Attention, DART Riders, That Proposed Fare Hike is Rapidly Approaching ...
By Robert Wilonsky in News You Can Actually Use, Actually
Tue., Mar. 17 2009 @ 10:15AM
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19 comment(s) / Post a Comment
Crisatunity says:
So all the guilt-based advertising mantras say "take the bus". And then when people start actually listening, jack up the price. Commies don't know how to do anything right.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 1:18PM
Jean Valjean says:
What do you mean the fare hike "is coming"?
It's already here. Whether you ride DART or not, you're already paying for it:
http://webcogito.com/2009/03/15/dallas-rapid-rapid-transit-heavily-subsidized/
dave Little says:
I've never, ever had anyone check to see if i had a ticket once i boarded the train.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 1:31PM
ryan says:
As I understand it, revenue generated from ridership is such a small portion of DART's overall budget. That being said, I don't know why they insist on sticking it to those same people who actually justify DART's existence. Surely any increase in fares would amount to nothing more than a pittance in the face of their monstrous budget shortcomings from recent years.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 1:31PM
Dennel says:
I think they are switching all their trains to the new platform friendly type. These are the ones with very little seating. Better buy some comfy shoes, DART riders.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 1:54PM
Chris says:
I've never been on a dart train - are they clean? safe? comfy?
The train never seems to go anyplace I need to go that it would be useful, such as airports or anyplace in Las Colinas area - so I guess will continue to drive.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 2:01PM
Bryan says:
@dave Little : If you are a frequent DART rider, you will definitely have to show your ticket from time to time. It's always random.
@Chris : clean? eh, they're ok.
safe? yes. comfy? it's not too bad.
Steve says:
I take the train every day, and ticket checks are sporadic and random, but I see tickets get written at least once a month. When the checks happen, almost everyone has paid their fare, so the system is working.
If you need a pie chart to demonstrate that public transit is subsidized (duh), then you probably need a pie chart to realize that our roads suck up vastly more tax dollars.
Attention drivers, riding DART is not *safe*, you may end sitting/standing next to a poor person.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 2:50PM
Greg says:
They really want to up the two zone TRE fare to $7.50 this year and $10 next year? If they do I'll never ride it to AAC events again. At that point it's cheaper to drive to the AAC and pay for parking.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 3:27PM
Danny likes steak says:
@dave_little: when I was a regular rider, my record was 3 times in one rail trip to downtown. They definitely check tickets occasionally, since it's easy DART money. Also, found out the hard way that even if you have a monthly or annual pass, if you get checked and don't have it on you, you will still have to pay the citation. The judge said it's "Failure to produce" not "failure to purchase". Which seems like bunk to me.
@Steve: I'm always amazed at people that seem to be finding out for the first time that transportation is subsidized.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 3:40PM
mm says:
Maybe they have a policy not to check noted regional comedians for their DART passes.
I ride north in the mornings and south in the afternoons, and get checked frequently.
A few years ago, when I rode south in the mornings and north in the afternoons (i.e., from Plano), not so much.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 4:30PM
lakewoodhobo says:
I'm confused about how raising fares is communist. Wouldn't it be the other way around? Lowering fares but raising taxes?
Seriously, I don't see the big deal about raising from $1.5 to $2. Seems like a reasonable price to me, considering that you can't buy anything with the 50 cents you used to get back.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 4:41PM
Toots says:
It's been a while since they have had an increase. Besides, if you don't like it then drive, walk, carpool.....whatever.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 5:03PM
defeat plaza says:
Gosh, Toots... that insightful. Wow - I'm blown away. Thanks for sharing that nugget o' deep wisdom with us peons.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 5:50PM
LewP says:
Part of my work benefits is I pay 55.00 for an annual DART/TRE pass and the company pays the rest. I live at an apartment complex near a Trinity Railway Express station and travel to Mockingbird Station once I transfer to DART at Union Station. The point is, I ride virtually free from Fort Worth to Dallas and it's a tremendous benefit to me both in money, and not having to get frustrated in driving. I'm not happy about any increase, but it still beats driving to me.
Posted On: Tuesday, Mar. 17 2009 @ 9:38PM
Joyce Foreman says:
DART had a fare increase about two years ago which brought the fare to the current $3.00 per day. DART now want to increase the fare to $4.00 dollars per day. So within 2 years the fare will almost double.
When I was on the DART Board, the financial plan showed a fare increase every five years and that seemed okay as long as it could be justified.
The fare box does not and will never pay for the service. All public transit (bus,rail and para-transit) is subsidized at different levels.
It would be okay to talk about a fare increase if DART had made sure that they looked at all alternatives to increasing the fares on transit dependent riders. DART has several hundred contract employees who ride the system for FREE. DART sells the most expensive passes ($800.00)to cities for $40.00 to pass on to their employees. DART pays over a million dollars a year to assist with shuttle service (SMU, T.I., UTD). DART spends over $500,000 per year on the McKinney Avenue Trolly. DART allows some college students to ride for free. DART runs what is called an "On-Call" service to areas that do not have enough ridership to justify a bus route. These are just some of the issues that need to be addressed before raising the fare.
Posted On: Wednesday, Mar. 18 2009 @ 8:43AM
Clark says:
I commute from Fort Worth to Carrollton each day. Total commute time is over two hours, one way. In the last 3 years I have watched the fare jump from 4 to 4.50 to 5 and now 7.50. I believe I have reached my break point. Driving my car and enjoying the flexibility and benefits of arriving in half the time (in comfort) for a few extra bucks is now more attractive. Even die hard environmentalists will likely find themselves reevaluating their commute by the time we see 10 dollars. Nice work.
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 15 2009 @ 12:59PM
Stuart Hood says:
The new fare increase is complete BS. 30%....are you kidding me. How can they justify increasing the monthly pass from $50 to $65 and the daily from $3 to $4? COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
Posted On: Thursday, Oct. 1 2009 @ 2:59PM
