Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) plans to roll out revised regional fares starting March 1, designed to streamline pricing, improve fairness for riders, and bolster the system’s future viability across its 13-city service area.
The most significant shift cuts the price of a Regional Day Pass by 25% to $9 from the current $12. A Regional Day Pass grants access to all offerings from DART, Trinity Metro, and Denton County Transit Authority. For monthly options, the Regional 31-Day Pass will remain $192 for regular users, but the reduced version will increase to $96 from $48.
Reduced-fare day passes, offered to eligible groups such as seniors, people with disabilities, Medicare recipients, and certain students, will rise to $4.50 from $3 to align with the standard 50% discount off regular fares.
The agency is also ending its DART Senior Retail Annual Pass, urging former buyers to switch to the Reduced Fare 31-Day Pass.
The new rates will appear in the GoPass app, on DART.org, at vending machines, and in other rider resources ahead of the changeover. For inquiries, the agency directs people to its website or customer service line at 214-979-1111.
DART handles bus, light rail, GoLink on-demand rides, paratransit, and commuter rail operations over 700 square miles, serving over 220,000 riders each day in the cities of Addison, Carrollton, Cockrell Hill, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Garland, Glenn Heights, Highland Park, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett, Plano, and University Park. Income from fares helps fund service, safety upgrades, and vehicle updates amid regional expansion.
DART is currently facing scrutiny ahead of upcoming withdrawal elections due to concerns about funding, representation, safety, and services. This comes at a time when the agency has approved reforms to improve funding equity and governance. As such, several member cities have already or are considering canceling their scheduled withdrawal elections in May, before the March 18 deadline.
Case in point: the decisions on February 24 by the Farmers Branch and Addison city councils reflect divergent approaches to their relationships with DART amid ongoing negotiations over reforms. Farmers Branch voted 4-1 to cancel its scheduled May 2 withdrawal election, committing to remain in DART for another six years in light of concessions, including a new General Mobility Program for local funding and proposed governance changes to balance representation on the DART Board.
Supporters viewed the move as securing meaningful progress through regional collaboration, while critics argued it removed voter input and reduced leverage for future improvements.
In contrast, Addison’s council voted 5-2 to keep the withdrawal question on the ballot, allowing residents to decide the city’s future with DART. Council members emphasized the importance of democratic choice on critical governance issues, funding equity, and long-term transit reliability, while acknowledging DART leadership’s negotiation efforts.
Plano has already voted to cancel its withdrawal election, and the Irving City Council will vote on the matter on February 26.
With the March 18 deadline approaching for final cancellations and other cities like Irving still deliberating, these outcomes reflect broader tensions over service imbalances and the path toward sustainable regional transit improvements.
