A few weeks ago, a handful of Dallas Area Rapid Transit member cities announced their intention to add a measure to the May voting ballot, allowing their constituents to choose whether or not to end contracts and tax contributions to the transportation agency. Last to throw in their chips and join Farmers Branch, Highland Park and Plano was Irving, whose case for leaving the network may be the strongest following significant service cuts earlier this year.
The main complaint for the city leading the charge, Plano, is a lack of return on investment, which Irving might also have a case for moving forward.
A frequently cited financial analysis conducted by a third-party firm for DART’s 2023 fiscal year revealed that most member cities were contributing far more to the service than they were receiving in return. Plano contributed $109 million, with $4.6 million in services back in return. Highland Park contributed $6.3 million compared to $1.9 million in services. Farmers Branch contributed $24.3 million, resulting in a $20.8 million return on their investment, according to the report, which has become a thorn in the side of DART’s administrative team, who point out that, like all studies, it may have some skew…