As we begin a new calendar year, I want to celebrate what our staff has accomplished this past year and offer a glimpse into what is ahead.

The results of DART's 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed that, over the past two years, the overall satisfaction, the likelihood to continue riding, and the likelihood to recommend riding DART to friends and family have all improved noticeably. Our ridership recovery and customer satisfaction gains are evidence that our efforts to increase system reliability, cleanliness, and security are positively impacting the customer experience.

As a result, we ended FY 2024 with ridership at nearly 56 million trips, which is about 80% of FY 2019, our last full pre-pandemic year. The DART Board set a goal of 76% and we beat that by 4%.

Of course, we want to improve that number and exceed customer expectations. To that end, in June, the DART Board of Directors adopted the agency’s 10-year strategic plan, Point B: A New Vision for Mobility in North Texas. This plan will guide our efforts for the next decade to achieve our vision of being your first-in-mind mobility partner and a strategic economic and mobility asset for the North Texas region.

Along with this future-focused plan, we made more bus, rail, and GoLink service improvements in June and September as part of our ongoing phase two bus network redesign efforts. And in October, the agency began working with a new vendor for our paratransit and GoLink services, which, coupled with the integration of transportation network companies like Uber into the GoPass app, helps achieve our goal of improving service quality, travel times, and cost efficiency.

Additionally, the Silver Line Regional Rail team began testing the new rail vehicles and communications signals along completed track segments in Richardson and Plano earlier this year. We also broke ground on a new equipment maintenance facility in Plano where those vehicles will be stored and maintained. In the year ahead, we will complete most of the Silver Line construction, and I hope to update you on the target opening date by late spring.

Continuing to look ahead, on January 1, DART implemented the first set of changes to our local fare structure with more to begin on March 1, which you can read more about on the DART Daily blog. This year, we will continue working with our partners at Trinity Metro and Denton County Transportation Authority to reach consensus on updating the regional fare structure.

As we begin a new calendar year, I want to celebrate what our staff has accomplished this past year and offer a glimpse into what is ahead.

The results of DART's 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed that, over the past two years, the overall satisfaction, the likelihood to continue riding, and the likelihood to recommend riding DART to friends and family have all improved noticeably. Our ridership recovery and customer satisfaction gains are evidence that our efforts to increase system reliability, cleanliness, and security are positively impacting the customer experience.

As a result, we ended FY 2024 with ridership at nearly 56 million trips, which is about 80% of FY 2019, our last full pre-pandemic year. The DART Board set a goal of 76% and we beat that by 4%.

Of course, we want to improve that number and exceed customer expectations. To that end, in June, the DART Board of Directors adopted the agency’s 10-year strategic plan, Point B: A New Vision for Mobility in North Texas. This plan will guide our efforts for the next decade to achieve our vision of being your first-in-mind mobility partner and a strategic economic and mobility asset for the North Texas region.

Along with this future-focused plan, we made more bus, rail, and GoLink service improvements in June and September as part of our ongoing phase two bus network redesign efforts. And in October, the agency began working with a new vendor for our paratransit and GoLink services, which, coupled with the integration of transportation network companies like Uber into the GoPass app, helps achieve our goal of improving service quality, travel times, and cost efficiency.

Additionally, the Silver Line Regional Rail team began testing the new rail vehicles and communications signals along completed track segments in Richardson and Plano earlier this year. We also broke ground on a new equipment maintenance facility in Plano where those vehicles will be stored and maintained. In the year ahead, we will complete most of the Silver Line construction, and I hope to update you on the target opening date by late spring.

Continuing to look ahead, on January 1, DART implemented the first set of changes to our local fare structure with more to begin on March 1, which you can read more about on the DART Daily blog. This year, we will continue working with our partners at Trinity Metro and Denton County Transportation Authority to reach consensus on updating the regional fare structure.

As we begin a new calendar year, I want to celebrate what our staff has accomplished this past year and offer a glimpse into what is ahead.

The results of DART's 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed that, over the past two years, the overall satisfaction, the likelihood to continue riding, and the likelihood to recommend riding DART to friends and family have all improved noticeably. Our ridership recovery and customer satisfaction gains are evidence that our efforts to increase system reliability, cleanliness, and security are positively impacting the customer experience.

As a result, we ended FY 2024 with ridership at nearly 56 million trips, which is about 80% of FY 2019, our last full pre-pandemic year. The DART Board set a goal of 76% and we beat that by 4%.

Of course, we want to improve that number and exceed customer expectations. To that end, in June, the DART Board of Directors adopted the agency’s 10-year strategic plan, Point B: A New Vision for Mobility in North Texas. This plan will guide our efforts for the next decade to achieve our vision of being your first-in-mind mobility partner and a strategic economic and mobility asset for the North Texas region.

Along with this future-focused plan, we made more bus, rail, and GoLink service improvements in June and September as part of our ongoing phase two bus network redesign efforts. And in October, the agency began working with a new vendor for our paratransit and GoLink services, which, coupled with the integration of transportation network companies like Uber into the GoPass app, helps achieve our goal of improving service quality, travel times, and cost efficiency.

Additionally, the Silver Line Regional Rail team began testing the new rail vehicles and communications signals along completed track segments in Richardson and Plano earlier this year. We also broke ground on a new equipment maintenance facility in Plano where those vehicles will be stored and maintained. In the year ahead, we will complete most of the Silver Line construction, and I hope to update you on the target opening date by late spring.

Continuing to look ahead, on January 1, DART implemented the first set of changes to our local fare structure with more to begin on March 1, which you can read more about on the DART Daily blog. This year, we will continue working with our partners at Trinity Metro and Denton County Transportation Authority to reach consensus on updating the regional fare structure.