DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the state’s second largest public transit agency, fractured Saturday as voters in one suburb chose to leave the transit system.
Highland Park will pull out of DART, according to election returns Saturday. It’s the first time any city has pulled up its stake in the agency since 1989 when Flower Mound and Coppell opted to leave.
Voters in Addison and University Park also weighed in on proposals to leave the system but chose to remain in the agency. This leaves 12 cities connected through DART.
Nearly 70% of voters in Highland Park decided to discontinue DART in the town, according to final but unofficial returns. The result was mirrored in Addison, where 70% voted to remain connected to the system; University Park was more narrowly divided, with 54% voting to stay.
DART will cease services in Highland Park on May 14, a day after the city council is scheduled to formally sign off on the election results, the agency said in a news release.
DART offers a mixture of rail and bus services across North Texas, however, rail does not reach every city paying into the system — including Highland Park. Officials and transit advocates say the exit leaves the state of public transit in North Texas weaker — at a time state transportation planners say Texas needs more public transit.
“The future of North Texas will be shaped by the cities that choose to move forward with DART,” Randall Bryant, chair of DART’s board of directors, said in a statement. “We are focused on expanding this system with partners who recognize that transit drives economic growth, connects people to opportunity, and strengthens communities.”
Highland Park’s exit means DART loses out on $270 million in sales tax revenue over the next 20 years, according to the agency’s projections.
Saturday’s vote is the culmination of years of tension between the transit agency and some of its suburban members. Officials in the three suburbs have complained that, according to a consultant’s report, they pay too much in sales taxes to DART for how much they get back in bus, rail and other forms of transit service. They sought to eject themselves from DART and regain control over the money it sends to the agency, putting measures on Saturday’s ballot asking voters whether they should remain in DART.
Highland Park, a north central Dallas County suburb with nearly 9,000 residents, contributes about 1% of sales tax collections for DART. It’s one of the wealthiest cities in the area and in the fiscal year of 2023, it paid $6.3 million in sales tax to the agency but received $1.9 million worth in services.
The vote will spur the closure of 15 bus stops in those cities, making it harder for people who rely on transit to access those parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Highland Park, about four miles north of downtown Dallas, will also lose access to paratransit services provided by the agency for riders with special needs.
