Frustration

Before I begin, I want to say that this is not a catharsis post. I don't want to vent or complain, but merely point out a reality with public transportation in Dallas.

DART is an amazing, forward thinking entity that laid the foundations for light rail nearly 20 years ago. They have a remarkable ability to plan for the future and to provide Dallas with a world class public transportation system. Compared to where I used to live this system takes the cake. And the platter. And maybe some embroidered napkins. But it is far from perfect.

As I like to joke, my bus in the afternoons is 'Reliably Unreliable' in that it is consistently 10-15 later than the designated pickup time. For the first week, I just assumed that the bus wasn't coming after 10 minutes and I would try to catch a bus elsewhere. Getting home could sometimes be an hour long ordeal. I finally learned to be patient and wait until the bus arrived, and this has made the experience better.

This issue lies at the core of problems for DART. DART is expansive with service to anywhere in the metroplex, but getting from one point to another can involve a lot of moving parts. As we all know, the more complex the machine, the more opportunities exist for failure. For example, if I wanted to get a haircut at my barber shop of choice, and I left from the office, I could take a train directly there that has frequent and consistent service. Now, to get from the barber shop to my house would involve two pieces: The train going to either the West End Station or Hampton Station and a bus bringing me into my neighborhood. Getting a train to either station is a simple matter. Getting a bus at a time that is convenient to train arrival times is not for my neighborhood.

Add to this the fact that almost none of the buses and trains arrive precisely as scheduled, and you leave a traveler with little confidence that he or she can make it from one point to another in a timely fashion. As an anecdote, consider what is required to get from a suburban location without a train station handy to DFW. One must either catch a bus to a train station to get to Union Station, and then take the TRE to Centreport, then catch a shuttle to a remote parking lot, and then jump shuttles to finally get to the intended terminal.

The DART rail is going to make this easier, but not by a lot. When their train is complete, one will need to jump trains from either the red, blue or green lines in downtown onto an orange line train, and bear in mind that one must first get to a train station via bus if they don't live near one.

At the end of it all, this just underscores the incompatibility of a sprawling suburban metroplex with a sophisticated public transportation system. If you look at other systems in areas of high density, they aren't necessarily as amazing or extensive as the one here in Dallas. Rome has a simple 'X' shape. Chicago has a loop and 'L Train.' What these have that Dallas doesn't yet is a population density that can utilize public transportation for travel within a small area. The fact that I need to go to another part of town to get a haircut challenges the system beyond that for which it was primarily intended, as a means of commute to relieve growing pressures on the road system.

The DART is simple for one way commutes, but the destinations of those commutes demand that people move outside their current location to meet any other need. I can't yet do all of my dining, shopping, haircuts and entertainment in the West End, and I may not ever be able to do all of those things here. I'm a firm believer in economics, and people will utilize this system more as it makes sense for people to do so. But right now, I'm not surprised that a staggering majority of people forgo the experience of public transportation in favor of driving themselves. Given that the complexity of the system can increase travel times five-fold depending on the location, it does not surprise me that commuters opt for the frustration of traffic over the frustration of lost time.