Each month, we will spotlight a city in the DART Service Area and the service that DART provides.

The City of University Park celebrated its centennial anniversary on April 12, 2024, honoring 100 years of incorporation.

City leaders named this primarily residential municipality for its largest institution, Southern Methodist University. The city began as a cluster of homes surrounding the fledgling university, which was founded 1911 and opened in 1915. After both Highland Park and Dallas refused to annex the homes due to the high cost of safety and utility services, the residents voted to incorporate into a separate city in April 1924.

Since the 1940s, the population and area of University Park have remained stable in the range of 23,000 to 25,000 residents and 3.7 square miles. Dallas surrounds the city on three sides and the Town of Highland Park borders to the south.

Popular destinations include Snider Plaza, a quaint shopping district filled with stores and restaurants, and the Holmes Aquatic Center, which is open during the summer months.

Bus route 237 passes through University Park along Preston Road, connecting residents to the Addison Transit Center and Downtown Dallas.

DART provides on-demand service throughout the cities of University Park and Highland Park with the Park Cities GoLink zone, and also connects riders to SMU/Mockingbird Station, where they can access bus routes and DART Light Rail. A new transfer area allows for trips to shops near Marsh Lane and Northwest Highway, and riders can transfer to the Preston Hollow GoLink zone with a separate booking.

The agency also manages two site-specific SMU Express Shuttles – which SMU and DART jointly fund – to provide bus service on the university’s main and east campuses. The SMU Red Express Route 440 serves SMU/Mockingbird Station and both it and the SMU Blue Express Route 442 get visitors close to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

SMU participates in the DART Higher Education Pass Program and offers currently enrolled students a free annual DART transit pass. For the 2024 calendar year, SMU purchased 10,877 student passes.

During Q2, FY 2024, University Park had:

• 10,857 boardings on Park Cities GoLink
• 32,535 boardings on SMU Express Route 440 and 442 combined.
• Route 237, which passes through the city along Preston Road.

DART Board Chair Gary Slagel represents University Park on the DART Board of Directors.

SMU Express Shuttle photo courtesy of SMU.

Each month, we will spotlight a city in the DART Service Area and the service that DART provides.

The City of University Park celebrated its centennial anniversary on April 12, 2024, honoring 100 years of incorporation.

City leaders named this primarily residential municipality for its largest institution, Southern Methodist University. The city began as a cluster of homes surrounding the fledgling university, which was founded 1911 and opened in 1915. After both Highland Park and Dallas refused to annex the homes due to the high cost of safety and utility services, the residents voted to incorporate into a separate city in April 1924.

Since the 1940s, the population and area of University Park have remained stable in the range of 23,000 to 25,000 residents and 3.7 square miles. Dallas surrounds the city on three sides and the Town of Highland Park borders to the south.

Popular destinations include Snider Plaza, a quaint shopping district filled with stores and restaurants, and the Holmes Aquatic Center, which is open during the summer months.

Bus route 237 passes through University Park along Preston Road, connecting residents to the Addison Transit Center and Downtown Dallas.

DART provides on-demand service throughout the cities of University Park and Highland Park with the Park Cities GoLink zone, and also connects riders to SMU/Mockingbird Station, where they can access bus routes and DART Light Rail. A new transfer area allows for trips to shops near Marsh Lane and Northwest Highway, and riders can transfer to the Preston Hollow GoLink zone with a separate booking.

The agency also manages two site-specific SMU Express Shuttles – which SMU and DART jointly fund – to provide bus service on the university’s main and east campuses. The SMU Red Express Route 440 serves SMU/Mockingbird Station and both it and the SMU Blue Express Route 442 get visitors close to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

SMU participates in the DART Higher Education Pass Program and offers currently enrolled students a free annual DART transit pass. For the 2024 calendar year, SMU purchased 10,877 student passes.

During Q2, FY 2024, University Park had:

• 10,857 boardings on Park Cities GoLink
• 32,535 boardings on SMU Express Route 440 and 442 combined.
• Route 237, which passes through the city along Preston Road.

DART Board Chair Gary Slagel represents University Park on the DART Board of Directors.

SMU Express Shuttle photo courtesy of SMU.

Each month, we will spotlight a city in the DART Service Area and the service that DART provides.

The City of University Park celebrated its centennial anniversary on April 12, 2024, honoring 100 years of incorporation.

City leaders named this primarily residential municipality for its largest institution, Southern Methodist University. The city began as a cluster of homes surrounding the fledgling university, which was founded 1911 and opened in 1915. After both Highland Park and Dallas refused to annex the homes due to the high cost of safety and utility services, the residents voted to incorporate into a separate city in April 1924.

Since the 1940s, the population and area of University Park have remained stable in the range of 23,000 to 25,000 residents and 3.7 square miles. Dallas surrounds the city on three sides and the Town of Highland Park borders to the south.

Popular destinations include Snider Plaza, a quaint shopping district filled with stores and restaurants, and the Holmes Aquatic Center, which is open during the summer months.

Bus route 237 passes through University Park along Preston Road, connecting residents to the Addison Transit Center and Downtown Dallas.

DART provides on-demand service throughout the cities of University Park and Highland Park with the Park Cities GoLink zone, and also connects riders to SMU/Mockingbird Station, where they can access bus routes and DART Light Rail. A new transfer area allows for trips to shops near Marsh Lane and Northwest Highway, and riders can transfer to the Preston Hollow GoLink zone with a separate booking.

The agency also manages two site-specific SMU Express Shuttles – which SMU and DART jointly fund – to provide bus service on the university’s main and east campuses. The SMU Red Express Route 440 serves SMU/Mockingbird Station and both it and the SMU Blue Express Route 442 get visitors close to the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

SMU participates in the DART Higher Education Pass Program and offers currently enrolled students a free annual DART transit pass. For the 2024 calendar year, SMU purchased 10,877 student passes.

During Q2, FY 2024, University Park had:

• 10,857 boardings on Park Cities GoLink
• 32,535 boardings on SMU Express Route 440 and 442 combined.
• Route 237, which passes through the city along Preston Road.

DART Board Chair Gary Slagel represents University Park on the DART Board of Directors.

SMU Express Shuttle photo courtesy of SMU.