Airport Holiday News

Traveling this holiday? Read this before you brave the DFW airports.

Avoid holiday travel woes with these travel tips.

Courtesy of ABIA/Facebook

If your holidays include flying, then Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field have some vital travel information to share. Wisely, they know that we're just the people to bring it. Read on, travelers:

DFW Airport
DFW Airport is offering a parking discount aimed to entice you away from the eco-friendly option of taking public transportation to the airport.

Its holiday parking deal lets you park two days and get the third day free. Travelers must enter between December 20-31 and park for a full two days at the terminal to be eligible.

Note: The discount is also good only for Terminal Parking. This is DFW’s most convenient self-parking option, but is also its most expensive, at $24 a day. Did we mention that the Terminal Parking has 28,000 spaces and state-of-the-art digital parking guidance systems? Because it does, you know.

If you're parking in the Remote lots, you cheapie, then no discount for you.

If you decide to scrap driving, you can take the DART Orange Line straight to the airport, $2.50 one way.

Love Field
Unlike DFW Airport, which is trying to attract cars, Dallas Love Field is encouraging travelers to consider alternatives, such as DART, taxi, or a friend, due to the volume of vehicles during holidays.

DART Route 524 buses connect Love Field to DART's Inwood/Love Field station. The free shuttle operates daily from 5:30 to 1 am.

Dallas Love Field still has ongoing construction, and many areas have been changed. Drop-off and curbside check-in for Southwest Airlines passengers is on the upper roadway in front of ticketing/check-in on Herb Kelleher Way (formerly Cedar Springs Road). Pick-up for arriving passengers is in front of baggage claim on the upper roadway on Herb Kelleher Way.

Parking Garages A and B offer free parking for the first 30 minutes. Parking or waiting curbside is not allowed. Use the cell phone waiting lot, located right before the valet parking lot, when picking up travelers. You can bolt into action after your passenger calls for pick-up at the curb.

Pick-up for taxis, limousines, transportation network companies, and for-hire shuttles is on the lower level curbside.

Staying here
If you're not traveling, you may want to know that all City offices will be closed December 26 and January 2. Libraries will be closed December 24-26, and will close early (4 pm) on December 31. They'll reopen January 3.

Dallas Animal Services will be closed to the public on Christmas and New Year’s day. Animal control officers are available by calling 311.

3-1-1 representatives will also be available to take service-related urgent calls such as water main breaks, downed trees/limbs, signal lights out/down.

holidays transportation

DART News

DART launches scooter parking pilot program at 4 Dallas rail stations

DART

Scooter parking for DART

In a new pilot program, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is making room for scooters: According to a release, four DART stations will now have dedicated parking zones for scooters.

DART will unveil six designated scooter parking zones at four of its highest-traffic stations. Each of the zones will be specifically marked and provide a controlled space for users to park scooters, leaving them clear of walkways, platforms and rail or bus paths, where they can disrupt train and bus service.

The designated scooter parking zones can be found at:

CBD West Transit Center – just east and behind the bus shelter
Victory Station – next to tap and go pay stations along the walkway to the American Airlines Center and next to the southernmost crossing at the rail platform
EBJ/Union Station – on the sidewalk near the north and south entrances to Union Station
SMU/Mockingbird Station – next to bike racks along the walkway from station platform

The pilot program is expected to run a few months beginning in December.

DART will collaborate with the City of Dallas to process the data to scooter rental companies to ensure that the scooters are equipped with geofencing technology allowing the marking of their locations.

With motorized scooters becoming a common mode of "micro transit" for commuters, DART hopes to clear clutter and walking hazards for rail and bus customers, while also provide those who use scooters a quick and reliable way to access or park them.

“Whether people like them or not, scooters have become a popular form of transportation across our service area,” says DART VP of capital design and construction Trey Walker. “We’re acknowledging this fact while attempting to get ahead of scooter clutter at our stations with this pilot program. We want to ensure that our transit stations remain safe, and we continue to maximize efficiency with our train and bus operations.”

Scooter companies, Lime and Bird, are also partnering with DART to incorporate scooter locations near transit stations on the GoPass app, making it easier for riders to find scooters to utilize and complete their journey. DART staff will also monitor the usage of the scooter parking zones and gather public feedback regarding their effectiveness during the pilot.