DART News

Dallas-Fort Worth bus and train agencies step up cleaning for coronavirus

These riders are not following the six-foot distance rule.

Photo courtesy of DART

In response to the coronavirus, North Texas' three public transit agencies have stepped up their cleaning and safety protocols.

Ridership is currently down, according to a DART spokesperson. "It's the same policy as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation against gatherings of 50 people," he says.

A release details the steps as follows:

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)

DART vehicles are now getting additional cleanings throughout the day. High-touch surface areas — include handrails, door buttons, grab rails, and hanging straps — are now being cleaned with a solution approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as successful in killing the coronavirus, as well as influenza, rhinovirus, norovirus, salmonella, staphylococcus, and e-coli.

Vehicles and areas that have been exposed to unsanitary and unhygienic situations are being removed.

DART passengers should contact DART Customer Service at (214) 979-1111, or the DART Say Something app if they see a surface that needs to be cleaned.

Denton County Transit Authority (DCTA)

In addition to regular cleanings, DCTA uses a medical-grade disinfecting spray on all buses, trains, and at the Downtown Denton Transit Center (DDTC). They’ve also increased the cleaning of critical high-touch point areas on trains, buses and at facilities such as door handles, counter tops and steering wheels.

Trinity Metro

Trinity Metro is increasing the frequency of cleaning of high-touch areas such as door handles, railings, benches, and ticket vending machines with disinfectant throughout each shift. Buses and vans are sanitized daily and all buses are equipped with ionizers, which help purify the air as it is recirculated in the vehicle. Trinity Metro TEXRail trains are disinfected daily after they have been in service.

Trinity Metro reminds customers, partners, and employees to wash their hands, cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and stay home when sick.

For questions regarding Trinity Metro’s precautionary measures in response to COVID 19 or Trinity Metro’s services, customer care representatives are available at 817-215-8600.

Each North Texas agency is also standing by to escalate cleaning processes for transit vehicles should the need arise.

Trinity Railway Express (TRE)

The TRE (jointly operated by DART and Trinity Metro) has deployed operation teams to disinfecting TRE trains with a focus on high-tough areas. This includes the use of a hospital-grade spray disinfectant, foaming germicidal cleaner, and disinfecting wipes. Train crews have been provided hand sanitizers and access to gloves, and signage has been posted on trains to educate both employees and the public on how to avoid getting sick.

TRE passengers are encouraged to sign-up for Rider Alerts about service changes at trinityrailwayexpress.org

All agencies are encouraging passengers to stay home if they feel sick or are experiencing symptoms.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

transportation

Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

holidays porch pirates crime