The North Central Texas Council of Governments has contracted with a pair of companies to develop a “next-generation” transit system for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“The current transit model has served this region well for 40 years,” North Central Texas Council of Governments director of transportation Michael Morris said in a news release.
“Our expansive growth gives us an opportunity to broaden our approach to moving people. Through close coordination, Dallas-Fort Worth has established a world-class transportation system that gives residents multiple options for how to move around the region. Transit 2.0 can ensure as we continue to grow in the coming decades, we are safely and efficiently connecting people to where they live, work and play.”
Members of the agency’s executive board agreed to pay InfraStrategies LLC and McKinsey & Company $2.2 million to help design a system “that accommodates the North Central Texas of the future,” according to the release.
Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) represents the City on the executive board.
The Transit 2.0 study is expected to:
- Develop a transit legislative program.
- Develop strategies to increase transit authority membership.
- Develop collaborations between existing transit authorities.
- Develop strategies for authority board partnerships and teamwork.
- Develop strategies for infill development.
- Review fare-collection strategies.
- Develop recommendations for the transit authority-member city paradox.
The mayors of 12 Dallas-Fort Worth area cities and the chair of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition requested in a letter to members of the Regional Transportation Council that it examine how public transportation can improve in the region.
“As member cities of a transit authority, we acknowledge and embrace that the growth of the region requires an efficient transit solution in order to provide predictable, cost-effective, and reliable mobility for residents and businesses,” the letter stated. “We believe a comprehensive study is needed to assess the effectiveness of regional transit today and what regional transit should look like for the next 40 years.”
The 12-county metro area of more than 8 million people is served by Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, and the Denton County Transportation Authority.
“Much of the projected population surge is expected to occur outside existing transit authority service areas, requiring an innovative approach for moving people across the region in the future,” according to the release.
Thirteen DART member cities pay a one-cent sales tax to belong to the transit authority. Denton, Lewisville, and Highland Village pay a half-cent sales tax. Trinity Metro has two member cities — Fort Worth and Blue Mound — that pay a half-cent sales tax, and Grapevine pays three-eighths of a cent to support TEXRail commuter rail service. North Richland Hills also belongs to the partnership.
According to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the metro area population is projected to increase to more than 11 million by 2045, with much of that growth expected outside existing transit authority service areas.