Vote YES to keep DART in May 2nd city election

Elections in Addison, Highland Park, University Park

May 2026 City Election Dates

April 2nd - Last day to register to vote
April 20th-28th - Early voting
May 2nd - Election day

Transit in Addison

In 1984, Addison residents voted to dedicate 1% sales tax revenue to DART. Since then, sales within the city have contributed $400M. Those contributions have made possible the new $2.1 billion Silver Line and decades of 12 bus lines centered on the 2nd busiest transit center in DART, only behind Downtown Dallas.

Transit ridership across the country took a big hit during the pandemic, but Addison ridership has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Even before accounting for the new Silver Line.

Addison City Council members copied Plano and called for an election in an attempt to redirect voter-approved transit funding. However, unlike Plano, Irving, and Farmers Branch, 5 of 6 Addison council members rejected several compromises from DART and are continuing with the withdrawal election.
Rather than choosing the higher turnout November election, the council decided to put it on the ballot in May, when voter turnout is usually only 10%.

Transit Report Card: Addison Candidates

Addison voters will pick 3 council members from 5 candidates

A - Chris DeFrancisco: Consistent voting record for transit and pedestrian safety
B - Schnell Blanton: New candidate who has spoken in favor of public transit but hasn't held office before
C - Darren Gardner: Inconsistent voting record, has recently voted to withdraw from DART. Seems to play both sides

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D - Trish Stuart: New candidate, but has spoken at many city meetings in opposition to DART
F - Howard Freed: Voted against transit, walking, and biking 100% of the time

Transit Truth: Addison's Contribution vs. Service Value

In 2023 the Plano City Council requested consulting firm EY to analyze contributions by each city compared to the service they receive. Unfortunately, the study leaves out factors that make the results misleading, especially for Addison and Plano:

It excludes the $2.1 billion dollars to construct the Silver Line
Because it is 2 years old it doesn't include Silver Line operating costs
The model ignores the $674 million dollars of Dallas light rail assets that will be fully depreciated in 2026
Ignores the 80s through the early 2000s where the surrounding cities were still small and Dallas sales tax revenue paid for the majority of bus service and rail construction

Transit Truth: Addison Requests

Addison city council members said they would cancel the withdrawal election if they received the following:

Redirect 25% of voter-approved sales tax revenue back to Addison
Work towards redirecting 50% of sales tax revenue back
Continue core services
Give Addison more voting power

DART agreed with these modifications:

Redirect 5% increasing to 10% in 6 years
All DART cities agree to work with the state to increase transit funding (Texas gives $0 to DART)
Give Addison a dedicated rep with 2-4% voting power (Addison has 0.67% of the population)

Addison rejected this proposal. Plano, Irving, and Farmers Branch accepted

Transit Truth: Via microtransit provides less service at a higher cost

Addison, Plano, and Irving said they're looking at Via to replace DART. Let's see how Via is doing in Arlington.

Subsidy per rider

Via is over 50% more expensive for the city than DART at $17.20 vs $11.36 subsidy per ride.

($12.7M budget - $1.7M fares) / 639,253 trips = $17.20

Ridership

In the last 3 years Via ridership has decreased by 30% due to increasing costs, meanwhile DART ridership increased by over 10%. DART ridership hit a low in 2020 but has been recovering, currently it is at 83% pre-pandemic, but 98% on weekends. Via ridership is budgeted to fall further in 2026.

Ridership % change from 2023

Trajectory

Via had net losses of $90 million dollars in 2024. Cities will have to pay more to Via in the future if the company is to survive. DART was founded 40 years ago on a 1% on a sales tax revenue model that naturally follows inflation.

Transit Truth: Buses vs Uber Lobbyist

Step 1: Plano Repeatedly Appoints Uber Lobbyist

For 10 years Plano city council members appointed an Uber Lobbyist Paul Wageman to the DART board. During that time he has repeatedly pushed to eliminate bus service in favor of more expensive on-demand GoLink service, which contracts with Uber.

Step 2: Uber Lobbyist Pushes for Uber

In this article he says he recuses himself from votes involving Uber. He recused himself very often because he had many conflicts of interest as a lawyer and lobbyist. He also liked to recuse himself from listening to public comments. To indirectly influence the vote, he did threaten to not approve the budget, or push to file legislation cutting DART's budget if he didn't get his way.

Step 3: Plano's Uber Lobbyist and Irving's Mayor allegedly harass women

On top of this, Paul Wageman and Rick Stopfer, Irving's Mayor and DART board rep, caused DART to be sued for verbally harassing female DART employees.

Step 4: Profit?

After telling DART to remove bus routes, Plano and Irving complained about the removal of buses, and then put leaving DART on the May 2026 ballot. After paying off their portion of DART's debts for 10 years they might finally have enough money to pay for the Dallas Mavericks casino in Irving and the Dallas Stars stadium in Plano.

Transit in Plano

UPDATE: The Plano City Council has voted to cancel the vote to withdraw from DART and accepted DART's offer for 5% (increasing to 10% over 6 years) for funds to be used for transportation projects within the city. They also agree to all go to the Texas legislature in 2027 to advocate for more state funding for transportation.

Find Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can we still have trains if we pull out from DART?
A: No, all service stops immediately if voters don't choose to stay with DART. Light rail service cannot be provided under DART's current rules, other services could be provided if both DART and the city agree on a price.
Q: Do cities have post-DART plans?
A: They have concepts of a plan. Addison, Plano, and Irving have said they are talking to Via Transportation, which operates on-demand vans in Arlington.
Q: What can I do to keep DART in my city?
A:
1. Register to vote
2. Vote YES to remain in DART in the May 2026 election (and you should vote every May election going forward)
3. Vote in council members who understand transit
4. Tell your council members to appoint DART board reps that actually use transit (most don't)
5. Email your council members or speak in person before a meeting
Q: When will this be decided?
A: During the May 2026 election. April 20th - April 28th 2026 is early voting and May 2nd is election day.