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Hello, Karen,
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) team learned late Friday of companion bills filed in the Texas House and Senate that would substantially defund DART and force the agency to cut services throughout our 13 service area cities.
The proposed legislation from state Rep. Matt Shaheen and state Senators Angela Paxton, Tan Parker, and Brent Hagenbuch comes amid months-long negotiations between DART leaders and representatives from service area cities to expand and enhance services, and amend our board governance.
DART Board Chair Gary A. Slagel said the legislation, if passed,
"will dramatically reduce bus and rail service reliability, expansion plans, and long-term infrastructure investments."
"Public transit is a lifeline for thousands of North Texans, connecting workers to jobs, students to schools, and families to essential services," Slagel said. "This legislation will mean fewer stops, longer rides, and reduced services throughout the entire system, with a devastating economic impact on the region. These changes would dramatically reverse the upward trajectory the agency has been headed in to create a more clean, safe, and reliable system, as well as the extensive plans in place to modernize the system."
Just last week, Slagel and DART President & CEO Nadine S. Lee led an agency delegation to Austin to meet with nearly two dozen legislators and staff representing our service area cities. Those meetings focused on DART's longstanding fiscal stewardship, collaboration with our city partners, and the impacts of cutting the voter-approved 1% sales tax in service cities that is DART's primary source of revenue.
We were pleased to share progress we have made through months of conversations with our cities about a variety of potential service upgrades. That includes expanded circulator services, GoLink microtransit, and economic development projects (read more here).
Our board members are also in ongoing discussions about potential governance changes to address concerns from some suburban cities. Board members recently approved a super majority threshold requirement to add any new services and tonight will consider a resolution to require a two-thirds vote requirement for annual budget approval.
Legislators and staff members in Austin have been incredibly warm and receptive. Many of them are longtime partners with a keen appreciation for DART's value as an economic and mobility asset. Together, with our city and state partners, we want to continue to leverage transit as a catalyst for economic prosperity and improved quality of life.
As Chair Slagel noted, "That work will continue, and we hope we can address the concerns of some of our service area cities at the local level and without the need for state intervention."
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