Earlier today, Peter Simek wrote about how DART is likely to kill its free D-Link service, which acts as a bridge between the streetcars in Oak Cliff and Uptown and travels around to various sites in downtown. Part of D-Link’s fleet are seven electric buses that were paid for with a $7.6 million federal grant. DART was one of 10 transit agencies to receive said grant. In the comments, Jim Schermbeck, the environmentalist and head of Downwinders at Risk, asked about what would happen to those buses. It was a good question.
According to DART spokesman Mark Ball, the buses will be re-routed to the 749, which connects the Dallas Convention Center Station with the West End, Victory Park, a swath of the Stemmons corridor, the Design District, and Parkland Hospital. The grant also paid for a pair of charging stations, which are located near the convention center. So it solves that problem. The pilot began in July, and the Proterra-made electric buses are denoted by their bright magenta and yellow colors. They’re battery powered and are zero-emission.
The public meeting to decide D-Link’s future in Dallas is on January 22. From there, Ball says the board will review input from the city of Dallas and Downtown Dallas Inc. and make their final decision in February. The route will be nixed on March 25, if that’s the determination.
