CTroyMathis
21 December 2002, 06:39 PM
Long distance commuters denied by DART
12/16/2002
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO – The allure of light-rail commuting has attracted the attention of people as far away as Sherman, 40 miles north of DART's newest rail station.
When trains started running last week, some of those potential riders were turned away. Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the city of Plano have temporarily denied requests from the Texoma Area Paratransit System to pick up and drop off its passengers at the Parker Road rail station.
The outlying bus riders could stress an already crowded train system, DART officials said. In the first week of train service to Plano, the 76 seats per car on peak-hour trains have filled up before the rail cars reach Richardson.
In coming months, the transit agency will decide how or whether the Texoma Express and buses from other agencies should be allowed to tie into DART. A primary concern, they say, is the needs of area residents who have subsidized the construction of the rail system for 20 years with a 1 percent sales tax.
"It's a regional issue that needs to be addressed," DART board chairman Robert Pope said. "I'm not sure I want someone discharging a busload of people who aren't from member cities taking up seats when their cities aren't helping pay for it."
The Texoma agency has said that it will stay away. If eventually allowed, Texoma officials told DART, the system would run six round trips each weekday that would carry 60 to 75 riders a day.
Those figures are on the low end, according to Sherman City Council member Terrence Steele. Many residents choose to endure 60- to 70-mile commutes because of the low cost of living north of Dallas-Fort Worth, he said.
"The majority of our residents who travel that way are beginning to get on DART," he said. "And we have a lot of people who commute from Sherman."
Officials with the Texoma Express have declined interview requests. In a news release last week, executive director Ven Hammonds said the shuttle bus service had been planned for several months and would help reduce highway congestion and smog.
The Texoma agency will "continue to plan the service using Dallas area destinations other than DART facilities, such as major employment centers," according to the news release.
DART's new policy must weigh many factors, including easing highway congestion and reducing demand on the Parker Road station parking lot. It also must consider the impact of riders from outlying areas, which could force DART to buy more $3 million rail cars or run trains more often.
If the estimated 75 Grayson County riders bought monthly passes at the upcoming $40 rate, DART would get $36,000 a year in fare revenue. Fare collections represent 10 percent to 15 percent of DART's total revenues needed to run the system, with the bulk coming from sales tax receipts in the agency's 13 member cities.
Cost-sharing agreement
A precedent is in place for cost-sharing with nontransit cities. DART and The T, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, have an agreement with nine cities along the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line that requires them to pay $775,000 a year to help defray operating costs.
A recent survey showed that about 20 percent of commuter train riders came from those nine cities. Before trains arrived in East Plano, about 40 percent of cars in the DART bus station parking lot were registered to owners with addresses outside the DART area.
Depending on legal opinions, the issue of cooperation may be moot. DART board members have asked their attorneys to determine whether the agency can prohibit other bus companies from using their property, which is open to the public.
In the interim, the city of Plano has told the Texoma agency that bus loading and unloading is not allowed on streets near the station.
"This is just the first one," Mr. Pope said of the Texoma agency's interest. "There are four to five other agencies to the north ready to do the same thing."
Those include a fledgling Denton County transit agency that could tie into a future Carrollton rail line, a Hunt County agency that would connect to the Downtown Garland station, and a proposed McKinney park-and-ride system that would tie into the Parker Road station.
"We'll be watching the issue," said Charles Emery, executive committee chairman of the Denton County Transportation Authority, which was created with voter approval in November.
The agency will not make any requests of DART because "those are some of the issues we wouldn't want to get ahead of ourselves on," Mr. Emery said.
DART could reap benefits by welcoming outlying residents to the system, said Mr. Steele, the Sherman council member. His city's residents, while working in the Dallas area, also spend money and generate sales tax revenue for DART while in town.
"If people can get to places they enjoy going to, they're going to spend money," he said.
DART's growing popularity – even outside its 13 member cities – has led to discussions about how to get more cities to join mass-transit agencies.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and her Fort Worth counterpart, Kenneth Barr, have held discussions recently on the need for a single transit agency. They also have talked about the need for a change in state law to give cities more options for joining DART or another transit agency.
"This is one of the better arguments for why we need a totally regional system," Mr. Pope said.
12/16/2002
By TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
PLANO – The allure of light-rail commuting has attracted the attention of people as far away as Sherman, 40 miles north of DART's newest rail station.
When trains started running last week, some of those potential riders were turned away. Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the city of Plano have temporarily denied requests from the Texoma Area Paratransit System to pick up and drop off its passengers at the Parker Road rail station.
The outlying bus riders could stress an already crowded train system, DART officials said. In the first week of train service to Plano, the 76 seats per car on peak-hour trains have filled up before the rail cars reach Richardson.
In coming months, the transit agency will decide how or whether the Texoma Express and buses from other agencies should be allowed to tie into DART. A primary concern, they say, is the needs of area residents who have subsidized the construction of the rail system for 20 years with a 1 percent sales tax.
"It's a regional issue that needs to be addressed," DART board chairman Robert Pope said. "I'm not sure I want someone discharging a busload of people who aren't from member cities taking up seats when their cities aren't helping pay for it."
The Texoma agency has said that it will stay away. If eventually allowed, Texoma officials told DART, the system would run six round trips each weekday that would carry 60 to 75 riders a day.
Those figures are on the low end, according to Sherman City Council member Terrence Steele. Many residents choose to endure 60- to 70-mile commutes because of the low cost of living north of Dallas-Fort Worth, he said.
"The majority of our residents who travel that way are beginning to get on DART," he said. "And we have a lot of people who commute from Sherman."
Officials with the Texoma Express have declined interview requests. In a news release last week, executive director Ven Hammonds said the shuttle bus service had been planned for several months and would help reduce highway congestion and smog.
The Texoma agency will "continue to plan the service using Dallas area destinations other than DART facilities, such as major employment centers," according to the news release.
DART's new policy must weigh many factors, including easing highway congestion and reducing demand on the Parker Road station parking lot. It also must consider the impact of riders from outlying areas, which could force DART to buy more $3 million rail cars or run trains more often.
If the estimated 75 Grayson County riders bought monthly passes at the upcoming $40 rate, DART would get $36,000 a year in fare revenue. Fare collections represent 10 percent to 15 percent of DART's total revenues needed to run the system, with the bulk coming from sales tax receipts in the agency's 13 member cities.
Cost-sharing agreement
A precedent is in place for cost-sharing with nontransit cities. DART and The T, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, have an agreement with nine cities along the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line that requires them to pay $775,000 a year to help defray operating costs.
A recent survey showed that about 20 percent of commuter train riders came from those nine cities. Before trains arrived in East Plano, about 40 percent of cars in the DART bus station parking lot were registered to owners with addresses outside the DART area.
Depending on legal opinions, the issue of cooperation may be moot. DART board members have asked their attorneys to determine whether the agency can prohibit other bus companies from using their property, which is open to the public.
In the interim, the city of Plano has told the Texoma agency that bus loading and unloading is not allowed on streets near the station.
"This is just the first one," Mr. Pope said of the Texoma agency's interest. "There are four to five other agencies to the north ready to do the same thing."
Those include a fledgling Denton County transit agency that could tie into a future Carrollton rail line, a Hunt County agency that would connect to the Downtown Garland station, and a proposed McKinney park-and-ride system that would tie into the Parker Road station.
"We'll be watching the issue," said Charles Emery, executive committee chairman of the Denton County Transportation Authority, which was created with voter approval in November.
The agency will not make any requests of DART because "those are some of the issues we wouldn't want to get ahead of ourselves on," Mr. Emery said.
DART could reap benefits by welcoming outlying residents to the system, said Mr. Steele, the Sherman council member. His city's residents, while working in the Dallas area, also spend money and generate sales tax revenue for DART while in town.
"If people can get to places they enjoy going to, they're going to spend money," he said.
DART's growing popularity – even outside its 13 member cities – has led to discussions about how to get more cities to join mass-transit agencies.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and her Fort Worth counterpart, Kenneth Barr, have held discussions recently on the need for a single transit agency. They also have talked about the need for a change in state law to give cities more options for joining DART or another transit agency.
"This is one of the better arguments for why we need a totally regional system," Mr. Pope said.