Long-awaited DART Silver Line opening soon as DFW looks to improve mass transit
New DART line opening in October
The 26-mile rail line will connect seven cities from Plano to DFW International Airport, but the move comes as the agency makes service cuts in other locations.
DALLAS - Friday, DART's CEO announced the long-awaited Silver Line will open Oct. 25.
The 26-mile rail line will connect seven cities from Plano to DFW International Airport, but the move comes as the agency makes service cuts in other locations.
DART announces Silver Line opening
Source: DART
What's new:
As the agency makes cuts to service, the CEO says the region needs to be doing the exact opposite to accommodate the millions expected to soon make North Texas the third-largest region in the country.
DART President and CEO Nadine Lee said DART will be free for the day, and the Silver Line will be free for the first two weeks of service.
DART's expansion comes amid a large budget dollar reduction.
DART begins testing Silver Line train in Plano and Richardson
Starting this week, Plano and Richardson residents will get a glimpse of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s new Silver Line train.
"As you know, this has been a really tough budget year. In the $1.8 billion budget, we had to make some hard choices. As we considered the impacts of inflation, rising fuel costs, increased service costs and new service like the Silver Line, we knew we needed to hear from our riders, and boy did we hear from them," Lee said.
After 200 people spoke out at a hearing in July, DART reduced its budget cuts from $60 million to $25 million.
Lee said the agency needs to be adding, not cutting, service as North Texas is poised to become the third-largest metro region in the United States within a decade.
She noted that many people moving to the area are coming from places with established transit systems, and it's important that DFW be up to the standard of large urban areas.
Mass transit for DFW sports fans
What they're saying:
There's also future planning for new sports venues, and DART's role in providing game-day service to thousands of fans.
Dallas Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts addressed that.
"We probably all know about the arena with us and the Mavs. It’s a complicated, complex situation, but where we ultimately play AAC or somewhere else, mass transit will be at the forefront of that decision," said Alberts.
Alberts says the biggest challenge for DART is creating a new culture.
"People need to know it is safe, affordable, efficient. You don't have to jump in your car. We are not the East Coast. We don't have a culture of using a subway or train, so we have to train this to become trendy," said Alberts.
What's next:
Lee says DART needs to be looking at bus service that comes every 10 minutes instead of every 30 minutes to truly make transit an alternative to driving.
The Source: Information in this article comes from FOX 4 coverage at the DART State of the Agency event.