Free Rides for NYE

Dallas partiers stay safe on New Year’s Eve with free rides on DART

Rides on DART will be free on New Year's Eve.

Holiday revelers will get a free ride this year, thanks to a unique partnership aimed at providing a safe alternative to driving on a high-risk party night. On New Year's Eve, everyone can ride for free on Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE), courtesy of Miller Lite.

Miller Lite Free Rides launched 28 years ago and has provided rides to more than 5 million people across the country. This is the first year the program has been in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The free ride option begins at 6 pm on December 31 and extends until 2:30 am, when the trains stop running for the night.

DART also has an adjusted schedule for Christmas and New Year's:

DART rail will operate until 2:30 am.
The last TRE train will depart at 1 am from Union Station on New Year's Eve.
All DART buses will operate a regular schedule.

Below are some more particulars regarding holiday scheduling:

Thursday, December 24
The TRE will observe a Saturday schedule. DART Paratransit Services for customers with disabilities will operate regularly. Customers may call Thursday, December 24, to schedule service through Tuesday, December 29. Call 214-515-7272 and choose option 3 to schedule a trip. Next-day scheduling is also available using X-Press Booking.

Friday, December 25
DART will observe a Sunday schedule. TRE will also observe a Sunday schedule, which is to say, "no service."

Services for customers with disabilities will operate on a holiday schedule on Christmas Day. The DART Paratransit Scheduling Center will also be closed. Regular subscription trips are canceled on December 25. Next-day scheduling is also available using X-Press Booking and the semi-automated voicemail.

DART On-Call will not operate.

Thursday, December 31
DART and TRE: Bus, rail service, and trains will operate on their regular weekday schedules, with rail extending operations until 2:30 am. A final TRE train leaves Union Station at 1 am.

Paratransit: Regular service provided. Customers may begin calling Thursday, December 31, to schedule service through Tuesday, January 5. Customers should call 214-515-7272 and choose option 3 to schedule their trip. Next-day scheduling is also available using X-Press Booking.

Friday, January 1
DART will observe a Sunday schedule. TRE will also observe a Sunday schedule, which is to say, "no service."

Services for customers with disabilities will operate on a holiday schedule on New Year's Day. The DART Paratransit Scheduling Center will also be closed. Regular subscription trips are canceled on January 1. Next day scheduling is also available using X-Press Booking and the semi-automated voicemail.

DART On-Call will not operate.

DART administrative offices, including customer care center and lost and found, will be closed on Christmas and New Year's Day. The customer information center will be closed on Christmas Day only. Customers needing schedule information New Year's Day can call DART's customer information center at 214-979-1111, from 8 am to 5 pm.

DART route and schedule information is always available at DART.org. Find TRE information at TrinityRailwayExpress.org.

holidays transportation

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