As the City of Plano deliberates financial involvement with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the transit system announced a restructuring of its fare rates, which will go into effect on March 1, and a $2 billion plan to modernize technology.
“Our goal is to make fares more straightforward and equitable for all passengers,” Assistant Vice President of Service Planning and Development for DART Jing Xu said in a press release. “By consolidating and refining our fare products, we aim to maintain a balance between affordability and the high level of service our customers expect.”
Changes include:
- Replacing Single-ride, AM, PM and Midday Passes with a three-Hour pass.
- Increasing Monthly Pass rates.
- Discontinuing Retail Annual Pass
- Providing a 50% discount for veterans
- Providing a Bulk Sales Discount
Most of these changes, while technically streamlined, result in a price increase for regular users. Monthly pass costs rise from $96 to $126. Annual pass users (not including Corporate Annual Pass holders, who have separate contracts with DART) will have to move to more expensive options. The three-Hour Pass is equivalent in cost to the AM/PM pass, but more expensive than the Midday or Single Ride, increasing rates by 50 cents to $1 for riders.
DART also announced today that it is focusing on modernization, with a five-point program focusing on modernizing vehicles, stations and passenger facilities, resiliency, a unified signaling system and operating facilities. This $2 billion venture is set to include 500 new buses, 95 new light rail vehicles, raising 23 platforms and other improvements.
This comes at a time when the City of Plano wants to lower how much money it contributes to DART. City Council passed a resolution in June to reduce the one cent per sales tax dollar contribution to DART to three-quarters of a cent. The resolution was recently approved by the DART board but still must be approved by voters and then a member-city election.
Plano’s director of government relations Andrew Fortune said the City contributes about $115 million annually to DART, and the resolution’s passage would add about $30 million back into the City Budget, KERA reported.
This effort is not without controversy, however. Some have called into question the ethicality of the process.
Plano DART Board Member Paul Wageman, a proponent of the decrease, was recently under fire for advocating for GoLink expansion rather than full-penny funding for DART. Since GoLink includes Uber vehicles and Wageman is a registered Uber lobbyist, many have taken to email and social media to call for his removal from the board. Wageman says he has recused himself when obligated, and that he disclosed his affiliation to Uber with DART early on in the position.
Others have questioned the legitimacy of the City of Plano’s claims that usage is too low to justify the tax impact when the incoming Silver Line, which was created to bolster DART’s presence in Plano, is not yet complete. The new station has been so significant to the City of Plano that a Silver Line Station Areas Plan was created for the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council to prioritize development that would supplement the line, including transit-oriented developments and safety-related improvements to facilities. The plan was finalized on Jan. 27, 2025.
While we do not yet know when or if Plano’s financial obligation to DART will be lessened, we can expect to see the effects of increased fares and modernization initiatives in the next few months.
