DCTA to break ground on first Denton County rail station
The Denton County transit agency will break ground on its Hebron light rail station Friday at 11 a.m. in Lewisville, a tangible sign of progress on a project that will eventually connect transit...
View ArticleMore thoughts on the Funnel fix, aka DFW Connector
You may have read the news from yesterday that the state is going to spend $1 billion to open up the Grapevine funnel, as part of a larger highway project called the DFW Connector. Not everything we...
View ArticleDenton breaks ground at new rail station, will connect to DART
Denton County takes a big step today, when it breaks ground on the A-train rail line in Lewisville. The press release is on the jump, but here’s the gist: After talking about it forever, the...
View ArticleTolls are here, there and everywhere … you got a better idea?
Terri Hall and the anti-toll folks at TURF are hopping mad over a bill that passed 31-0 in the Senate yesterday. (You can read colleague Bob Garrett’s coverage of the vote here and a view from east...
View ArticleRegional rail bill on could see vote in Senate today
We’re hearing that Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, may bring his local-option transportation funding bill to the Senate floor today. (It was placed yesterday on the intent calendar.) If so, it’s likely to...
View ArticleRail funding bill clears final Senate hurdle
The Senate just seconds ago voted 21-9 to give third and final approval to a bill authored by Sen. John Carona, a measure that would give counties the right to hold elections in which voters can...
View ArticleIn Austin, the fight over local rail funding bill moves to House
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving and a member of the House transportation committee, hasn’t yet decided whether she’s for the local-option rail funding bill, or against it. “I’m not fighting this...
View ArticleDART committee to take up fare increases today
A DART budget committee will consider, again, proposals to raise fares. The budget committee meets today at 1:30, at DART headquarters in Dallas, 1401 Pacific Avenue. DART has already held required...
View ArticleClik here to view.
DART panel wants smaller-than-expected fare hike; board will vote May 12
The DART budget committee voted this afternoon to support a proposal to raise fares throughout the DART system, but with an important and money-saving … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleClik here to view.
DART still seeking funds for Orange Line
DART’s plan to run rail service to the D/FW International Airport by 2013 is about $120 million short of the required funding, the transit agency’s board chairman said this afternoon. The 14-mile...
View ArticleTRE fares jump in Fort Worth, will match DART fares
Fort Worth’s transit agency raised fares for Trinity Railway Express commuters yesterday, but left fares for its buses unchanged. The new fares for TRE passengers will bring it in line with changes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lots of DART parking used by out-of-system users
How many of those hard-to-come-by spots at DART parking lots are being used by residents of cities that don’t belong to DART? Lots and lots. More on that on the jump, but first, one tidbit about the...
View ArticleDART schedules to change for July 4th weekend
DART bus and rail service will be adjusted over the July 4 holiday. Friday the 3rd will be like a Saturday and the 4th will be like a Sunday? Confused? Check out the details on the jump. … [visit site...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Could transit trains crash in Dallas, like they did this week in Washington?
A few editors around here were wondering, as I am sure some of you were, whether what happened in Washington Monday could happen here. That was the day, of course, when a Metro subway train crashed...
View ArticleDART rail commute was smoother this a.m.
DART media spokesman Mark Ball says this morning that his office has received no word of complaints about disrupted service for the rush hour commute. A scan of TV websites turns up no breaking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who goes car-less in Dallas?
To be more specific: Who is car-less by choice in this town? No doubt a minuscule number, by choice, (and I sometimes count myself in that number). And I would like to hear about these people. visit...
View ArticleClik here to view.
DART police report: Fare jumpers got nailed in 09; HOV enforcement still lax...
Photo courtsey of DART image library DART officers issued significantly more citations for fare evasion in the past year, according to a year-end report on the transit agency’s police activities. More...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Austin shows off its new Capital Metro rail cars
The Cap Metro passenger rail expansion in Austin hasn’t been with its significant setbacks, but last night it showed off a gleaming new rail car that should … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleOf ethnicity and DART ridership
Interesting talk with DART VP Todd Plesko and spokesman Morgan Lyons on the subject of ethnicity, ridership and equity, stemming from my post on a lawsuit out of Chicago that touches on these issues....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dallas could be asked to share cost of new downtown line
The Dallas City Council has made its preference crystal clear: The second downtown DART rail line should stop at the new convention center hotel. Council members strongly pressed that case again...
View ArticleHow was your trip home last night? Short delay?
Last night’s commute home got bad before it got started for some of those leaving downtown Dallas, including me. I got stopped behind the DART rail crossing, along with a bunch of other people, just...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A fairer look at Green Line figures
A few weeks ago I posted Green Line figures from DART that reflected the number of passengers delivered … [visit site to read more]
View ArticleCan DART end the ‘honor system’ for rail riders?
Installing turnstiles and ending the “honor system” for DART rail riders is one idea lots have people have mentioned for how DART can climb out of its financial pit. (See analysis and visit site to...
View ArticleIf DART chooses the Orange Line over Dallas’ second line, will Dallas be...
DART CEO Gary Thomas has told Irving leaders that completing the Orange Line to D/FW International Airport will take precedence over building a second downtown rail line in Dallas. Colleague Brandon...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More of the scoop on Denton County rail service
Your comments on a blog post on Denton County’s A Train triggered some additional questions. I sent them off to the DCTA’s spokeswoman, Dee Leggett, and she sent back detailed answers about service...
View ArticleTransit agency’s post-storm outreach
Over on the Dallas-Fort Worth Urban Forum, discussion has broken out over DART’s winter-weather missteps in a thread called “DART caught with its pants down …” Interesting comments, centered on what...
View ArticleWhy today’s DART hater makes me crazy
Was DART worth it? That’s the essence of what guest columnist Bill Ceverha asked today on our Viewpoints page. He spent lots of time tossing numbers around and re-fighting old fights from the 1980s on...
View ArticleMore on DART’s plan to hit outsiders with higher fares
There’s a good discussion on the Dallas-Fort Worth Urban Forum on an idea DART floated to charge out-of-area riders with higher fares. This comes on top of a pilot program that will charge outsiders...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Guest blogger: Tips for linking commuter rail service
NOTE: Peter LeCody is president of Texas Rail Advocates, a statewide group whose name says it all about mission. Members are up on date on the latest developments on passenger, … [visit site to read...
View ArticleDoes Atlanta’s transit vote sound familiar?
Voters in 10 counties in the Atlanta area will vote next year on whether to assess a new 1-cent sales tax for transportation. Where have you heard that before? Actually, it’s remarkably similar to the...
View ArticleTOD’s slow development around DART light rail
The most difficult promise for DART cities to fulfill is the one of transit-oriented development. That is, transit supporters argue that one main benefit of investing in DART rail is stimulation of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
