Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Planning Organization 40th Anniversary

The North Central Texas Council of Governments is celebrating its 40th anniversary as the region’s metropolitan planning organization. Throughout 2014, the Transportation Department will look back at some historic events and accomplishments that shaped the region while also looking forward to the future. This month, the focus is on how regional cooperation advanced public transportation.

During the past three decades, public transportation and regional partnerships have expanded to create the transit system of today that will include 90 miles of light rail, the most in the country, when Dallas Area Rapid Transit opens the Orange Line to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Aug. 18. Combined with the commuter rail service of the Trinity Railway Express and the Denton County Transportation Authority's A-train, Dallas-Fort Worth's rail system provides service along almost 150 miles of track in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Read more in Local Motion >>>

#DFWMPO40

Looking ahead, tell us what you think: Public transportation in the region has changed throughout the past 40 years. Buses now run on alternative fuel; light rail continues to expand; and commuter rail connects Dallas to Fort Worth and Denton to Carrollton. Transit has also shaped land use with mixed-use and transit-oriented developments, infill developments and redevelopment in historic downtowns. How will transit shape land use in the future? Tell us on social media using #DFWMPO40.

Public Transportation in North Texas

1974

• CITRAN (city of Fort Worth) and the Dallas Transit System are the main players in the region’s public transportation. Dallas-Fort Worth had 500 buses running 19 million miles per year.
  
  
• A trip on the privately owned Leonard’s Subway carries shoppers one mile in downtown Fort Worth from the department store’s parking lot to the store, which is the former corporate headquarters of Radio Shack.

1983

• The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth jointly purchase a rail corridor and track for future use as a passenger rail line between the two cities. (The deed to transfer the cities ownership to FWTA and DART would be signed on December 27, 1999.  A resolution was then signed January, 20, 2000.)

Voters in 14 cities and Dallas County cast ballots to create Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), a transportation authority that will provide the east side of the North Texas region with transit services. DART is funded by a one-cent sales tax.
Fort Worth voters approve a quarter-cent sales tax to fund public transit through the creation of the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA). 1988

• DART bus ridership hits 150,000 passenger trips per weekday.

1989

• FWTA begins converting its bus fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel, becoming a national leader in CNG-conversion among public transportation agencies wanting to reduce emissions.
  
  
• FWTA’s sales tax rate increases to one half-cent, as per the terms of the 1983 ballot initiative.

1992

• The cities of Blue Mound and Richland Hills join FWTA.

1995

• DART revises its Transit System Plan to reflect NCTCOG’s Mobility 2010 Plan. The revised plan includes 53 miles of light rail transit and 37 miles of commuter rail transit, including lines that will link Dallas and Fort Worth, connect to D/FW International Airport and run along the IH 35E corridor.

Photo: Fort Worth Transportation Authority

1996 The first segment of the Trinity Railway Express opens, making it the first commuter rail line in the southwestern United States. DART opened the 10-mile segment linking Dallas and Irving. Through a partnership with FWTA, the line will be extended to Fort Worth. The first 11.2 miles of DART's 20-mile light rail transit starter system open on time and within budget.

1997

• DART approves the multi-year purchase of 433 new buses, including 110 which will operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG), helping to improve air quality.

Photo: Dallas Area Rapid Transit

1999 FWTArinity Railway Express carries its 1 millionth customer. 2000 FWTArinity Railway Express (TRE) expands service west to four new stations – West Irving, Hurst/Bell, Richland Hills, and CentrePort/DFW Airport.

• Cityplace/Uptown Station, the Southwest's first subway station, opens on DART. The tri-level facility reaches depths of 120 feet underneath North Central Expressway.

2001

• FWTA’s expansion of the Trinity Railway Express commuter rail service to Downtown Fort Worth is complete, connecting Dallas and Fort Worth with passenger rail service for the first time since the 1930s. Jointly owned and operated by DART and FWTA, the TRE runs on nearly 35 miles of track and has 10 stations.

2002

Photo: NCTCOG

FWTArinity Railway Express’ annual ridership surpasses 2 million people for the first time. DART light rail undergoes a significant expansion, doubling the length of its rail system and reaching North Dallas, Richardson, Plano and Garland. Richardson is the first North Texas suburb to welcome light rail into its city limits. FWTA opens the Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) in downtown Fort Worth with a vision to provide a convenient, centralized hub for multiple forms of public ground transportation, including the TRE, bus, rail and bicycles. The restored T&P station on the south also opens for service. Denton County residents vote to create the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA).

2003

• Denton, Lewisville and Highland Village approve a one half-cent dedicated sales tax to finance DCTA.
  
  
• FWTA completes conversion of its bus fleet to all compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.

2004

• DART retrofits 360 of its older buses and purchases 80 news buses that run on ultra-low-sulfur-diesel fuel. The buses are more than three times cleaner than the buses they replace.

2005

• DCTA begins operating bus service in parts of Denton County.

2006 DART and FWTA mark the 10th anniversary of the Trinity Railway Express. Grapevine voters approve and dedicate a three-eighths cent sales tax to FWTA for the construction and operation of a commuter rail line that will run from Fort Worth to Grapevine to D/FW International Airport. The Federal Transit Administration approves a $700-million Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) to kick-start a $2.5-billion expansion that will lead to the doubling of the DART Rail System to 90 miles.

2009

• FWTA initiates a national coalition to assist public transportation agencies interested in converting their fleets to natural gas and to provide an information exchange for other transit users, manufacturers and vendors. The Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA) continues that program today.

2010

• DART completes the 28-mile, 20-station, $1.8 billion Green Line on schedule and under budget. It stretches from southeast Dallas to the cities of Farmers Branch and Carrollton in northwest Dallas County.

2011

• DCTA opens the A-train, a 21-mile regional commuter rail line connecting Denton and Dallas counties. Project construction is funded with Regional Toll Revenue.

Photo: Denton County Transportation Authority

• The Dallas-to-Oak Cliff Streetcar project receives environmental clearance from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and is scheduled to open in 2015. The 1.6-mile streetcar project is a collaborative endeavor involving NCTCOG, the city of Dallas, DART and the FTA. The $35 million project is funded with a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant and Regional Toll Revenue funds.

2012

• The Downtown Rowlett Station opens on the DART Blue Line, completing the build-out of DART’s northeast corridor.
  
  
• DART marks 250 million light rail passenger trips.
  
  
• In its first full year of operation, the A-train carries 387,478 passengers.

2013

• DART, FWTA and DCTA introduce the GoPass, a free mobile ticketing app. The North Texas agencies are among the first in the country to offer mobile ticketing. By the end of the year, more than 70,000 people had downloaded the app, far exceeding projections.
  

Photo: NCTCOG

DART, FWTA and TRE partner with the city of Arlington, University of Texas at Arlington and Arlington Chamber of Commerce to open the Metro ArlingtonXpress (MAX), a pilot commuter bus service that links Arlington to the TRE’s CentrePort/DFW Airport Station, providing Arlington with access to transit systems on both sides of the region. A-train ridership continues to grow and the Denton County Transportation Authority celebrates surpassing the 1 million passenger milestone.

• DART's new fleet of 40-foot buses begins service. The 459 buses run exclusively on compressed natural gas and will cut the agency's annual fuel costs by nearly two-thirds and significantly limit harmful emissions.

2014

• FWTA receives notification that TEX Rail has been included in the president’s budget as a recommended FTA project.
  
  
• With the opening of a station at D/FW International Airport, DART completes its Orange Line, which connects Plano, Dallas and Irving with one of the world’s busiest airports. At 90 miles, DART operates the largest electric light rail system in the nation.

Photo: Dallas Area Rapid Transit

Famous People Born in August 1974

August 20 - Amy Adams, actress

Dallas-Fort Worth MPO at 40: Reflecting on Accomplishments, Historic Events and More

January 2014: What was Happening in 1974
February 2014: Forty Years of Media and Public Involvement
March 2014: Transportation Options
April 2014: The Regional Transportation Council
May 2014: Air Quality
June 2014: Youth Involvement in Transportation
July 2014: Regional Innovations
August 2014: Public Transportation
September 2014: Technology and Transportation Planning
October 2014: Growth in Population and Transportation
November 2014: Aviation
December 2014: Future of Transportation