Report: Dallas Public Transit Fails Equity and Access

Peter Simek reports on a new report released by researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington’s Institute of Urban Studies that "comprehensively reveals the failures of Dallas Area Rapid Transit to provide adequate public transit to its member cities."

"The analysis exposes a failure that is contributing greatly to lingering issues of poverty, inequality, and a lack of upward mobility in the region."

Among the key statistics in the report presented at the October 23 meeting [pdf] of the Dallas City Council's Mobility Solutions, Infrastructure and Sustainability committee:

• "More than 65 percent of residents who are dependent on transit have access to less than 4 percent of regional jobs."
• "On average, just 18 to 22 percent of the population has access to high frequency service during morning and afternoon peak hours; but during off peak hours, that number drops to just 9 percent of the population."
• "About a third of Dallas residents and transit-dependent residents do not have walking access to a transit station."

Simek pulls no punches in summarizing a deeply critical indictment of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system: "In one fell swoop, the report illustrates how Dallas’ income inequality and lack of upward mobility are directly related to the failures of its public transit agency."