Less Than Two Months In — And Look Where We Are

A year-end progress check from Keep DART in Plano

Less than two months ago, Keep DART in Plano was an idea, a few messages, and a lot of “are we really doing this?”

Now? It’s a movement that’s gaining traction.

📰We’re Being Talked About (Beyond Plano)

In under two months, this conversation moved well outside City Hall:

• We were mentioned in D Magazine, bringing Plano’s transit debate to a broader North Texas audience

• Substack writers began using Plano as a case study in transit governance, funding, and public process

📱We Just Started TikTok… and Wow

• We launched our TikTok this week, with one of our first videos passing 40,000 views

• Thousands of people are now seeing — and sharing — information about Plano transit, accountability, and process

People want clear, accessible explanations — and they’re not finding them through traditional channels. Short-form video helped turn a complicated civic issue into something human and understandable. 

💻Transparency Didn’t Exist — So We Built It

In less than two months, we’ve:

• Filed and tracked multiple public records requests

• Organized agendas, timelines, and documents into digestible summaries

• Compared public statements with documented actions

• Shared what we found so residents didn’t have to dig through PDFs

Transparency doesn’t happen by default. It happens because people insist on it.

When Residents Said: “Please Don’t Do This Quietly.”

One of the most meaningful moments this month was when a group of residents sent a certified letter asking the City of Plano not to conduct transit dealings privately.

At the same time, we’ve repeatedly asked whether the residents most impacted by potential service changes are being directly engaged.

To date, we haven’t received a clear response. So we’ll keep asking.

We Truly Couldn’t Have Done This Without…

This work has been community-powered from day one.

💸Our Donors

You helped fund records requests, printing, tools, and community rides. Grassroots advocacy only works when people believe in it. Thank you. If you’d like to help financially, visit our Giving page.  

📊DATA

Huge thanks to Dallas Area Transit Alliance for keeping facts front and center — adding regional context, reality-checking numbers, and helping turn complexity into clarity.

🚉 Transit Alliance of Plano

Thank you to Transit Alliance of Plano for being early, consistent, and rider-focused voices who showed that advocacy can be constructive and firm.

💬 Our Friends on the CCCC

To those who served on the Collin County Connects Committee — you asked hard questions, documented concerns, and brought facts into rooms that needed them. That work mattered.

🏢City of Plano Staff

We also want to acknowledge City of Plano staff for being willing to engage. Even when we disagreed or answers were incomplete, engagement still happened — and that matters.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑The Residents Who Showed Up

• Riders. Seniors. Workers. Students.

• Those who emailed, spoke at council, filed records, sent certified letters, and asked tough questions.

You reminded everyone that democracy isn’t passive.

🗳️Eyes on the Vote — And Beyond

Between now and Election Day, we’ll keep:

• Sharing information

• Encouraging civic participation

• Showing up to Council

We’ll also give Plano’s new transit option a fair, good-faith try once it launches — because outcomes matter.

But our work does not end with the election.

We’re already planning what comes next:

• Holding Plano to its public commitments

• Measuring promises against reality

• Strengthening relationships — including with DART

• Keeping riders at the center, no matter the outcome

🎄 One Last Holiday Nugget

We hope you’re all able to take the Silver Line to the airport soon — suitcase rolling, stress low, holiday playlist on.

Friendly reminder:

• 🎅 Dallas Area Rapid Transit service hours are limited on holidays, so check schedules

• 🥳 Rides are FREE on New Year’s Eve night for the first 10,500 riders who redeem code COORSNYE25 in GoPass, making it easier to celebrate responsibly and get home safely

Thank you for riding with us, learning with us, and building this together.

Statement on C4’s Final Meeting

Last night’s Collin County Connects Committee (CCCC) meeting underscored both the gravity of this decision and the growing disconnect between those impacted by transit policy and those driving it.

To be clear, the committee was not unanimous. Some members expressed preferences and supported moving forward. However, as the meeting progressed, more questions were raised than answered — particularly around cost certainty, service coverage, long-term viability, and the consequences of eliminating fixed-route bus service, especially for Plano’s most vulnerable residents.

Those concerns were not abstract.

One committee member, who works directly with riders to access DART paratransit services, raised critical questions about ADA compliance and real-world accessibility. Another noted that non-member cities face limitations when transferring riders into DART paratransit, while remaining a member city ensures eligible riders can access the rides they need without artificial caps. These realities matter to seniors, people with disabilities, and residents who rely on transit for basic mobility.

As these questions surfaced, several lines of inquiry were curtailed by legal guidance, leaving essential issues unresolved. The result was a process where concerns accumulated without full examination, contributing to hesitation among members unwilling to endorse outcomes that lacked clarity or safeguards.

While there was one notably forceful objection to including DART as an option, the broader tone of the committee reflected unease — not confidence — in the vendor alternatives presented. Concerns about fragmentation, scalability, accessibility, and loss of regional connectivity were raised repeatedly. Even where support existed, it was often conditional.

During the meeting, the committee and City staff publicly acknowledged and thanked community members in attendance — including advocacy groups such as Keep DART in Plano — for sustained engagement and participation throughout this process. We appreciate that recognition and remain hopeful City Council will hear the message emerging from the committee’s work.

However, it is difficult to reconcile that acknowledgment with how the process itself was structured.

One committee member stated plainly that it was irresponsible to expect meaningful outcomes from four meetings compressed into two weeks, all held on week nights, with one meeting serving as an introduction and another functioning as a conclusion. That left, at most, two working sessions to evaluate complex transit systems, contracts, costs, legal obligations, and long-term impacts. While this timeline was framed as an effort to empower citizen participation, multiple members made clear that they did not feel empowered to make an informed decision.

This constraint was not incidental — it was imposed.

City Council specifically hobbled the committee’s ability to perform its charge. Other cities, including Carrollton, formed advisory groups well before placing any ballot measure, made clear they would not consider withdrawal until alternatives were fully developed, and provided their committees with substantial detail on proposed service models, costs, and timelines.

Plano did not.

When committee members requested additional information regarding procurement, contracts, and pricing structures, they were told that releasing such details could harm the city by allowing vendors to “price each other up.” As a result, members were asked to evaluate proposals without access to the very information needed to assess viability, risk, or long-term sustainability.

That is not empowerment. It is constraint.

What this process has made increasingly clear is that the city is prioritizing the protection of its pocketbook over the protection of its most vulnerable residents. Whether this initiative is driven by City Council, city management, future political ambitions, or some combination thereof remains unclear. What is clear is that it is not being driven by the people most impacted — transit riders themselves.

City Council initially punted the decision to voters by placing DART withdrawal on the ballot, avoiding a direct policy position. The committee was then asked to evaluate replacement options under narrow constraints — and when that process surfaced unresolved risks, the issue was effectively punted back to Council.

Transit planning should begin with riders, access, and mobility. Instead, financial recapture has dominated the conversation.

That is unacceptable.

We are calling on every Plano resident who depends on transit — seniors, people with disabilities, service workers, students, business owners, and downtown Plano residents — to speak at the December 16 City Council meeting. If the city is moving forward with a solution it claims is viable, it must do so on the public record, fully aware that its own transit riders, business owners, and residents have raised serious objections.

If Council will not listen voluntarily, then we must make ourselves impossible to ignore.

Transparency Disclaimer

For full transparency, one member of the Collin County Connects Committee also serves on the board of directors of Keep DART in Plano. We explicitly requested that this individual refrain from advocating for our organization’s position during committee proceedings, as we believe strongly in the separation of roles and responsibilities.

This statement was written by members of our organization who do not serve on the committee, based on their experience observing these open meetings and reviewing publicly available materials.

We are disclosing this voluntarily because transparency matters — especially when the city has failed to provide it.

🚍 Let’s Talk Facts: DART Is Improving, Whether Plano Acknowledges It or Not

There’s been a lot of talk lately claiming DART isn’t responding to rider needs or making improvements. We counter with the following:

🔧 Major System Investments Already Underway

These aren’t proposals — these are funded, approved, and in motion:

• ✅ Nearly 500 brand-new buses ordered

• ✅ $7.1 million federal grant awarded specifically to support that fleet replacement

• ✅ Part of a long-term $2.5 billion modernization plan (“DART Transform”)

• ✅ $24.6 million in new safety + cleanliness contracts, including:

• Upgraded surveillance across trains, buses, and stations

• Expanded cleaning schedules for shelters and stops

• Improved monitoring and response systems

These improvements directly address long-standing concerns about safety, reliability, and rider experience.

🚌 Meanwhile in Plano…

Plano asked DART to delay introducing the upgraded buses — despite the fact that one of the top local complaints is “the buses feel old.”

At the same time, the city is exploring alternatives like Via — though it’s important to note: Via is not a confirmed replacement option.

It’s simply the direction council discussions are trending.

The timing, potentially rolling something out before the election, feels less like planning and more like marketing.

And if Plano believes new vehicles could increase rider confidence?

➡️ Then DART upgrading its fleet is the exact same strategy.

You shouldn’t criticize DART for improvements while trying to replicate the same concept elsewhere.

🗺️ Coverage Reality Check

A common talking point has been:

“DART doesn’t serve all of Plano.”

Here’s the full picture:

• DART did consider creating a citywide GoLink coverage zone, including Denton County areas.

• But with Plano now pushing to take back a portion of the 1% DART sales tax, expecting additional coverage at the same time isn’t realistic.

You can’t cut funding and expand service at the same time.

💰 And Yes — About Those Bonuses

People love to mention the bonuses — without context.

Here’s what’s missing from those posts:

• They weren’t random.

• They weren’t unlimited.

• They weren’t handed to one person.

These bonuses were tied to performance metrics, including:

• Ridership improvements

• Grant success

• Operational efficiency

• Modernization milestones

• Safety and compliance targets

• Customer-experience improvements

If the goal is a cleaner, safer, more reliable transit system — then compensating leadership tied to measurable outcomes is part of running a professional regional agency, not a scandal.

📣 The Bottom Line

DART is modernizing.

DART is investing.

DART is improving service and infrastructure, not shrinking from responsibility (Plano, I see you!)

• Cleaner stops

• Better technology

• Fleet upgrades

• Safety improvements

• Federal funding success

• System-wide modernization

Cutting funding now doesn’t create better transit, it undermines a system already in the middle of improvement.

Once a regional network weakens, rebuilding it is far harder and far more expensive.

👇 If we want better transit in North Texas, the path forward is simple:

📌 Improve it — don’t abandon it.

📌 Invest — don’t siphon funding away.

📌 Fix service — don’t dismantle the system serving thousands every day.

Whether it fits the narrative or not:

DART is moving in the right direction — and Plano benefits from that progress.

⸻

📍 Research + content funded by Keep DART in Plano.

For transparency: this analysis reflects publicly available reports, contracts, grant filings, and agency updates as of publication.

Verified Facts vs. Interpretation / Analysis

(This section is included for transparency. “Verified Facts” are directly supported by published sources. “Interpretation/Analysis” reflects conclusions drawn from those facts and the public policy context.)

Blog Statement	Category	Notes	Source
DART is replacing its aging fleet with nearly 500 new buses.	Verified Fact	Confirmed by DART procurement release.	https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/dart-to-transform-fleet--enhance-passenger-safety-and-experience-with-new-gillig-cng-bus-purchase
New buses have already started arriving and are entering service.	Verified Fact	Confirmed by implementation announcement.	https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/dart-celebrates-arrival-of-first-new-buses-that-will-revitalize-entire-fleet
A $7.094M federal grant is supporting the fleet modernization effort.	Verified Fact	Federal grant award announcement.	https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/dart-receives--7.094-million-fta-grant-to-support-bus-replacement
DART is investing in system-wide modernization, including planning, new technology, and service expansion.	Verified Fact	Strategic plan document.	https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/dallas-area-rapid-transit-releases-point-b-strategic-plan-annual-report-highlighting-major-investments-and-accomplishments
DART has expanded safety, surveillance, and cleaning measures through approved contracts.	Verified Fact	Official contract approval release.	https://www.dart.org/about/news-and-events/newsreleases/newsrelease-detail/dallas-area-rapid-transit-approves-security-and-cleaning-contracts
Media has documented the need and movement toward improving system safety.	Verified Fact	Third-party reporting confirms security investments and modernization are underway.	https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/dart-millions-security-system-overhaul-violence-trains/3947056/
These system upgrades demonstrate meaningful improvement in response to rider concerns.	Interpretation / Analysis	Analysis based on documented investments and modernization timeline.	Synthesized from sources above
The improvements show that DART is evolving and responding to regional needs rather than stagnating.	Interpretation / Analysis	Reasoned conclusion based on modernization rollout, new fleet, and strategic plan.	Synthesized from sources above
Plano appears to be evaluating or moving toward withdrawal from full bus service.	Verified Fact	Confirmed via independent reporting on withdrawal proposal.	https://www.keranews.org/transportation/2025-11-19/plano-proposal-dart-transit-withdrawal-bus
The timing and scope of improvements may contradict claims that DART is not improving or investing in the system.	Interpretation / Analysis	Conclusion based on fact timeline and public messaging context.	Synthesized from full source packet

🟦 Where interpretation is included, it is based on publicly available evidence, context, and policy analysis — not speculation or unpublished claims.