Another Dallas Area Rapid Transit member city says it's not ruling out a withdrawal election from the transit agency.
Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick told KERA the city hasn't come to a decision yet on whether or not to hold a withdrawal election, but said each city can choose how to deliver transit to its residents.
"As you listen to some alternatives, hypothetically, if Carrollton were to make a decision to withdraw, we're looking to make sure that we can still meet the needs of the Carrollton residents," Babick said.
He added that Carrollton is not yet in a position say it's "for or against" a DART withdrawal election.
The north Dallas suburb serves as a crucial junction for transit connections in North Texas, with three light rail stations and a stop on the Silver Line to Plano and DFW Airport. One of the stations, Trinity Mills, also connects passengers to Denton County Transit Authority’s A-Train commuter rail.
Carrollton is one of seven member cities that were found to have paid more into the system in 2023 than they received in services.
During a meeting Tuesday of the city's recently formed DART committee, Babick and other city officials heard from Carrollton's DART board representative Doug Hrbacek on the recent news that four other member cities will hold withdrawal elections this spring — neighboring Farmers Branch, as well as Plano, Irving and Highland Park.
"I can tell you in terms of the one board meeting for this month that no action will be taken to address the concerns of the member city," Hrbacek told the committee.
The committee also heard from Jared Moore, a representative of RideCo, a micro-transit company that partners with rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. He spoke about various options the city could choose for a possible “replacement” for DART.
"We're of the mind of whatever you want it to be, we'll give you some guidelines and suggestions to keep the costs down," Moore told the committee. "If you guys want to say we want to go to Dallas or to Dallas downtown for some reason, that's up to you guys to make that rule to do it."
RideCo is scheduled to give a presentation to Plano's new Collin County Connects Committee formed to explore alternative transit options if the city votes to leave DART in May.
If Carrollton’s city council votes to hold elections, it would be the fifth city to do so.
Meredith Ladd, the city's attorney, told the committee the city would need to call an election by Feb. 3 in order to hold it on May 2.
Babick told KERA that even if the city were to withdraw from DART, it would still aim to maintain a working relationship with the agency.
"We see the value in rail. We see the value in all of those elements of what we've received from DART today," he said. "Even if we weren't part of a DART membership formally, we'd want to have some level of contract to continue to provide service."
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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