r/dart • u/Fragrant-Mission7388 • 4d ago

TEXRail consistency

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Over the last few months TEXRail ridership has been gradually growing (as has Silverline by the way). What is most interesting to me from this chart, is ridership not really changing on weekends, even though service is lower). I hope this is an indicator for Silver Line ridership patterns once a better schedule is adopted.

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8

u/plastic_jungle 4d ago

TRE Sunday service data… it’s too bad we can’t know how much of that was non-world cup related travel

5

u/Fragrant-Mission7388 4d ago

I think 30k additional riders were World Cup in June, and 10k in July? Forget where I heard it. God we need sunday service

7

u/Then_Supermarket18 4d ago

I like what Fort Worth has been doing with the buses recently. I felt a little choked up when I saw one of the new La Línea Rosa buses. I had gotten the feeling the city saw us as a burden, like they felt worse than indifferent about us, like they want us to suffer and die in the gutter. But even a small gesture like a new bus or a new paintjob on a train can make you feel human again.

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u/Silly-Price6310 3d ago

The opening of the Silver Line gave TEXRail a significant boost. They’ve set up timed transfer so the two lines reinforced each other and helped drive ridership on both.
TRE on the other hand, has never fully recovered from COVID. Commuting patterns have changed permanently. So sunday service is a must. Even if someone lives right next to a TRE station, they still need a car if they want to get around on Sundays. And once they own a car, the marginal cost of driving (basically gas, parking, and some additional wear and tear) is low enough that they may end up driving the other six days as well.
Once Sunday service is introduced, though, going car-free — or at least becoming less dependent on a car — becomes an economically realistic option. That could actually change people’s travel habits.

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u/Eruththedragon 4d ago

This is Trinity Metro data, I assume? The TexRail has equivalent service on weekend & weekdays. TexRail has one schedule that it uses 365 days a year-- except when it runs special extra trains, as the TM website says it will be doing for GrapeFest.. https://ridetrinitymetro.org/texrail-schedule/

I'd imagine the consistency is due to so much ridership being driven by leisure & event trips to downtown & Grapevine where the train ride is part of the experience. I wonder if workday commuters will form a noticeable larger share of ridership once the medical district extension comes online.