odd, but okay

Dallas suburb proclaimed 8th best U.S. city to drive in, per report

Plano is a pleasant city to drive in, according to WalletHub.

David Downs/Visit Plano

Dallas roadways are no picnic, but in one neighboring town, it's easy street: A new report by WalletHub puts none other than Plano on its list of the top 10 best U.S. cities to drive in for 2025.

The annual report examined 100 of the largest U.S. cities to determine their "driver friendliness" using 30 relevant metrics across four key dimensions: Costs for vehicle ownership and maintenance, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and vehicle and maintenance accessibility.

Plano came in as the 8th most driver-friendly U.S. city with high marks on areas like road safety.

No. 1 on the list: the Gulf Coast city of Corpus Christi, which came in as the No. 1 best city to drive in nationwide. Other Texas cities that made the top 10 include Laredo (No. 5), Lubbock (No. 6), and Austin (No. 9).

According to WalletHub's findings, Plano's driver and road safety is the 15th best in the country. This category analyzed factors like traffic fatality rates per capita, the proportion of uninsured drivers, rate of car thefts and larceny, the strictness of DUI punishment, and other metrics.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, about 87 percent of a household's daily travel is done in personal vehicles, underscoring just how dependent Americans are on their cars rather than public transportation methods like busses and trains.

"Drivers annually spend an average of more than 369 hours on the road," the report's author wrote. "That’s 15.4 days. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $771 per driver each year."

Dallas ranked as the 47th best U.S. city to drive in. That's a great improvement over last year when Dallas ranked 60th on the list. But it's not shocking that the city still ranks low on the list considering its continuous road projects, closures, and dangerous freeways. Driving in Dallas really isn't enjoyable.

Fort Worth beat Dallas handily, ranking as the 27th best city to drive in. Three more DFW cities that earned spots on the list include Arlington (No. 18), Garland (No.24), and Irving (No. 29). Garland also earned a small shout out in the report for having the 5th-most auto-repair shops per capita in the nation.

Poor Houston was No. 66, the lowest-ranked Texas city on the list for 2025.

WalletHub's top 10 best U.S. cities to drive in for 2025 are:

No. 1 – Corpus Christi, Texas
No. 2 – Greensboro, North Carolina
No. 3 – Boise, Idaho
No. 4 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 5 – Laredo, Texas
No. 6 – Lubbock, Texas
No. 7 – Birmingham, Alabama
No. 8 – Plano, Texas
No. 9 – Austin, Texas
No. 10 – Winston-Salem, North Carolina

plano dallas wallethub reports traffic highways

Public transportation news

DART to trim bus routes and change light-rail frequency in Dallas

Photo courtesy of DART

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Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is implementing service changes that include discontinuing several low-performing bus routes and adjusting weekday rail and bus frequencies. The changes take effect Monday February 2.

"These changes reflect what our riders and communities told us last year: 'Minimize disruption while maintaining access'," says Jeamy Molina, DART’s EVP and Chief Communications Officer in a release. “By focusing service where it’s used most and keeping strong connections to rail, GoLink and key bus corridors, we’re helping move North Texas forward."

Directly from the release, here are the changes being made:

Weekday light-rail frequency: DART’s Red, Blue, Green and Orange lines will operate every 20 minutes during weekday peak periods (previously 15 minutes). Off-peak weekday and weekend frequency will not change.

Convention Center Station: The station closed to riders January 5, 2026, due to construction at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Trains will continue to pass through, but riders cannot board or exit there. Bus bays also closed Jan. 5, and stops have been relocated to nearby streets. Updates are available at DART.org/ConventionCenter.

Discontinued bus routes (7): 209 McKinney/Cole; 225 Nursery; 254 Legacy; 255 Story; 305 Addison Express; 378 Red Bird Express; 383 Lake Ray Hubbard Express. Nearby alternatives include rail, GoLink and connecting bus routes.

Bus frequency reductions: Routes 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 38 and 57 move to 20-minute peak service. Routes 28, 41 and 47 move to 20-minute peak and 30-minute off-peak service and will be renumbered to 128, 141 and 147. Routes 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 114, and 122 move to 20-minute peak and 30-minute off-peak service. Express Route 306 shifts to 20-minute frequency.

Schedule updates: Minor timing adjustments will be made on Routes 1, 218, 233, 235, 237, and 241 to improve connections. Route 883 UTD Comet Cruiser will operate about every 12 minutes on weekdays and 20 minutes on weekends, with no change to destinations.

Bus bay reassignments: Riders should watch for updated boarding locations at Addison Station; CBD West Transfer Center; Dallas College North Lake Campus Station; Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing Station; Forest Lane Station; Lake Ray Hubbard Transit Center; Market Center Station; Northwest Plano Park & Ride; Parker Road Station; Red Bird Transit Center; SMU/Mockingbird Station; Southwestern Medical District/Parkland Station; and University of Dallas Station.

Riders can review new schedules and route details on DART’s service change landing page at www.DART.org/ServiceChange. Updated timetables will also be available through DART’s trip-planning tools and at select locations, and riders can contact DART Customer Service for help planning trips, finding alternate service, and confirming updated boarding locations.

"The changes were informed by a series of public hearings last summer and feedback from member cities and approved by the DART Board of Directors in September 2025," DART says. "In addition to the services scheduled to change on February 2nd, the DART Board also approved fare changes, GoLink expansion, and two potential site-specific shuttle partnerships. Those changes are set to take effect later this year."