"DART Killer Bill" Dies in the House
After thousands of emails and calls to Texas House representatives, HB 3187 is dead—but the fight to save DART is not over yet.
About a week ago, DART issued an alert warning that House Bill 3187 would kill DART. This bill would reduce DART’s funding by 25%. As a result, many bus and rail routes would have dramatically reduced frequency, if they continued to run at all. The resulting drop in ridership would send the agency into a death spiral.
Great news! Thanks to the actions of so many who took the time to contact our reps, the House bill died on Tuesday, May 13. While it passed out of the House committee, it was not scheduled for a vote on the House floor before time expired. For DART, DART’s riders, and urbanists all over the region, this is a huge relief.
We’re not done yet, though. The Texas Senate has an identical bill, SB 1557. If passed, it would result in the same damage to DART as HB 3187. Luckily, this bill has been stuck in committee for months. The deadlines for Senate bills to make progress are coming up fast, and with each passing day, it becomes less feasible for a bill to make it through in time. Nonetheless, Dallas urbanists need to be keeping an eye on this one, just in case it starts moving.
DATA Monthly General Meeting @ Dallas Central Library, May 17 Saturday 1:30 PM
Come to the monthly meeting of Dallas Area Transit Alliance for all things public transit advocacy in the Dallas area. We'll debrief on HB 3187 efforts and discuss next steps to protect DART from budget cuts.
Dallas Urbanists Bimonthly Mixer “Multi-Modal May” @ Ye Olde Scarlet Pumpernickel in Downtown Dallas, May 17, Saturday 5:00 PM
What do walking, cycling, buses, trains, Bird scooters, and even dragon boats have in common? They're all modes of transportation! "Multi-modal" means using more than one mode of travel in a single trip, like biking to a train station or taking a scooter to catch a bus. Do you use a multi-modal commute or have a memorable trip to share? We’d love to hear about it! Submit your story with your RSVP for a chance to be featured in our event slideshow (optional).