Ahead of the debut of the new bus network on Jan. 24, DART announced earlier this month that the free ride promotion would be available through Jan. 30. In addition to the free rides now being offered through Feb. 6, the transit agency also plans to offer 50% off all rides purchased with any DART contactless payment option from Feb. 7 until the end of service on Feb. 21.
DART's paratransit services, which offer door-to-door public transportation for people with disabilities, will be free through Feb. 6, and just $1 from Feb. 7-21.
The bus network redesign, known as DARTzoom, was designed to improve service frequency and hours buses are available in areas with the heaviest ridership. DARTzoom is the first major bus network redesign to address the significant growth Plano, Richardson and the surrounding areas have seen since the service was created in 1983. The transit agency has been working on the redesign since 2019.
A number of bus routes in both Plano and Richardson are being renamed and modified as part of the redesign. However, DART officials said the biggest change residents will see is the expansion of the transit agency’s GoLink service, which went into effect Dec. 6. GoLink service offers on-demand, curb-to-curb shuttles to anywhere within each specified zone.
The new central Plano GoLink zone covers portions of three of the city's former bus routes. The other new zone in Plano covers portions of two former bus routes in the eastern portion of the city and extends into Richardson.
In Richardson, DART added two GoLink zones with one covering portions of three of the city's previous bus routes in the Telecom area in the northeastern portion of the city and extending into Plano. The other zone focuses on central Richardson, covering portions of three of the city's former bus routes.
The redesigned network's aim is to also expand coverage and offer more direct routes throughout DART’s service area, according to the transit agency.
More information about DART's new bus network, including a DART Trip Planner tool that allows riders to compare their former routes with the new options, is available at www.dartzoom.org.
