The Dallas Area Rapid Transit said if House Bill 3187 passes, it would essentially dismantle the region’s public transportation system.
Officials with DART said the legislation would redistribute DART’s voter-approved sales tax funding, strip it of essential operational and capital funds from the agency and force the transit agency to make immediate and irreversible cuts. DART said the bill would eliminate 5,800 jobs across North Texas, cancel planned capital improvements to the transit system, and force DART to make service level cuts which would jeopardize transportation for thousands of riders.
“This bill isn’t a tweak to funding. It’s a full-on dismantling of the DART system,” Jeamy Molina, DART’s Chief Communications Officer said. “The people of North Texas voted twice to fund a unified, regional transit system. House Bill 3187 completely ignores their voice and puts the future of public transportation in jeopardy.”
Transit advocates said the bill will stall or kill transit-oriented development projects and undermine the agency’s ability to prepare for major international events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
HB 3187 is sponsored by North Texas Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), who has said that DART is financially harming many of its member cities. For example, a report from Ernst and Young that examined Fiscal Year 2023 cost allocations found that the city of Plano contributed $109.6 million in sales tax revenue to DART but received $44.6 million in public transit services.