More than two dozen advocates for public transit in North Texas gathered in Plano on Monday to oppose proposed legislation to cut funding for Dallas Area Rapid Transit.
Tyler Wright, vice president of the Dallas Area Transit Alliance (DATA), said the proposed bills in the state House and Senate would threaten DART's future.
鈥淔unctionally, these bills would cut DART funding by nearly 50% at a time when the economic and environmental benefits of public transit are most needed," Wright said.
Wright said the group gathered in Plano because it's "where it all began" when member cities began passing resolutions last summer calling to reduce DART's funding.
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents DART workers, as well as the Democratic Socialists of America North Texas chapter showed up to support DATA's message.
鈥淚f this were to pass and there was some kind of reduction enforced, it hurts everybody," said Mark Broadhurst, a DART mechanic and ATU member, "not only Plano, it hurts every member city."
Plano resident Saya Clarke told the group she's been riding DART for over a decade to get to work, see family and friends and go to everyday functions.
"If DART funding is slashed, I and so many others will be left stranded," she said. "I can't afford a car, and even if I could our highways are already overcrowded death traps."
Last month, North Texas legislators filed identical bills in the state House and Senate that would greatly reduce DART鈥檚 funding.
If passed, the legislation would cut member city contributions to the agency by 25%. It would also call for transit authorities to create a general mobility fund that would allow member cities to use another portion of their sales tax contributions on transit-related projects.
Texas Republican Sens. Angela Paxton, Brent Hagenbuch and Tan Parker authored the Senate version of the bill and Republican Rep. Matt Shaheen authored the House bill.
Shaheen previously told 四虎影院 his bill reimburses "hard-earned taxpayer funds" to cities that are "paying more into the DART system than the city is receiving in services." Both bills are in their respective transportation committees.
On Friday, DART鈥檚 board held a special meeting to discuss the potential impact of the legislation, as well as the creation of a general mobility fund and a 5% rebate for member cities 鈥� down from the 25% proposed in the bills.
鈥淲e would have to look at reductions in both operations in service and on the administrative side,鈥� said DART CEO Nadine Lee.
Rob Smith, DART鈥檚 vice president of service planning and scheduling, drew out what those reductions could look like with a smaller budget. They include the discontinuation of several routes and some on-demand GoLink zones.
"These are situations ... where we have routes that have lower performance that don't meet service standards," Smith said.
He added any service changes would require a call to a public hearing, which the board can take action on as soon as May.
While the board discussed the resolution to create a general mobility fund that would include service reductions over a three-year period, Lee warned against any cuts to the agency鈥檚 budget.
鈥淚 want to be mindful of the fact that there is a ratchet down effect, because it is super difficult to recover from these kinds of cuts to our operational budget, let alone grow,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we are not only just stopping growth for three years, we're actually setting ourselves back. We're going the wrong direction.鈥�
Pablo Arauz Pe帽a is 四虎影院鈥檚 growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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