DART-ing to the airport (Part 2)

(In the spirit of Christmas, I write this post with gratitude to my neighbors who were forced to finance about 3/4 of my public transit trip. Thank you! Read part 1 here. )

...The only notable observation as the train emerged from the tunnel into downtown was a yuppie couple walking their dog. Dallas has been making an effort to bring residents back into the downtown area with some success.

At Union Station downtown I had to switch from the DART light rail to the TRE (commuter train heading to the airport). I had never been to Union Station in Dallas and was not sure what to expect. Fortunately, all trains run on only two tracks, right next to each other. There are no different platforms to find for different trains and different destination. One only needs to make sure to get on the train going in the right direction. A man asked me what time the Blue Line train was coming, heading south. As I was running my finger down the schedule posted near the ticket vending machine, the man expressed surprise that that , actually, was a schedule. I didn’t know if he’d been this close to the ticket machine before.

The TRE commuter train arrived shortly; we boarded to stay warm during the 20 minutes to departure. Almost every seat was eventually occupied, and there were several people traveling standing. In 2007 the TRE carried a total of 2.5 million passengers. On an average weekday last month it carried more than 10,500. It took 30 minutes to reach Centerport station, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth and nearest to the airport. A shuttle bus was waiting, a pleasant surprise given that the online schedule (on the TRE website, not on Google Maps) showed I’d have to wait 20 minutes for the shuttle. According to the driver they usually wait for five minutes past the TRE’s scheduled arrival time at the station (if the train is late) to pick up passengers for the airport. The shuttle technically goes to the airport, but in fact we were deposited at the Remote South parking lot, from which the final leg of the journey is effected on the intra-airport shuttles, depending on which terminal ones has to go to.

The entire trip, from locking my front door to lining up to check in luggage (Northwest Airlines now charges $15 for the first checked bag) cost me $5 and took two hours. The same one-way trip in a taxi costs $50 and takes 40 minutes. A friend can drive you “for free”, though the round trip would take two gallons of gas and, when you add the airport entry fee, the real price approximates the public transportation fare.

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience: although it took longer than the alternatives, it was by far the most relaxing way to accomplish the trip. And I was able to do productive work on my computer for most of that time. The only thing is, next time I will use Google (a private company) to do my trip planning on the DART system (a public organization).

And then I wonder if we shouldn’t just let Google run our public transit. I mean, my trip cost me $5 and it cost the taxpayers in Dallas around $13.50 in subsidies. (Thank you, neighbors, for paying for most of my trip!) Maybe this helps explain why my property taxes went up 10% this year when housing values (on which the taxes are based) are crashing. So I say, let Google run DART! I won’t mind looking at some targeted text ads inside the train while I’m riding for free, saving $5, saving Dallas taxpayers another $13.50, and saving Lee from his worries of being caught (again) without a ticket.

DART-ing to the airport (Part 1)

The outside temperature had been 30 degrees earlier, then it dropped to 28. An hour later I felt none of the cold as I was running to the bus station dragging a suitcase behind and worrying I might miss the bus. It was a feeling I had last felt a decade and a half earlier. This would be my first purposeful use of public transit as an adult. I had declined several offers for a ride to the airport and was dead set on using only public transportation to get there from home.

Public transportation in the Dallas area is operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), running buses and DART light rail, and in collaboration with the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) commuter train service provides a link from the city to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and on to Fort Worth itself. Altogether is served more than five million passengers in November of 2008.

Two days prior I had gone on the DART website to find out how I could get to the airport from my home using only public transit. The website’s “A to B done quickly” trip planning function did not work but a customer service representative answered the phone quickly and was very informative. With her help I had the schedule figured out: I would take the bus to a DART train to the TRE train to a Shuttle to another Shuttle. Figuring it all out, including time spent on the website and speaking with customer service took me 30 minutes. It was my first time, after all. Then a friend showed me how in 30 seconds I could get the same information on Google maps. (Click on 'get directions' and then select 'by public transit' from the drop-down box, where the default is 'by car.') Except Google had more helpful scheduling and map information and was better organized.

I had not realized that on my block there were DART bus stops. Rushing and dragging the suitcase behind it took me one minute to get to the farther stop, the one I needed. I was exactly five minutes early, as the DART website advised. Four minutes later the chilly air had cooled my face pleasantly and was starting to freeze my fingertips through the gloves. Right as the bus was coming.

I was the only passenger, though on an average weekday over 160 thousand people ride on a bus in Dallas. The driver had served four years in the Army in Germany in the late 70s and early 80s. He liked it so much he extended his stay by two years. He didn’t look that old but said he had a 31-year old son. It was a short trip to the DART rail station.

I could take either the Red or Blue lines, whichever came first to go downtown. On an average weekday 70,690 passengers ride DART rail. At the station there were a few people. I met Lee. He had a sore throat. He had moved from Chicago two months ago to the south Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff to care for his blind mother. He was the only son out of six children. He had a jacket ripped at the left sleeve and said he earns his living by doing small projects in a woodworking shop his father had left him. He asked if I would leave him my ticket after my last stop but we were going in different direction. The time he got caught without a ticket he said he was only issued a warning. I wondered if DART statistics count all passengers or just paying ones.

The Red Line train came first and left a minute ahead of schedule. There were a few riders, Lee and I among them. Between this station and downtown the line goes underground, like a subway. As it went into the tunnel my ears popped. I suppose the fast moving train caused the air pressure in the tunnel to rise. Inside the car the electronic mini billboard caught my attention: free pregnancy tests, become a barber, try Newport seafood and steaks, hiring RNs part and full time, trivia answer: b) a can of who hash, time 3:20. It was actually 3:23.

To be continued...