As part of its sustainable initiatives, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has installed electric vehicle charging stations at two DART Rail stations that did not have them before.

In collaboration with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, DART has installed EV chargers at the Glenn Heights Park & Ride and Illinois Station locations. Both areas have a short supply of EV charging stations.

These are the two first EV charging stations that DART has installed.

The chargers are Blink Series 8 Dual Port Level 2 Chargers, which can charge a typical electric vehicle within 4-8 hours. So if you own an electric car, you park at the station and charge it during the day while you've taken the train to the office or wherever your destination is. Come back, it's charged, ba-da-bing ba-da-boom.

The dual charging ports allow two cars to charge simultaneously and are free to use through August 31, 2024. You have a year to get that energy for free.

The installation was made possible by a $79,472 grant award under the NCTCOG Electric Vehicle Charging Station Call for Projects program using Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds.

Aside from the righteousness of doing something sustainable, these first installations will allow DART to better understand usage, benefits, and costs of the program, as they consider further expansion throughout the DART service area.

Glenn Heights interim city manager Keith Moore says in a release that he's delighted that DART chose Glenn Heights as one of the first DART cities to provide these services in.

"With the purchase of electric vehicles on the rise due to consumer preferences, auto industry trends, and potential requirements set by governing bodies - local governments will have to begin to think about how to make their cities EV ready," Moore says.