Public Transportation (Dallas, Arlington, McKinney: apartments, condos, employment) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

ChiTown089 · 11-14-2009, 02:18 PM

I was wondering what residents of Dallas think of the public transportation system. How effective would you say it is? Is it possible to get around Dallas without a car, or is a car a must-have? If you've lived in or been to other major cities, how would you say public transportation in Dallas relates?

I'm from Chicago, and I think a car there is almost unnecessary. There are so many options of public transportation. Are there many in Dallas?

And also, how do you feel about cabs in Dallas? Are they expensive?

Dallas native · 11-14-2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown089

I was wondering what residents of Dallas think of the public transportation system. How effective would you say it is? Is it possible to get around Dallas without a car, or is a car a must-have? If you've lived in or been to other major cities, how would you say public transportation in Dallas relates?

I'm from Chicago, and I think a car there is almost unnecessary. There are so many options of public transportation. Are there many in Dallas?

And also, how do you feel about cabs in Dallas? Are they expensive?

It is possible to live in Dallas sans car in a couple of areas, however in much of the city it is not easy and it probably never will be. The reason is that Dallas is so spread out (the city contains 385 sq. miles). It is not feasible to have a rail stop every 10 blocks or so as can be found in NYC. The bus system is quite extensive and covers every corner of the city, but it can take forever to get from one side of the city to the other on a bus. With that said, if you live near a DART rail station and your job is Downtown, then relying on DART to get to work is very do-able. DART.org - DART Rail System Map

There are two areas of Dallas in which you can live and get by without a car fairly easily. Downtown Dallas is the first one. It has about 5000 residents and that number is projected to grow significantly over the next several years. There are drug stores, one grocery store, quite a few restaurants of all calibers and some retail (including the flagship Neiman Marcus). There's a dozen or more old office buildings that have been converted to apartments or condos in Downtown Dallas and more on the way. The area is experiencing a renaissance. The other area where it is entirely possible to live without a car is Uptown Dallas. That's just across a freeway from Downtown. It has a much larger residential component than Downtown. There are 2 DART rail stations there (CityPlace and Victory Park) plus the McKinney Ave. Trolley (free) runs thru Uptown and into the northern part of Downtown. Uptown is also a walking neighborhood with lots of restaurants, retail, gyms, an independent movie theater, a couple of grocery stores and a Walgreen's.

When compared to NYC or Chicago, Dallas public transportation is not going to impress you. But DART Rail is a growing system that far surpasses what several other top 10 American cities have. If you live and work in the right places, then it's quite do-able. As for cabs, they're fairly easy to find in the entertainment districts of inner-city Dallas. They are not that expensive IMO if you're just going around the inner-city. I have noticed that the drivers are often foreign and are sometimes clueless about how to get from A to B, so I often find myself giving them directions.

getmeoutofhere · 11-14-2009, 06:20 PM

You'll need a car. It's a car-based culture down here.

And cabs are not a viable options, they are almost non-existent outside of downtown.

MurphyPl1 · 11-14-2009, 07:23 PM

Dallas doesn't really have a "city center" as you would find in other major metro areas. Rather we have multiple business districts around the city. Which is great if you live and work near one of them. however it makes public transportation more difficult to arrange.

Cabs are around but it's not like in other cities where people use them for normal day to day transportation.

galore · 11-14-2009, 07:38 PM

Dallas has a very extensive bus network as well as a modern light rail.

It can't compete with cars. People who can afford cars in Dallas take the car because the road system is excellent, the employment is not concentrated in downtown alone and therefore cars are convenient. It is not like Chicago or NYC where a car is a major hassle due to congested roads and lack of parking.

Riding a bus in Dallas is a question of socioeconomic class, not of availability.

JS1 · 11-14-2009, 08:09 PM

"Should we walk, or do we have time to take the bus?"

ChristieP · 11-14-2009, 09:04 PM

And remember that there are LARGE portions of the DFW metroplex that are not served by public transportation. For example, you cannot get to Arlington on public transportation (except for the game day bus service to Cowboys Stadium).

You really need a car here...

aceplace · 11-14-2009, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristieP

And remember that there are LARGE portions of the DFW metroplex that are not served by public transportation. For example, you cannot get to Arlington on public transportation (except for the game day bus service to Cowboys Stadium).

You really need a car here...

The corollary to this is that you do not need to visit 95% of the territory of DFW. You can get along quite well without ever setting foot out of the inner city or the neighborhoods adjacent to the rail stations.

Comparing Dallas city to, say, Boston or San Francisco is unrealistic, you're really comparing apples and oranges. Boston and SF are less than 10% of the territory of their metro areas. The Dallas city limits includes vast amounts of land that would be counted as suburbs in the greater Boston or SF metros. If you live in the Boston or SF Bay Area suburbs, you need a car.

A better comparison would be to compare the 50 square miles of the Dallas inner city to San Francisco city or Boston city. Within 3 or 4 miles of the center of Dallas (about 50 square miles), public transportation is practical and convenient. Farther out, anywhere within a half mile of a DART rail station is equally practical and convenient. Within the Dallas inner-city ring, buses will be frequent and DART trains will be frequent, and will get you to a short distance of where you want to go.

So, within the inner precincts of the Dallas metro, or the SF or Boston metros, you do not need a car. Farther out, in the suburbs of those three metros, you need a car.

wordstringer · 11-17-2009, 03:02 PM

A Chicago native here chiming in on what everyone else has said. A car is a must, imo, unless your live/work/play radius is within a couple miles or so. PT in Chicago is an entirely different animal than DART, which, though handy, has a limited service area by comparison. To me, DART is akin to Metra as far as the system's reach is concerned. As for cabs, I'm less than 15 minutes from downtown yet probably can count on one hand the number of times I've seen one in the area. Cannot answer the expense question as I have not ridden in a cab here.

Lakewooder · 11-17-2009, 04:14 PM

You could probably live in my area without a car so long as you are close to Skillman/Live Oak, Lakewood Shopping Center, Mockingbird and Abrams, Lower Greenville Avenue or Henderson. Most weekends my car is idle. We do have regular buses along with the DART on-call - several DART rail stations are within a mile or two and taxis are very easy to get. I always use the same driver or one of his subs. Easy to walk to many places but a car would make life easier - it's not Chicago.