Media Relations Contact:
Morgan Lyons

February 22, 2001

Your bus is waiting

DART begins 321 GO door-to-door service

It's 3-2-1 Go! for bus customers in Farmers Branch and Addison as DART tests a new bus service for customers on Route 321 during midday hours.

The program, named 321 GO after the bus route, is DART's first demonstration of Personalized Public Transit (PPT), a high-tech program that uses satellites to plan a flexible bus route. For the next three months, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays, customers who live within one-third mile from Route 321 between the Addison Transit Center and the Farmers Branch Park and Ride facility along Valley View, Alpha and Inwood, can make a reservation for a pickup or delivery at their door.

The 321 GO pickups cost an additional $1 per trip. Reservations must be made at least 30 minutes in advance by calling 214-928-6060. Customers scheduling a round trip can make their return trip for free. When customers call, the DART Control Center locates the caller, identifies the nearest bus, determines the shortest trip for the customer, assesses the impact of the route change on the regular bus schedule and confirms the pick-up or drop-off with the caller.

This federally funded project is an example of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation Systems program, an initiative to streamline travel by using the latest available technology to plan more efficient transit trips. To launch 321 GO, DART teamed up with the Federal Transit Administration, the University of Texas of Arlington and Texas Southern University in Houston.

Popular destinations along Route 321 include the Galleria, Brookhaven College and local supermarkets. When calling to make a reservation, customers need to know:

• Their phone number
  
• Where they want to be picked up and where they want to go
  
• When they want to be picked up
  
• When they want to return, if they are making a round trip.