Media Relations Contact:
Morgan Lyons

September 13, 2001

DART to "Food & Fun: 2001" at the State Fair

Make DART your ride to the State Fair of Texas

DART's State Fair Flyer is ready to carry fairgoers to the fun, food, and rides at the biggest state fair in North America, the State Fair of Texas, on weekends from September 29 to October 21.

Park free at any of the nine DART Park & Ride lots on Saturdays and Sundays and ride the Flyer to the Pennsylvania Avenue entrance to the State Fair. Flyer fare is $3.50 for adults; each way children (5-11) and adults 65 and over pay $3.00. The fare is cash only, and exact change is required. Customers can purchase Weekend Combo Tickets at Dallas-area Kroger food stores for $13.00 each that include a round-trip Flyer fare and discounted admission to the State Fair.

The Flyer departs every 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Return trips from the Pennsylvania Avenue exit depart every 30 minutes from 11:30 a.m. until midnight. The new State Fair Flyer from the Glenn Heights Park & Ride located at Bear Creek Road at I-35 has a slightly different schedule. Departures from there are every two hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Return trips from Fair Park are every two hours from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

As part of this year's State Fair theme, "Food & Fun: 2001," the staff of Southern Living presents "Recipes and More" to fairgoers. Other new attractions include: "The White House in Miniature," a 20' x 60' replica of the president's home, and "Kasbah," an imaginative free show that spotlights an international cast of riders and trainers working with some of the world's finest horses. Big Tex will also be standing tall, to greet fairgoers with his traditional "Howdy, folks!"

State Fair Flyer Park & Ride Locations:
North Irving Transit Center (North O'Connor Boulevard at Spur 348)
North Central Transit Center (Coit Road, south of LBJ Freeway)
Lake Ray Hubbard Transit Center (Belt Line Road and Duck Creek Drive)
North Carrollton Transit Center (Trinity Mills Road at Dickerson Parkway)
East Plano Transit Center (Archerwood Street, between Park Boulevard and Parker Road)
West Plano Transit Center (W. 15th Street at Coit Road)
Red Bird Transit Center (U.S. Highway 67 at Hampton Road)
Richardson Transit Center (Arapaho Road at Greenville Avenue)

Special Pearl Station Shuttle and Big Tex Express
Fairgoers on Saturdays and Sundays can ride DART's light rail to the Pearl Station in downtown Dallas and transfer to the Pearl Station Shuttle Bus for a quick ride to the State Fair. It's only 50 cents each way (exact change required). The shuttle departs every 15 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. Return shuttle trips depart every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Also on Saturdays and Sundays, motorists can ride the free "Big Tex Express" between auxiliary parking at the fairgrounds to a gate near the Cotton Bowl. The free Trinity Railway Express rail vehicle operates continuously from 10 a.m. to midnight. The State Fair of Texas offers acres of lighted and secured parking off Haskell west of Dolphin Road -- easily accessible from I-30. Parking is $5.

For additional information on DART services to the State Fair of Texas, call DART Customer Information at 214-979-1111 or visit DART.org.

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