Dallas Area Rapid Transit plans to raise some of its fares for the first time in six years and eliminate less popular fare options next year, the transit agency revealed in a community meeting Tuesday.
DART will eliminate the single-ride, AM/PM pass and midday pass options, instead offering a three-hour pass for the same price as its AM/PM pass, which is $3 for local and $1.50 for reduced local service. Monthly passes will increase from $96 to $126 — and from $48 to $63 for reduced monthly passes — and non-employee-sponsored annual passes will be eliminated. Day pass rates will remain the same.
A paratransit fee change from $3 to $3.50 that was passed by the DART Board of Directors in 2018 and delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic would also be implemented.
The changes are DART’s first fare hikes since 2018 and are aimed at helping the agency maintain and improve service in the face of higher costs, staff said Tuesday evening. Though they come amid calls from several member cities to reduce their tax contributions, the fare changes have been in the works since November 2022.
The virtual meeting Tuesday evening was the first of 10 planned through August to gather public feedback about the proposed changes. DART conducted a public survey last year about the proposed fare restructuring, reviewed fare structures at other public agencies and worked through several alternative fare scenarios, staff said.
DART is expected to collect $48.7 million in total passenger revenues next year, up from $41.5 million in 2024. The agency’s 20-year financial plan assumes average fare increases of about 9% every three years.
Next year’s changes are aimed at streamlining fares to make DART more user-friendly.
“We have heard from our customers and communities that there are too many different types of base fares depending on time of day and depending on if a transfer is needed, and often that can be confusing,” said Jing Xu, assistant vice president of service planning and scheduling at DART.
Demand for long-term options like annual passes has declined since the pandemic, Xu said.
The changes would introduce a new discounted fare program for veterans and make the pilot low-income discounted fare program permanent. DART also hopes to incentivize bulk sales for corporate events and educational institutions.
The proposal was met with mixed response Tuesday, with a few attendees questioning the need for the restructure and pointing to extra cost burdens for some riders.
“The three-hour pass sounds good, but unless the person is going a short distance, it will cost more to come and go when you add in the travel time and transfer times,” one attendee said in the meeting chat. “That does not leave much time for whatever the errand, etc. is. This is putting a strain on the rider.”
Riders would still be capped at $6 dollars a day in fares, even if they end up using multiple three-hour passes rather than purchasing a day pass outright, Xu said.
After the 10 community meetings, DART will hold a public hearing about the proposed changes at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 before voting to finalize the proposed changes. If approved, the changes would take effect in March 2025.
For a full list of open meetings, visit DART’s community meetings webpage. The public can submit comments to farerestructure@dart.org or online.
