Dallas Area Rapid Transit


Dallas Area Rapid Transit is a transit agency serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex of Texas. It operates buses, light rail, commuter rail, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes in Dallas and twelve of its suburbs. In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of.
DART was created in 1983 to replace a municipal bus system and funded expansion of the region's transit network through a sales tax levied in member cities. DART rail began operation in 1996 and operates over of track. It was the longest light rail system in the United States until 2023, when it was surpassed by Los Angeles Metro Rail with the consolidation of the A Line.
DART jointly operates the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail line between Dallas and Fort Worth, with Trinity Metro. The agency also operates the Dallas Streetcar and provides funding for the non-profit M-Line Trolley.

History

Precursor agencies

The Dallas Transit System was a public transit service operated by the city of Dallas, from 1964 to 1983. DTS was formed by the consolidation of various privately owned transit companies and streetcar lines. Prior to DTS, the company was formerly known as the Dallas Railway and Terminal Company when Dallas had an extensive streetcar system that spanned from Oak Cliff to North Dallas. The name was changed shortly after the last streetcar ran in January 1956. DART formally took over operations of the DTS in 1988.
In 2000, DART employees restored a 1966 DTS bus to its original state.

Creation of DART

DART was created on August 13, 1983, as a regional replacement for the DTS. Citizens of 15 area cities had voted to levy a 1% sales tax to join the system by the time it began transit services in 1984.
In 1985, member cities Carrollton and Farmers Branch held elections to pull out of DART, though the measures failed. But shifting suburban politics and a loss of confidence in DART management after voters declined to support DART's measure to incur long term debt in 1988 led to seven more pullout votes, two of which were successful. Just one suburb joined DART – the tiny community of Buckingham, which was later annexed by DART member city Richardson.

Financial scandal

In December 2007, DART revealed it was facing a $1 billion shortfall in funds earmarked for the Blue Line rail service to Rowlett and Orange Line rail service to Irving, and the DFW Airport.
In January 2008, DART announced it would divert monies from rail lines being built in Dallas. When Dallas officials protested, DART president and executive director Gary Thomas—who had known about the shortfall for at least eight months—announced the agency would borrow more money.
In late January 2008, DART Board chair Lynn Flint Shaw, who was also treasurer of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert's "Friends of Tom Leppert" fund-raising committee, resigned from her DART post. In February, she surrendered to the police on charges of forgery. On March 10, Shaw and her husband, political analyst Rufus Shaw, were found dead in their home in what turned out to be a murder suicide.

2016 shooting

On July 7, 2016, one DART officer was among several people shot in a mass shooting targeting police officers providing security at a Black Lives Matter protest. One of the officers, identified as seven-year veteran Brent Thompson, died from his injuries and became the first DART officer to be killed in the line of duty since the department's inception.

New bus network

On January 24, 2022, DART's bus network, which had dated back to DART's 1983 incorporation, was completely overhauled. The overhaul, branded as DARTzoom, was intended to improve the bus system's service reach, frequency, and hours of operation. All DARTzoom local routes would be available 5 AM to midnight, seven days a week. The centerpiece of the system was 22 "core frequent" routes, which would be available from 4 AM to 1 AM with 20-minute headways for most of the day and 15-minute headways during peak periods.
DARTzoom saw many short or low-use routes consolidated or removed, and bus stops were re-organized to be a constant distance apart. Eliminated routes were usually replaced with GoLink zones. The system also introduced a new route numbering scheme, which assigned route numbers and colors based on a route's frequency, rather than the previous network's type designations. Only one route retained its original designation.
To celebrate the new network and allow riders time to adjust, all rides on the new network were free for the first week of operation.

Light rail

DART's light rail system comprises between four lines, which connect northern suburbs, South Dallas neighborhoods, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Downtown Dallas. The system utilizes custom-built Kinki Sharyo SLRV vehicles, which are electrically powered and feature level boarding in the center segment of the car.
As of, DART light rail has average weekday boardings, making it the 7th-most ridden light rail system in the U.S.
LineDescriptionLengthStationsOpenedLast extended
Plano to West Oak Cliff2619962002
Rowlett to South Oak Cliff2319962016
Carrollton to Pleasant Grove2420092010
DFW Airport to Plano3120102014

Before the 1983 membership election, DART created a plan for of rail. After several cities voted not to join the agency and a 1988 bond plan to fund the system failed, DART settled on a pared-down system, consisting of of light rail and of commuter rail. The first two light rail lines in the system, the Red and Blue Lines, opened in 1996.

Streetcars

Dallas Streetcar

The Dallas Streetcar is a modern streetcar connecting downtown Dallas to Methodist Dallas Medical Center and Bishop Arts District in northern Oak Cliff. The line connects to DART's and at EBJ Union Station. The line is owned by the city of Dallas and operated by DART under a joint funding agreement.
The streetcar line was built in two phases from May 2013 to August 2016. An extension of the line further into downtown, which would allow for a direct connection to the M-Line Trolley, has been proposed.

M-Line Trolley

The M-Line Trolley is a heritage streetcar line in Dallas's Uptown neighborhood. The trolley connects to DART light rail at the Cityplace/Uptown and St. Paul stations.
The trolley service is owned and operated by the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority, a private nonprofit, but DART and the Uptown Improvement District provide a joint operating subsidy that allows the service to be fare-free.

Commuter rail

Trinity Railway Express

Trinity Railway Express is a commuter rail service connecting downtown Dallas with downtown Fort Worth. The service is jointly operated by DART and Trinity Metro, Fort Worth's transit operator. It was first opened in 1996 and was extended to Fort Worth in late 2001.
TRE connects to four of DART's light rail lines, Fort Worth's TEXRail line, and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Service is available on weekdays and Saturdays with 30–60 minute headways. Sunday service is only available during the State Fair of Texas and other major events.
As of, the TRE has average weekday boardings, making it the 17th-most ridden commuter rail system in the U.S.

Silver Line

The Silver Line is a commuter rail service that runs between Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Plano along a former St. Louis Southwestern corridor. The line, first proposed as part of DART's original 1983 rail plan, opened to passenger service on October 25, 2025. Service operates seven days a week with 30–60 minute headways. The Silver Line connects with the DART's Orange, Green, and Red lines providing access to Dallas Love Field, Downtown Dallas via Downtown Carrollton or CityLine/Bush station.

A-train

The A-train is a commuter rail service connecting Denton and Lewisville to DART member Carrollton. The line is operated by the Denton County Transportation Authority on a former Missouri–Kansas–Texas corridor it leases from DART.
The A-train connects with DART's at Trinity Mills station, which allows further travel to downtown Dallas. Both DART and DCTA sell regional-fare passes which enable travel on both lines.

Buses

As of 2025, DART operates 75 bus routes, as well as several express routes and shuttle buses.
Most trips in the DART system are carried by the bus network. In the 2022 fiscal year, DART had 72,400 bus trips per average weekday, 54% of the system's total 134,810 trips.

Fleet

DART's fleet initially consisted of diesel buses. In 1998, the agency began using liquefied natural gas buses alongside them as part of a broader environmental initiative.
In October 2012, DART introduced a new fleet of 123 low-floor 14-to-17-passenger buses for On-Call, FLEX, and low-capacity routes. The buses were manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles.
From 2013 to 2017, DART would replace most of its bus fleet with 459 NABI 40LFW buses running off compressed natural gas. The CNG fleet was further bolstered in 2019 with the addition of 41 New Flyer Xcelsior XN40 buses. In 2025, DART announced the purchase of 476 Gillig buses to replace the NABI fleet.
DART introduced electric buses to its fleet in 2018. The seven Proterra Catalyst buses were originally used for the DLink shuttle in downtown Dallas. When the shuttle was eliminated in 2019, the electric buses were moved to normal routes; they are currently used on route 28. In 2023, DART ordered an additional Proterra bus, this time a ZX5 Max, as a trial for long-range electric buses; it is currently used on route 20. Electric buses are denoted with a unique yellow-and-green livery.