Related: For more on the impact of growth in North Texas, visit dallasnews.com\/futurentx<\/a><\/p>\n DART covers more than 700 square miles across 13 cities. Its network<\/a> includes 93 miles of light rail, the new 26-mile Silver Line regional rail, 83 bus routes with more than 7,000 stops, 31 GoLink microtransit zones, paratransit, the Trinity Railway Express, and the Dallas Streetcar system. These services carried about 56 million trips last year, or roughly 171,000 boardings on a typical weekday.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n DART aims to put about 74% of residents in its coverage area within a half-mile of service. Core riders remain low-income residents, many of them people of color, who lack cars and rely on transit for jobs, school and everyday needs.<\/p>\n Related: As DART struggles, how are other public transportation agencies faring across the U.S.?<\/a><\/p>\n But financial pressures are weighing on the agency. DART relies heavily on a dedicated 1% sales tax from its member cities, which provides nearly two-thirds of its revenue. Its long range financial plan shows that earlier rail expansion and the Silver Line project left the agency with significant debt obligations into the 2030s, constraining how much new service it can add.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have to provide more service, but more service is expensive,\u201d said Nadine Lee, who served as DART CEO until\u00a0April<\/a>. \u201cOur revenues are not growing at the same pace, and there is constant pressure to spend less money.\u201d<\/p>\n Nadine Lee speaks during a news conference on Oct. 29, 2025, in Dallas. Lee was the president and CEO of Dallas Area Rapid Transit from 2021 until April 2026.<\/p>\n Christine Vo\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n This spring, residents in\u00a0Addison, Highland Park and University Park will vote<\/a> on whether to withdraw from DART, a sign of the agency\u2019s central role and the strain in some member cities<\/a> over how service and sales\u2011tax contributions line up.<\/p>\n DART rider surveys consistently point to three priorities, which Lee summarized as security, cleanliness and reliability. Under a 10-year, $2.5 billion program called DART Transform, DART is replacing vehicles and upgrading stations and safety systems<\/a>. It reports violent crime is down and missed trips have fallen from about 15% of runs when Lee arrived to less than 1% today.<\/p>\n But as Dallas grows, gaps in access and opportunity become clearer. Transportation is a necessity across North Texas, and the region is struggling to build a system that works for the people who depend on it most.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Related: Costs, crime rates and riders: Five charts that show how people use DART<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to have gainful employment, the person has to be able to get to the job,\u201d said Jessica Galleshaw, Dallas<\/a>\u2019 deputy director and chief opportunity officer in the Office of Housing and Community Empowerment.<\/p>\n DART knows geography matters. Given that many of the region\u2019s jobs are north of Interstate 30, more direct, faster trips from the south are a key need, according to DART\u2019s 2045 Transit System Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n