Arlington, TX to get bus service

[CHamilton]

The lack of transit options in Arlington has been discussed here previously, so this will be good news.

The T, DART address transit connectivity in Arlington

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority's (The T) board yesterday approved an interlocal public transit service agreement with Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the city of Arlington, Texas, to provide bus service between the city's downtown area and the T's Trinity Railway Express (TRE) CentrePort Station in Fort Worth.

The board's action is the final step in the approval of an agreement developed by The T, DART and the city, whose board and council endorsed the agreement in May and June, respectively, according to a press release issued by The T.

The agreement calls for a two-year pilot project to operate and manage an express bus service with connections via the TRE to Fort Worth and Dallas. The service would run between the TRE CentrePort Station and a stop in Arlington that will serve the University of Texas at Arlington and the downtown area. The T and DART jointly own and operate TRE.

 

[June the Coach Rider]

That is good news. My brother has to come pick me up in Fort Worth anytime I visit. Having the option of taking the bus to downtown Arlington is a good thing.

 

[stntylr]

Still no bus service from CentrePort to Six Flags or the Rangers Ballpark.

 

[Bob Dylan]

:hi: Good News Charlie! Hopefully we'll also soon hear that Amtrak is moving to the TRE Route from FTW-DAL and that Public Transportation will be able to get you to Ranger Stadium, Six Flags and Jerry World! (Jerry will have a Stroke if this Happens! )

 

[CHamilton]

Biggest American Town Without Public Transportation Finally Catches the Bus

Arlington, Texas has a population of 375,000 people, and up until now, it was the most populous city in the U.S. to lack a comprehensive public transportation system. That’s about to change as the city tentatively tries out a bus service for two years, but Arlington residents shouldn’t sell their cars just yet. The ride could get a bit bumpy.Called Metro Arlington Express (or MAX, for short), the new service travels from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) campus to a commuter rail station in a business park just south of DFW airport. There are 18 departures between 5:35 a.m. and 9:41 p.m., free Wi-Fi, and $5 will get you an all-day pass — about the same price as what you’d pay for gas to drive across town.

It might sound like a good first step in judging local interest for a bus service, but it’s really the opening play in a game of political football.

Even though Arlington isn’t a very dense community, regular commuter service seems like a no-brainer: It’s a major population center that’s 12 miles from Fort Worth and 20 miles from Dallas. The highways that connect the three cities are among the most congested in the world and the heat makes biking and walking long distances quite unpleasant. Arlington is also home to a major university, the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Cowboys, and a Six Flags resort.

All those assets actually work against Arlington when it comes to transit. First, the city’s proximity to two other transit systems add a degree of political difficulty. Currently, the MAX service is a public-private partnership funded by the city, local businesses, UTA, and the transit systems of Dallas and Fort Worth. But each of those cities is courting Arlington, and the sales tax dollars it would contribute to their existing public transit systems....

Amidst the city’s rapid growth, voters defeated transit proposals three times between 1980 and 2013, and some of that opposition got pretty acrimonious. Some residents feared that transit service would increase crime, and others didn’t want to pay for transit they thought they wouldn’t use. Generally speaking, those who voted against transit feared it would speed Arlington’s growth to the city’s detriment. Today, it’s clear that growth happened anyway, but everyone bought cars.

For now, Arlington has a bus. If voters don’t take up the issue of paying for public transit — or if they defeat it at the polls a fourth time — the service will end by 2015, and Arlington will once again be the biggest city in the country without public transit.

 

[fairviewroad]

So it's a single route, with no en route stops. And getting to either Fort Worth or Dallas (or DFW airport, for that matter) requires

a connection. Um, well it's a start I guess. But I'd hardly say that Arlington now has public transit...they have a shuttle bus service

that will definitely meet some people's needs, but it's not even a stab at a comprehensive route network.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Jerry Jones was admitted to the Arlington Hospital after Suffering a Stroke when told of this by his Yes Men! <_<

 

[CHamilton]

One City's Long, Ongoing Struggle to Launch a Transit System

Last month Arlington, Texas, shed its undesirable distinction as the largest U.S. city without public transportation. The new Metro ArlingtonXpress bus, known as MAX, connects downtown Arlington with Dallas and Fort Worth (and DFW airport) via the region's TRE commuter rail. Arlington officials cheered MAX — with mayor pro tem Kathryn Wilemon saying the city"has needed this for so long."

Lost in the celebration and media coverage of Arlington's first transit line was the fact that the city still doesn't really have a transit system.

Consider the details. MAX is a single bus route linking Arlington to one commuter rail station about 10 miles north. It doesn't facilitate mobility within the city itself, and it requires two transfers to reach the big cities nearby: first onto TRE, next onto either DART in Dallas or the T in Forth Worth. MAX only has enough funding for a two-year trial — with no guarantees of being continued....

Outsiders can be excused for wondering what's taken Arlington so long. The city sits smack in the middle of the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas, and it's home to major sports stadiums as well as the University of Texas at Arlington campus. As a collection point for local employees, younger residents, and short-term visitors, Arlington seems a ripe environment for automobile alternatives....

But the city has tried and failed for decades to get any sort of regular transit funding approved. In 1980, voters rejected the idea of joining a regional transit authority with its neighboring cities. Five years later, residents defeated a half-cent transit sales tax despite support from a variety of local officials and institutions. In 2002, the city finally thought it had enough momentum to pass a transit plan — pre-polling suggested 80 percent in favor — only to lose that badly, too.

The message from voters was clear, even as their reasoning remained suspect. Arlington's transit opponents have argued that the city is too small for a full system, that any service would merely subsidize low-income residents, and that an unwanted demographic would move into town. One leading adversary has made no bones about his fear that transit will attract the "welfare class."

These concerns have won the day time and again, despite their shortcomings. (To name a few: the area's extensive highway network is also subsidized, smaller cities maintain bus systems as a public service, and no link has been found between transit and crime.) No one can say how things would look if the votes had gone differently, but the city does seem at least a little worse off for its transit failures; recent Brookings data reveal that Arlington residents are pretty much forced to own a car if they want to keep a job....

For all the limitations of MAX, [Jim Parajon, director of Arlington's planning department] sees the new line as a sign that the city's transit tide has turned. The venture has both public and private financial support: the city, the university, and local businesses are each contributing to the $700,000 annual cost. Early ridership figures — 1,133 people rode MAX the first week — have met the city's expectations. There was some opposition to the line, says Parajon, but it was "limited."

 

[Bob Dylan]

Doesn't sound like a Place I'd want to lLve in or Visit! (unfortunately Texas has lots of People with the same Attitudes about those less fortunate than them! )

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Jerry Jones was admitted to the Arlington Hospital after Suffering a Stroke when told of this by his Yes Men! <_<

Jerry Jones is a Puke and I've heard he wants nothing to do with public transit in Arlington as that would cost him Parking Fees at his Stadium. The faster the Cowboys get rid of him the sooner they will start winning again.

 

[CHamilton]

Think the Cowboys would like transit better if they used buses like this one?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Jerry Jones was admitted to the Arlington Hospital after Suffering a Stroke when told of this by his Yes Men! <_<

Jerry Jones is a Puke and I've heard he wants nothing to do with public transit in Arlington as that would cost him Parking Fees at his Stadium. The faster the Cowboys get rid of him the sooner they will start winning again.

Amen Brother! And that Bus is pretty Nice but Jethro Jones would want it to be painted Silver and Blue and have his Name Bigger than the Cowboy Star on the Side of the Bus !