DART News Release
Media Contact: July 15, 1998 The best of the old and the new! New Trolley-Buses debut in DART's August 3 service change The look of DART's new Trolley-Buses says late 19th century; but the distinctive vehicles -- the highlight of DART's August 3 bus service change -- are state-of-the-art in every way.Manufactured by Chance Coach, Inc. of Wichita, KS, the Trolley-Buses recall transit's yesteryear with an old-time streetcar body design, polished wood bench seating for 28 passengers, brass accents, exterior wood trim, and a old-fashioned trolley bell. But these rubber-tire replicas are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), fully air-conditioned and wheelchair lift-equipped. The first of 20 Trolley-Buses now arriving at DART are being deployed on downtown Dallas circulator routes, the NorthPark Executive Shuttle between Park Lane Station and NorthPark Center, along Lancaster Road, in Richardson's Telecom Corridor, and on a new route in Las Colinas. Future Trolley-Bus routes are planned in the Addison/Carrollton area, in Dallas' Oak Lawn and Deep Ellum areas, and between SMU and Mockingbird Station. DART's Trolley-Bus fare is just 50 cents -- free with a valid bus transfer slip or rail ticket. Customers can catch Trolley-Buses and transfer to any DART local bus or train for total fare of just $1. Here is a list of the new circulator routes featuring DART Trolley-Buses (Click on route number for map): 701 This new Trolley-Bus route will serve the Lancaster Road corridor between the Ledbetter and Illinois light rail stations on weekdays, beginning at about 9 a.m. and continuing until 7 p.m. Rush hour, weekend and evening service will continue to be provided by Route 444. 702 The current NorthPark Executive Shuttle connecting Park Lane light rail station and NorthPark Center will operate Trolley-Buses instead of vans. 703 Existing Route 365, operating in Richardson's Telecom Corridor, will be renumbered route 703 and equipped with Trolley-Buses. The clockwise schedule (Loop A) will be adjusted to leave Richardson Transit Center at 15 minutes before the hour and 15 minutes after the hour. The counter-clockwise service (Loop B) will continue to depart on the hour and half-hour. These schedule changes mean Trolley-Buses will leave the transit center every 15 minutes. 704 This new route will originate at the North Irving Transit Center (North O'Connor Blvd. at Spur 348) and circulate through the Las Colinas Urban Center on the east and west sides of Highway 114. Trolley-Buses will travel in clockwise and counter-clockwise Loops A and B. 706 This new route consists of three loops within downtown Dallas designed to improve mobility within the Central Business District. Loops A and B will provide clockwise (Loop A) and counter-clockwise (Loop B) circulators between the CBD East and West Transfer Centers, via Main St. and Ross Ave. Rush hour and lunch-time service will operate every seven minutes, with service every 14 minutes at other times. Loop C will replace the current 570 Rail Runner route, and will operate every 20 minutes during mid-day only (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) between City Hall and the Arts District. Service on the northern portion of the route will operate over Ross Ave. between Field and Harwood streets. Nine other routes will be modified August 3 Customers currently using Routes 428 between the South Garland Transit Center and the North Irving Transit Center and Route 51 should obtain new timetables. Schedules for those two routes have been changed to improve the on-time performance of the service. DART also introduces schedule and route changes to nine other bus routes on August 3. 2 Current routing along Lomo Alto Dr. between Versailles Ave. south and Mockingbird Ln., Mockingbird between Lomo Alto and Inwood Rd., Inwood between Mockingbird and Lovers Ln. and Lovers between Inwood and Armstrong Ave. will be discontinued. Outbound buses will operate along Lomo Alto south of Beverly, then continue north on Armstrong, right on Lovers and left on Douglas Ave. to resume current routing. Inbound buses will use the same routing. This routing will provide regular service to Bradfield Elementary School and eliminate the special school trips presently being operated. (Weekday service along Lovers Lane is provided by Route 539. On Mockingbird Ln., service is provided seven days a week by Route 31 between Westside Dr. and Inwood.) 21, 33 (No map) These routes will no longer operate special school trips to McCulloch Middle School. Selected trip times will be adjusted to correspond with the beginning and end of the school day where possible. 155 Three afternoon and evening trips will be added to serve South Lamar between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and the CBD West Transfer Center via The Cedars light rail station. An additional morning southbound trip will also be added along South Lamar. 352 The northbound route will be modified to operate on Legacy Dr. rather than Tennyson Pkwy. to serve the new Dr. Pepper facility in the Legacy commercial area. Southbound service will continue to operate over Tennyson Parkway. Trips on Route 352 currently serving Presbyterian Hospital of Plano will be replaced with expanded service on Route 356. 356 Service to Presbyterian Hospital of Plano will be improved with three a.m. and three p.m. trips extended west from Preston Road along Parker Road to the hospital area on Parker and the North Dallas Tollway. 409 (No map) One a.m. and one p.m. trip will be adjusted to serve Renaissance Charter School in Irving. The special school trips will be discontinued. 444 (No map) Mid-day service on weekdays will operate between Cockrell Hill and Illinois Station only; service to Ledbetter Station during these hours will be provided by a new trolley bus on Route 701. 466 The Casa Linda branch of Route 466 will be extended to Northwest Highway to provide a new connection with Route 428. This route eventually will serve the planned White Rock Lake light rail station. Customers with questions about the service change should contact DART Customer Service at 214-979-1111. -- 30 -- |
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