard to do it with the situation that we've been in.”
A city flier notes that officials are looking into options to accept DART passes on the Irving Connector.
Pfaff said residents relied on each other to get to the grocery store, doctors’ appointments and beyond while service was inactive.
“It's been citizens just kind of stepping up and taking their friends where they need to go,” Pfaff said. “It's been a tough four or five months.”
Pfaff said there are no plans to raise the $1.50 per ride price. Officials will keep an eye on ridership levels.
“We'll continue making sure that our citizens get a good service and it's priced correctly,” he said.
Pfaff encouraged residents to reach out to the city’s transportation department with any questions.
He noted the projects are funded through the 5% return negotiated with DART.
Service to extend into Las Colinas
The city is also launching a circulator service with Via in the Las Colinas Urban Center. It goes live July 6.
Pfaff said of the incoming Las Colinas service, “It’s been talked about for a long time in the city.”
“This will be a pilot program to really see about the stops, see how many people are using it and really activate that whole urban center where no matter what side of the lake you live on or where the restaurants are, you can get around quickly,” he added.
According to city materials posted online, the route will follow a figure-eight loop around Las Colinas Boulevard and Lake Carolyn Parkway, with through-access at O’Connor Road and Promenade Parkway. Service runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and rides are free.
Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org and Emily DeMotte at edemotte@kera.org.
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