TX: DART delays vote on public transit cuts

Dallas Area Rapid Transit delayed a vote on public transportation cuts aimed at saving $24 million a year.

DART’s governing board on Tuesday punted a vote on service reductions until September, meaning cuts to public transportation wouldn’t happen until at least February.

But the one-month delay means the agency will need to find an extra $1 million to continue paying for bus routes, paratransit and other public transportation amenities in cities throughout North Texas.

The delay is intended to give member cities more time to weigh in on the agency’s proposed 2026 budget amid calls from some to reduce costs and taxpayer contributions.

The changes considered by the board are far less drastic than the $60 million in cuts first proposed in March. While service reductions previously presented to the public would have touched nearly every rider, the revised changes leave some services unaffected.

Peak service frequency for some buses and across all light rail would decrease from 15 to 20 minutes, and seven low-performing routes would be discontinued under the staff-proposed changes. The agency previously proposed cutting nine routes and eliminating some GoLink zones, reducing paratransit service and nearly doubling paratransit fares, among other changes.

The cuts are aimed at accounting for reduced operating revenues in future years as the agency redirects 5% of its sales tax revenue back to cities for use on transportation projects as part of a voluntary general mobility program. The program, created in the hopes of appeasing member cities pushing for state-mandated funding changes at DART, will refund seven cities a collective $42 million.

Some member cities will also receive new services. Those include the creation of two new GoLink zones in Addison and southwest Plano and expanded GoLink service in Plano. DART previously said the service requests could cost the agency as much as $18 million in the first year.

The tempering of proposed service cuts and fare increases comes after hundreds protested the sweeping changes at an hourslong public hearing in July.

Riders said the service reductions would limit their ability to get to work, school and obtain medical treatments.

Attendees at the July meeting pointed out that the previously proposed changes would particularly hit southern Dallas residents who rely on the transit system. The updated changes will include a plan to address disparate impacts through alternate service options for discontinued routes, and future service or frequency restorations if the agency’s budget allows it.

The board will discuss the changes Sept. 9.