Addison, Park Cities Eye Microtransit Service as Potential DART Replacement

Officials in the three remaining DART member cities with exit elections called for May are looking at alternatives for their residents.

At one point, six member cities — Plano, Irving, Farmers Branch, Addison and the Park Cities — had all called exit elections from the agency. While the larger suburbs called off elections in February after the DART board approved an agreement to return a portion of cities’ sales tax contributions, leaders in Addison, Highland Park and University Park have remained steadfast in pushing for exit elections.

A vote to withdraw an exit vote from May ballots was called by the Addison City Council after the DART board approved the agreement. Council members ultimately voted 5-2 against calling off the election. Highland Park and University Park’s councils did not revisit the matter.

Officials have criticized the returns they receive from transit services in their cities and DART’s governance model. The three cities still pursuing a withdrawal all currently share a single board member with Richardson. As part of the compromise, Dallas’ city council voted to give up its majority on the DART board in an effort to appease malcontented suburban officials in favor of a “one city, one vote” system with votes weighted by population, which Highland Park Mayor Will Beecherl said still wasn’t enough in a Dallas Morning News opinion column.

“The vote for that seat is weighted, meaning the town still holds only a fractional vote, rather than a 1:1 vote,” he wrote.

City officials have also said they need better service for their residents. The Park Cities are currently served by a single bus line on Preston Road, while a controversial Ernst & Young Study from 2024 found that Addison contributed $16 million to the system but received only $9.5 million in services in Fiscal Year 2023.

Microtransit services, similar to those offered in Arlington, have been at the forefront of suburban cities’ discussions for alternative transportation systems. Even cities that have chosen to remain in DART under the plan have moved forward with implementing city-level microtransit services funded by sales tax returns. Plano has entered into a $4 million agreement with microtransit service Via — the same company contracted in Arlington — to create a system that includes a circulator service in downtown and Legacy West.

In the Morning News editorial, Beecherl wrote that “Highland Park is prepared to explore third-party transit providers and other flexible options to meet the modern transportation needs of our residents while maintaining regional connectivity.”

All three cities are currently in talks with, or have approved, an agreement with Via.

The Park Cities

On April 7, University Park’s City Council voted 4-1 to table a one-year, $1.06 million agreement for microtransit and paratransit services with Via. The tabled agreement calls for the creation of a five-vehicle fleet operating each day between 5 a.m. and midnight.

“I think it’s a good service, I think we’re going to need it,” Mayor Thomas Stewart said at the meeting. But I think we’re really going to need to look at how we’re going to take it and what we’re going to be paying for it.”

The council will consider approving the contract at a meeting on Tuesday.

Highland Park’s Town Council is set to consider an agreement with Via at an April 21 council meeting. The town is seeking to find ways to bring some of its main transit users — non-resident workers — into Highland Park limits without overcrowding its roads for residents, according to a briefing memo.

Addison

On March 24, Addison’s city council approved a $872,231, six-month agreement of services from Via. The agreement stipulates that Via maintain a low average wait time for riders and provide cost-free service between six rally points.

The agreement will provide “door-to-door” service for residential customers by a fleet of nine Toyota Siennas, “including two spares and three wheelchair accessible vehicles,” according to a council memo. Via will also provide transportation to nearby transit centers, giving residents access to DART services.

If voters choose to remain in DART, Addison can cancel or renegotiate its agreement with Via.