Supporters of the legislation said it would allow the funding structure of DART to become more fair.
Supporters of the legislation said it would allow the funding structure of DART to become more fair.
Supporters of the legislation said it would allow the funding structure of DART to become more fair.
PLANO, Texas — Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) officials are warning that a pair of bills filed in the Texas Legislature could devastate the transit system, potentially causing the cuts of up to 30% of services and potentially impacting a thousand jobs.
The proposed legislation would allow member cities to reduce the amount of sales tax revenue allocated to DART, a change that supporters of the legislation argue is necessary to address funding issues in the current system.
“We would lose 30 percent of our service now,” said Jeamy Molina, DART spokesperson. “The majority of DART’s revenue comes from sales tax funding.”
According to DART, the bills could result in revenue cuts between 25 to 45%, affecting approximately 1,000 jobs and having what they describe as a “billion dollar impact” on the region.
Plano Mayor John Muns supports the legislation, citing data that shows his city contributes 13% of DART’s funding while receiving only 4% of its services.
“Our community will not support us subsidizing that kind of money for the value we’re getting from DART,” Muns said. “We need that revenue to be able to survive and to provide the resources that our community requires.”
Muns pointed to low ridership in Plano as evidence that the current funding model is unsustainable.
“You can go anywhere around downtown Plano, and the buses are empty, the trains are empty,” he stated.
The bills would allow member cities to reclaim up to 25% of their sales tax contributions to DART. Representative Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), who filed one of the bills, said the legislation aims to force DART to negotiate with member cities.
“The amount of money the city puts into DART, they have the opportunity to get 25 percent of that back,” Shaheen explained. “DART just needs to sit down with these member cities and work out a new funding approach and they’re not willing to do it, so we’re going to force them legislatively.”
DART officials contend they have been trying to work with member cities on their concerns.
“We can do all of that here locally without having to go to the state legislature to make something that would drastically change how DART looks for the future,” Molina said.
The transit agency has emphasized improvements in safety, cleanliness, and reliability, with Molina noting they’ve achieved “99 percent of our on-time performance.”
Critics of the bills, including DART, warn that service cuts could have far-reaching consequences, potentially affecting North Texas’s ability to successfully host major events like the upcoming World Cup.
Shaheen dismissed these concerns as “a little bit of a marketing ploy, little bit of a scare tactic.”
While Plano officials want to redirect the funds toward other mobility issues, DART warns that reducing funding would create a downward spiral for the transit system.
“You’re earning less revenue every year because you’re seeing less riders, so your money keeps going down,” Molina explained.
More coverage on DART funding