| UNFAIR PARK | DART tried to make a transit system more usable and failed. DART wanted new routes to make commuters freer. The pandemic and a driver shortage had other ideas. BY JACOB VAUGHN FREEDOM RIDERS I 4 4 n February 2020, Jarrett Walker manned a podium in a room at the Old Parkland hospital building, some 200 people in front of him. Speaking to the crowd, he shared his philosophy on public transportation: It boils down to per- sonal freedom. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) board had contracted with Walker and his firm to devise a new plan for the city’s bus sys- tem, and he was well suited for the job: He had over 25 years of experience in public transit planning in cities on several continents. He laid out some of the tough questions the city would have to ask itself before it could have a successful transit system. Walker said there’s a wall around people’s lives that’s defined by the limits of where they can get to in a reasonable amount of time. That wall can be expanded with public transit, and that can make people freer, Walker said. “Because what is freedom but the pres- ence of actual options?” Walker said. “The presence of actual choices you can make. You are not free as a shopper if you can only get to one grocery store, especially a grocery store that only sells one kind of milk.” (That is especially true in poorer parts of the city considered food deserts.) To replan Dallas’ transit system, DART had to choose between two goals: increased ridership or increased coverage. DART can make public transit more useful to the larg- est number of people, or make it accessible for everyone. There are upsides and down- sides to each approach. Overall coverage would be more equitable. Focusing on rider- ship could support redevelopment and have more environmental benefits. Everyone wants both, but that’s not how public transit works. DART had to make a choice. A lot has happened since then. The follow- ing month, COVID-19 lockdowns shuttered much of the world, closing public transit off to many. The pandemic slammed an already un- der-resourced and underfunded DART, lead- ing to cuts in staff, the bulk of which were seen in the bus and rail departments. In July 2020, DART said it would face a $1 billion negative hit to its revenue over the next two decades be- cause of the pandemic. Despite the economic turmoil brought on by COVID-19 and changes in the industry, DART board member Michele Wong Krause still spoke idealistically about the bus service in July 2020, saying she believed it would remain the backbone of the city’s transit system for the foreseeable future. The reality on the ground is a little darker. Taking public transportation can feel like you’re playing connect the dots. You take a shuttle or walk to your nearest bus stop. If you’re lucky, maybe that bus will take you straight to where you need to go. A lot of times, though, you’ll have to hop on another bus or train, or several — a few more dots to connect to get to your final destination. Sitting at one of the DART stations, you might see trash scattered; a fight nearly breaking out behind you; and maybe a man pouring Steel Reserve 211 into a Big Gulp cup to quench his thirst as he waits for his next trek. You may even spot someone using increased frequency, they’ve also come with their share of downsides, like less consis- tency and longer walks to bus stops. Artis Jarvis, 59, works at Dallas Love T Field Airport as a customer service agent. Waiting for his ride at the Inwood/Love Field DART station, Jarvis said it’s hard to be mad about public transit when gas is so expensive, but he still had some complaints. It’s not all that different from what others are saying. He doesn’t always know if and when his bus will show up or if he’ll get to work on time. Jarvis said he sometimes shows up late to work because the buses are running >> p6 drugs or suffering a mental health crisis. It’s not always comfortable. It all might be a lit- tle more tolerable if the transit system could reliably get you where you need to go on time. Lately, the buses haven’t been able to do this for everyone. he new bus routes were rolled out on Jan. 24, and while the changes have brought some improvements, such as Jacob Vaughn MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 JULY 7–13, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com dallasobserver.com
