Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about DART What is DART? Where can I take the bus? Where can I take the train? How much does it cost to park at a station? Can I take a train to American Airlines Center? Can I take a train to DFW Airport or Dallas Love Field? Can I take a train to Fort Worth? How much does a ticket cost? What is DART s annual budget? What is DART s annual ridership? What is DART s annual subsidy per passenger? What is the size of DART s bus system? What is the size of DART s light rail system? What is the size of DART s High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) system? What is the size of DART s general mobility programs (vanpool)? What is the size of DART s paratransit (van service for customers with disabilities)? How many different types of buses does DART use? Where does DART get its electrical power to operate the light rail vehicles? What are the light rail vehicles technical specifications? What is DART s rail ridership by fiscal year? What is DART? Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the public transit agency for Dallas and 12 surrounding cities. Our extensive network of DART Light Rail, Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter rail and bus services moves more than 220,000 passengers per day across a 700-square-mile service area. To promote ridesharing, DART also operates a system of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes allowing carpoolers to whiz past freeway traffic jams. More than 145,000 commuters use our HOV lanes each weekday. Where can I take the bus? DART operates local and express bus routes serving Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett, Plano and University Park. Where can I take the train? The DART Rail System provides fast, convenient service to work, shopping and entertainment destinations in Dallas, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Garland, Plano and Richardson. Plus, our TRE commuter line links DART customers to DFW International Airport and downtown Fort Worth. Popular shopping and entertainment destinations near DART Rail stations in Dallas include NorthPark Center and Upper Greenville Avenue (Park Lane Station), West Village (Cityplace Station), Mockingbird
Station (Mockingbird Station), the Dallas Museum of Art (St. Paul Station), American Airlines Center (Victory Station), the entertaining West End Historic District (West End Station), Fair Park (Fair Park Station and MLK, Jr. Station), the Dallas Convention Center (Convention Center Station), and the Dallas Zoo (Dallas Zoo Station). Popular destinations in surrounding cities include the Renaissance Hotel and the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts (Galatyn Park Station in Richardson); Downtown Plano, the ArtCentre of Plano and the Courtyard Theater (Downtown Plano Station); the Granville Arts Center (Downtown Garland Station); Downtown Irving (South Irving Station); the Farmers Branch Historical Park (Farmers Branch Station); and Downtown Carrollton (Downtown Carrollton Station). How much does it cost to park at a station? Free parking is available at most rail stations, and all are served by DART bus routes specially timed to make transfers between buses and trains quick and easy. Can I take a train to American Airlines Center? Whether you are headed to a concert, a Dallas Mavericks basketball game or a Dallas Stars showdown on the ice, ride DART Rail to events at American Airlines Center (AAC). Coming from Fort Worth or the Mid-Cities? The TRE is the ticket Monday through Saturday. Visit www.dart.org/victory for details. Can I take a train to DFW Airport or Dallas Love Field? The TRE gets you to and from DFW International Airport for a fraction of the cost of taxi fare or long-term parking. Just take it to CentrePort/DFW Airport Station and transfer to the DFW Airport bus serving airline terminals. Airport buses meet all trains, departing every 15 minutes Monday through Saturday. There is no Sunday service. Airport bus service between the rail station and the airport terminals is free. Visit www.dart.org/dfwairport for details. When heading to DFW International Airport, Victory Station on the Red and Green Line provides your connection between DART Light Rail and the TRE commuter rail. Your link between DART Light Rail s Green and Orange Lines and the Love Field Terminal is Bus Route 39 that operates between Dallas Love Field and the Inwood/Love Field Station. Frequency of service between Inwood/Love Field Station and Love Field Airport is every 20 minutes seven days a week. Can I take a train to Fort Worth? Downtown Fort Worth is now just about an hour's ride from Union Station in downtown Dallas via the Trinity Railway Express (TRE). TRE information is available at www.trinityrailwayexpress.org. How much does a ticket cost? DART offers three basic, one-way fares - $1.75 for Local bus and rail service; $3.50 for System service, which includes express bus service between downtown Dallas and free Park & Ride facilities in Addison, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Glenn Heights, Irving, Plano and Rowlett; and $5.00 for Regional service, which includes all DART and The T buses, DART Rail and all TRE trains. TRE fares are in two zones: $3.50 one-way to all stops between downtown Dallas and West Irving
Station; $5.00 between stations in Dallas County and Tarrant County. The DART Day Pass is an even better value at $4.00 for a local (valid on local buses, DART Rail trains and FLEX service along regular route), $7.00 for a system pass (valid on all DART buses, DART Rail trains, DART On-Call, and the TRE from Union Station to West Irving Station) or $10.00 for a regional pass (valid on all DART buses and trains, DART On-Call, TRE trains (from Union Station to T&P Station), and the T in Fort Worth). What is DART s annual budget? FY11 operating budget $422.0 million FY10 operating budget $402.8 million FY10 actual operating expenses $392.4 million FY10 sales tax revenue $375.5 million FY11 budgeted employees 3,803 FY10 revenue miles (fixed route) 34.5 million What is DART s annual ridership? FY10 systemwide ridership (all modes) FY10 systemwide ridership (fixed route) 110.1 million passenger trips 58.2 million What is DART s annual subsidy per passenger? FY10 subsidy per passenger (all modes) $2.98 FY10 subsidy per passenger (fixed route) $4.87 What is the size of DART s bus system? Total vehicle fleet 658 Number of buses used in peak service: 550 Number of transit centers 13 Number of Bus Routes: 135 Number of bus stops 12,322 FY10 bus ridership 38.0 million passenger trips (includes charter) FY10 Average weekday ridership 129,506 passenger trips FY10 Average Saturday ridership 59,437 passenger trips FY10 Average Sunday ridership 33,228 passenger trips FY10 subsidy per passenger $5.10 What is the size of DART s light rail system? Length of system 72 miles Number of stations 55 Total vehicle fleet 163 FY10 ridership 17.8 million passenger trips FY10 Average weekday ridership 59,810 passenger trips FY10 Average Saturday ridership 28,887 passenger trips FY10 Average Sunday ridership 18,596 passenger trips FY10 subsidy per passenger $4.21
What is the size of DART s High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) system? Number of interim lanes 6 Number of freeway miles 84 FY10 commuter trips 50.1 million Average weekday trips 151,426 FY10 subsidy per passenger $0.21 What is the size of DART s general mobility programs (vanpool)? FY10 ridership 924,600 FY10 number of vanpools (Sept. 2010) 175 FY10 subsidy per passenger $0.54 What is the size of DART s paratransit (van service for disabled customers)? Registered participants (July 2010) 11,000 FY10 ridership 772,675 FY10 subsidy per passenger $42.91 Number of paratransit vehicles 186 How many different types of buses does DART use? NovaBUS (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) Diesel: 399 NovaBUS (1998, 1999, 2002) LNG: 179 NABI (2004) Diesel: 80 Bus length: 40 feet Bus capacity: 41 seated Bus curb weight: LNG - 30,920 Diesel - 29,740 GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) - 39,500 Where does DART get its electrical power to operate the light rail vehicles? DART's 72-mile light rail system requires about 6.2 million kilowatt hours per month from the Texas General Land Office and Garland Power & Light to feed into the 55 mainline substations -- big boxes measuring 15 feet wide, 46 feet long and 14 feet high located at intervals of 1.5 to 1.75 miles along the line. Inside the substations, more than 13,000 volts of AC electrical power is converted into 845 volts of DC energy required to run the trains. Two additional substations are located at each of DART's Service & Inspection Facilities. The power distributed from each substation varies, depending on the number of trains in service and operating speed of rail traffic. DART is unique in having one of the few variable voltage power distribution system in North America. Each substation is polled for energy usage and voltages are varied according to energy used and energy needed. Not all substations have to be operational for the light rail system to work. In the event of loss of utility power to a substation, the system is designed to provide enough power to compensate.
What are the light rail vehicles technical specifications? Vehicle Type: Double-ended, articulated car, multiple unit operation up to three cars Fleet Size: 163 vehicles (2011) Vehicle Height: 13 feet Vehicle Width: 8 feet, 10 inches Vehicle Length: 123 feet, 10 inches Vehicle Weight: SLRV 101-140: 142,204 pounds SLRV 141-195: 139,960 pounds SLRV 196-215: 136,612 pounds SLRV 216-263: 138,250 pounds Passenger Capacity: 209 passengers, 96 seated Travel Speed: Top speed: 65 miles per hour Average speed: 25-35 miles per hour Body: Lightweight, welded steel, with reinforced fiberglass covering operator cab and weatherproof articulation (bending) section Designed for 30-year life Interior: Constructed of stainless steel and lined with an upholstered, padded insert. Rubber interior flooring Cooling/Heating: Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system Wheels: Steel-tired with acoustic dampening Doors: Five sliding doorways per side Special Features: Middle car has a low-floor entrance and is wheelchair-accessible with accommodations for two wheelchairs per vehicle Power Requirements: 600-900 Volts DC. Requires 288 KWH per hour of system operation averaged from total electrical consumption of the system. Vehicle Cost: $7.3 million each (includes design, engineering, shipment, Automatic Train Protection (ATP), GPS-based Vehicle Business System (VBS), etc. What is DART s rail ridership by fiscal year? 1996 1.29 million (11 miles opened June 14, 1996) 1997 7.97 million (6 mile North Central extension opened January 10, 1997; 3 mile South Oak Cliff extension opened May 31, 1997 completing the 20-mile DART Rail Starter System) 1998 10.94 million 1999 11.34 million 2000 11.43 million 2001 11.51 million 2002 13.73 million (North Central extensions to Richardson and Northeast extensions to LBJ/Skillman Station opened in stages during the year) 2003 16.97 million (Northeast and North Central extensions completed adding 24 miles to system bringing the total to 44 miles) 2004 16.49 million 2005 17.48 million (The opening of Victory Station, the first station of the Northwest Corridor rail expansion, adds 1 mile to the system bringing the total to 45 miles) 2006 18.58 million 2007 17.9 million 2008 19.4 million
2009 19.0 million (The opening of the first four stations of the Southeast Corridor rail expansion on September 14, 2009 adds 3 miles to the system bringing the total to 48 miles) 2010 17.8 million