by Peter Boysen

Created on: May 04, 2009   Last Updated: August 13, 2009

Let's face it. Dallas is a spread-out city. It takes twenty minutes to get just about anywhere, and nobody lives near where they work. If you add that to the fact that Texans love to drive their own cars, it's easy to see why Dallas is a little behind some of the other major cities when it comes to mass transit. However, the city is starting to catch up, and there are many facets to the Dallas mass transit plan. Any guide to public transportation in Dallas, though, begins with a look at DART.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the transit agency that serves Greater Dallas. It includes a full bus route system (including handicapped transit) as well as a light rail system. DART began operations in 1983, taking over from the Dallas Transit System, and implemented a series of initiatives, including HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes on Interstates 30, 35E, and 635, as well as US-75, and changing the bus system from one centered downtown to one that operates on a grid, recognizing that not all bus riders want to go in and out of downtown.

GETTING FROM D/FW AIRPORT TO DALLAS

It's not quite like Boston, Philadelphia, or San Francisco, where you can hop right off the plane and then right onto a bus or train that goes right into the heart of the city. For one thing, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is a long way from downtown Dallas; for another, it's taken the threat of heavy sanctions from the EPA about area air quality and the threat of $4/gallon gasoline to get mass transit headed out to D/FW Airport.

In 2013, the Orange Line will go from D/FW Airport into Dallas. For now, though, you have to go down to the lower level in each terminal, stand by the "Airport Bus" sign, and wait for the bus that goes to the TRE (Trinity Railway Express) terminal. From the TRE CentrePort terminal, you can go east into Dallas or west into Fort Worth: the TRE is a shared partnership between DART and the T (Fort Worth's transit agency). There are also DART buses that will come to this sign and take you directly to the West Transit Center, near the West End in Downtown Dallas. This can be an inexpensive alternative, but it makes quite a few stops on the way.

DART BASICS

Currently, a day pass on DART bus/rail costs $3. Single-ride tickets cost $1.50. Prices are discounted for the handicapped, seniors, and minors. Seven-day passes are available ONLY at the DART store at the Akard rail station (downtown). Monthly passes currently cost $50 and are available online, at

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