The new DARTzoom Final Bus Network Plan was designed to address the significant growth Plano, Richardson and the surrounding areas have seen since the service was created in 1983.
DARTzoom’s goal is to improve service frequency and hours buses are available in areas with the heaviest ridership in all 13 cities in its service area, according to DART staff. The redesigned network will also expand coverage and offer more direct routes throughout its service area. The planned network changes are slated to go into effect Jan. 24.
Riders in Plano and Richardson will see revisions to a number of the city’s routes and the services offered, but DART officials expect the coverage area in both of those cities to see little changes overall.
Under the new plan, Plano and Richardson residents will see the expansion of DART’s GoLink service, which offers on-demand shuttles.
The agency is adding two GoLink zones in central Plano and east Plano to give the city a total of five. The central Plano zone will cover portions of three current bus routes. The other zone will cover portions of two existing bus routes in the eastern portion of the city and extend into Richardson.
In Richardson, DART is also adding two GoLink zones with one set to cover portions of three existing bus routes in the Telecom area in the northeastern portion of the city and extend into Plano. The other zone will focus on central Richardson, covering portions of three current bus routes.
In all, DART plans to add 13 new GoLink zones throughout its service area to bring its total to 30. To allow riders the opportunity to experience GoLink before the bus network redesign changes go into effect, all 30 zones will begin operation Dec. 6.
More information about the bus network redesign is available at www.dartzoom.org.
