The agency began the second year of its new DART holiday tradition on Nov. 24 with the arrival of its holiday trains and buses. The three fully wrapped buses and two fully wrapped trains feature a western cowboy and cowgirl-themed motif with the vehicle outlined in twinkling lights. Inside the vehicles, holiday decorations include lights, tinsel garland, candy cane poles, and more.
One of the holiday buses was included in the Dallas Holiday Parade on Dec. 2, which was seen by 400,000 in-person attendees as well as a TV audience on CW 33. A Trinity Railway Express promotion encouraged paradegoers to ride the TRE to downtown Dallas to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus along the way.
Our Operations team changes which rail line or bus route the vehicles travel daily to maximize the number of people who see the magic. The holiday buses and trains will continue to traverse DART’s 700-square-mile service area through the end of the year.
You can see photos and find a holiday bus and train tracker at DART.org/holidays
DART Mobility Management Services also joined in the celebration with their holiday paratransit bus and van.
Throughout early December, the agency hosted “holiday station” events that featured radio remotes, live music performances, hot chocolate, and visits from Santa Claus. DART staff brought cheer with promotional giveaways and transit information to help residents enjoy DART services throughout the season and into the new year.
One of those activities was the agency’s Stuff A Bus campaign, which collected adult socks, blankets, toys, and canned food from DART riders and employees alike. These items benefitted The Senior Source and families identified by DART Santa Cops, a holiday outreach project of the DART Police department.
Wrapping up our holiday event line-up is the New Year’s Eve Coors Light Free Rides on Dec. 31. Molson Coors and DART will once again help North Texas residents get to and from their celebrations safely with free transportation from 6 p.m. until the end of service on all DART services. The partnership is part of an advertising agreement with Molson Coors, which reimburses DART for the estimated value of fare revenues that the agency might have received.