DART News

Dallas Area Rapid Transit puts cleanliness on the top of its list

DART train stop. Clean!

Photo courtesy of DART

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is on a cleanliness kick: According to a release, the agency has launched an effort to address the cleanliness and overall maintenance of DART facilities, including bus stops, transfer and train stations, buses, and Light Rail Vehicles.

Called Live Green, Ride Clean, the campaign is part of a plan to improve customer satisfaction, which they aim to do via the following:

Hygiene Standards: Cleaning stations, bus shelters, trains, and buses
Landscape: More plants and landscape materials
Improve Functionality: Maintenance work to address operational issues and ensure equipment is working
Elevate User Experience: Create a more inviting and user-friendly environment for visitors and employees

DART uses mainline cleaning, a practice where Light Rail Vehicles are cleaned throughout the day, even when the vehicle is in service. All vehicles are brought into rail and bus service yards where they are deep cleaned before returning to service the following morning.

DART has more than 250 employees, including staff and contractors, who work on maintenance of hundreds of locations that are cleaned at least three times per day, daily.

They're also quick to remove graffiti, ideally within a 2-hour window, says DART Assistant VP Gustavo Espinoza in a statement.

"Many people would be surprised to find out the effort and staffing that is required to maintain a system as large as ours," Espinoza says.

The Live Green, Ride Clean program is part of a strategic plan formulated in June 2024. organized around six goals so that employees, customers, cities, and stakeholders understand why DART plans to do things and what DART plans to do. What makes that kooky DART tick?

The first two goals, Empowered Agency and Culture of Contribution, are internally focused on the agency and its employees.

The second set of goals, Quality Service and Seamless Mobility, are customer-focused.

The final two goals, Fantastic Spaces and Strategic Relationships, are focused on community- and relationship-building.

Their org chart doesn't come out and say exactly where Live Green, Ride Clean falls. It definitely sounds like it would fit under "Quality Service." Maybe also "Seamless Mobility"? Since both of those are customer-focused? Or should it fall under "Fantastic Spaces"? Since Fantastic Spaces would surely be clean spaces.

In a statement, DART Senior Executive VP & COO Bernard Jackson straightens it all out — explaining which categories the Live Green, Ride Clean initiative can be filed under.

“This effort relates to many of the pillars of our Point B Strategic Plan, especially Quality Service and Culture of Contribution, [italics added]," Jackson says.

population explosion

7 booming Dallas neighbors see biggest population growth in U.S.

City of Denton, TX - City Hall/Facebook

Denton had the biggest population growth rate in Dallas-Fort Worth from 2022 to 2023.

Denton, Mansfield, McKinney, and more North Texas cities are among the fastest-growing places in the country, according to a new population growth study by SmartAsset.

The report, "These Cities Saw the Largest Growth in Population – 2024 Study," examined U.S. Census population estimates for 2023, 2022, and 2018 to determine one-year and five-year population changes for 610 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 residents in 2023 (where the most recent data was available).

Silver Spring, Maryland had the No. 1 biggest population boom nationwide from 2022 to 2023, SmartAsset found. The Washington, D.C. suburb grew 12.86 percent year-over-year, bringing the city's total population from 75,313 to 84,996 residents in 2023.

Denton took the lead over all other Dallas-Fort Worth cities with the 16th-largest one-year population growth rate in the U.S., at 5.32 percent. Denton gained over 8,000 residents from 2022 to 2023, bringing the city's total population to 158,361 in 2023.

This should come as no surprise to those who already live in Denton, who may know their hometown was ranked one of the safest suburbs in America.

Mansfield trailed close behind with a 4.16 percent increase in population during that same period, which landed it the No. 26 spot in the one-year population change analysis. The city gained 3,189 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 79,775 residents in 2023.

McKinney appeared farther down the list as No. 49 with just a 2.89 percent one-year growth rate from 2022 to 2023, and a total population of 213,504 residents.

Only four other Dallas-Fort Worth cities appeared in the top 100 fastest growing cities in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023:

No. 61 – Frisco (2.48 percent increase)
No. 72 – Rowlett (2.48 percent)
No. 73 – Lewisville (2.17 percent)
No. 99 – Flower Mound (1.73 percent)

The report suggested major population shifts in communities like Denton or Mansfield can result in "a variety of interwoven economic and social impacts."

"The magnitude of the population change can affect demand for businesses and services, which in turn may impact costs – or even the availability of such amenities," the report's author wrote. "Similarly, the relative age of the population can determine the strength or weakness of the local job market, as well as have an impact on local culture, economic trajectory, tax base and more."

Fast-growing cities elsewhere in Texas
Texas cities dominated the top 10 list of cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023.

New Braunfels, a San Antonio suburb, ranked No. 2 nationally with an 12.49 percent one-year population boom, and a 29.68 percent growth rate from 2018 to 2023. The city gained 12,318 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 110,961 residents in 2023.

Just two spots behind New Braunfels is the North Austin suburb of Georgetown (No. 4), which grew 11.34 percent to 96,317 residents in 2023. According to the report's five-year population change analysis, Georgetown ranked seventh with a 29.85 percent growth rate.

The Houston suburbs of Atascocita and Conroe ranked No. 5 and No. 9, respectively. Atascocita's total population grew to 119,502 residents in 2023, which represented a 11.03 percent growth rate from 2022, and a whopping 38.56 percent population increase since 2018. Conroe's 6.73 percent one-year population increase paled in comparison, but the city grew 23.49 percent during the five-year period from 2018 to 2023.

The top 10 U.S. cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023 are:

No. 1 – Silver Spring, Maryland
No. 2 – New Braunfels, Texas
No. 3 – Glen Burnie, Maryland
No. 4 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Atascocita, Texas
No. 6 – Pine Hills, Florida
No. 7 – Elgin, Illinois
No. 8 – Lehi, Utah
No. 9 – Conroe, Texas
No. 10 – Dale City, Virginia

population growth reports smartasset dallas fort worth denton suburbs mansfield