DART news

Dallas' newest buses come charged up for electronic devices

New DART buses should get you all charged up.

Photo courtesy of DART

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is adding 41 new buses that come with chargers for your electronic devices.

The agency is bolstering its fleet in anticipation of service changes that are coming in August.

The new buses are the XN-40, made by New Flyer, based in St. Cloud, Minnesota. They're fueled with clean Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and are 40 feet long. To date, 13 of the new buses have been delivered from St. Cloud, with an additional three arriving weekly.

DART plans to deploy the New Flyer buses on peak schedule adjustments by straightening out, simplifying, and improving access on several routes in and around Dallas beginning August 12.

The new buses come with USB ports on 33 of the seats, allowing commuters to charge their electronic devices while riding. Other new features include bigger monitors for showing transit info; vinyl upholstery on the seats; and flush-mounted tinted windows.

The vinyl seats replace cloth. The practical advantage is that vinyl allows you to see if the seats are wet before you sit down.

DART spokesman Mark Ball says that since the new buses are being manufactured by another company — the former were built by NABI — they look slightly different, with a sleeker appearance and a smoother, quieter ride.

DART operators will have a barrier door shield and a sliding window, automatic passenger counters; and a new on-board battery management system.

"But the key is that they'll help us with our service changes planned for late summer when we need more vehicles to put into service," Ball says.

They're trying to add frequency similar to rail, IE every 15 to 20 minutes — changes that represent a major step in the creation of a long-range Transit System Plan.

Some are also targeted in the Route Restructuring section for straightening and/or realignment to reduce duplication, as follows:

404 Westmoreland: Realignment on south end
409 Peak/Haskell: Parkland-MLK, Jr. stations only
466 Ledbetter: Buckner Station-AEFES
467 Buckner: Frequency change only
583 Skillman: Realignment near the Village, Timber Creek

transportation traffic

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics