Dallas Area Rapid Transit ridership data is now available to the public through two dashboards DART launched at the end of August. This is the first time monthly ridership data is publicly available, per a news release from DART.
Data shows Plano and Richardson have the fourth and fifth highest DART ridership in the system during fiscal year 2025-26.
The gist
Per the release, DART aims for the data to help service area cities “make real-time decisions about transit services in their city.” DART published a dashboard specifically for light rail data, as well as a system-wide dashboard that covers all ridership data for DART’s bus, commuter rail, light rail, paratransit and GoLink services.
"The development of these ridership dashboards brought together expertise and input from teams across DART to create a more accessible and transparent view of ridership information," said David Leininger, DART's interim president and chief executive officer, in the release. "It’s a testament to our collective commitment to showcasing DART as a valued partner in the economic and social landscape of North Texas."
The ridership dashboards are “the first phase” of DART’s efforts to expand access to ridership information. The agency plans to implement new features, data and functionality in future phases.
A closer look
The dashboards are published and updated monthly and include data by city and service area as well as by month, day and time.
Per DART data, Plano saw 1.9 million boardings across all transit systems in FY 2025-26 and Richardson saw 1.7 million.
The majority of Richardson’s ridership comes from bus use, with almost 1 million total bus rides in the past fiscal year, while the city’s light rail saw roughly 650,000 boardings. Richardson ridership was down in early 2026 in comparison to the previous fiscal year, but March through July saw an increase in ridership compared to last year.
Plano ridership is highest on light rail, with almost 800,000 boardings in FY 2025-26, along with almost 614,000 bus rides and 376,000 GoLink rides. Ridership in Plano was slightly under last year’s levels in March, April and May, but since then the city has seen higher ridership compared to 2025.
Also of note
DART also announced a new security initiative, “Operation Access,” that aims to strengthen safety and increase fare compliance on the light rail system.
DART is implementing a 90-day pilot program this fall that will “simulate a fare-gated system” at Bachman, MLK Jr., Forest Lane, 8th & Corinth and White Rock stations, per a news release from the agency.
“Operation Access significantly increases our visible security presence while allowing us to gather the data necessary to determine what works and where we need to invest next,” Leininger said in the release.
Data from the 90-day demonstration will inform future security investments, the release states. The DART board is set to consider initiatives such as fare gating rail platforms, placing uniformed security on the first car of every train or modifying some DART security policies.
