{"id":26945,"date":"2025-10-29T23:51:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/26945\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T23:51:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T23:51:21","slug":"dart-ceo-potential-plano-withdrawal-would-impact-entire-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/26945\/","title":{"rendered":"DART CEO: Potential Plano withdrawal would impact entire system"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Area Rapid Transit<\/a> officials are planning for a future that may not include Plano after the city took steps toward a possible withdrawal from the system.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 5, Plano City Council will consider calling a special election<\/a> that would allow residents to determine if the city remains part of DART next May.<\/p>\n

DART CEO Nadine Lee said that all services in Plano would stop the day after an election if voters approved the withdrawal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have to start looking at what those impacts are going to look like,\u201d she said. \u201cI understand the financial implications that cities are dealing with today, but the truth is that transportation services are needed across the board, in all of our cities … it\u2019s something that people rely on, and I would hate to see those services go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big picture<\/p>\n

Lee said Plano leaving DART would have impacts across the entire system.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany riders travel, for example, from Dallas to Plano for work,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s not just residents of Plano who would be affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee added that revenue loss from Plano sales tax collection would also have impacts on the services DART provides. The sales tax collected from Plano is \u201cabout $110 million\u201d per year, Lee said, the second largest contribution of any DART member city behind only Dallas.<\/p>\n

Plano council called the special meeting less than a week after the launch of DART\u2019s Silver Line,<\/a> a 26-mile commuter rail that connects Plano, Richardson and five other North Texas cities to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The Silver Line has two stations in Plano.<\/p>\n

She added that DART\u2019s ability to serve those attending the 2026 World Cup, which begins next June, would be \u201cseverely impacted\u201d by a withdrawal. North Texas is set to host 12 World Cup games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s really devastating and frustrating to understand that they would do this not only on the heels of a wonderful, successful opening at the Silver Line last week, but on the eve of the World Cup,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

Some context<\/p>\n

A news release from the city of Plano cites a 2023 study from Ernst and Young Infrastructure Advisors<\/a> that revealed a \u201cclear disparity in spending\u201d as a primary reason for the special meeting.<\/p>\n

According to the report, Plano contributed $109.6 million in sales tax and saw $44.6 million in expenses within the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, the city of Plano has worked to hold DART accountable for the hundreds of millions of tax dollars contributed by our residents,\u201d the release states. \u201cGiven these circumstances, city leaders believe it is time to ask residents directly: Should DART continue to operate in the city of Plano?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee said that she believes it\u2019s \u201cchallenging to say that the [Ernst and Young] study was entirely accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe study validated the operational distribution of funds that we had calculated internally, where we had some differences of opinion were on the capital side,\u201d she said. \u201cThe methodology was really what made the difference there, and there were a number of costs that were not included in the methodology.”<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

Along with Plano, the cities of Highland Park and Farmer\u2019s Branch are also set to consider special elections to withdraw from DART, Lee said.<\/p>\n

Lee added that DART officials plan to continue working with those member cities to find \u201ca resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some offers on the table, and we want to continue to work with our cities to see if we can come to a resolution,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause this is certainly not the outcome that we’re all looking for.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials are planning for a future that may not include Plano after the city…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[18672,2261,18684,160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-26945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-dallas-area-rapid-transit","9":"tag-dart","10":"tag-nadine-lee","11":"tag-plano","12":"tag-plano-headlines","13":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}