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Christopher M. Cozby

May 1, 2023

Denton County Transportation Authority [DCTA]

Introduction

The Denton County Transportation Authority [DCTA] is a public transit agency based in

Denton, Texas, for the cities of Denton, Highland Village, and Lewisville (DCTA 2016).

Potential new member cities would be Argyle, Carrollton [a current member of DART], Coppell,

Corinth, Corral City, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Hebron, Justin, Lake Dallas, Lantana, Little

Elm, Pilot Point, Sanger, Roanoke, and The Colony, most of which are currently covered by a

rural-based transit provider based in Denton called SPAN Transit [similar to STAR Transit in

Kaufman County, Rockwall County, Mesquite, Balch Springs, and Seagoville]. All three DCTA

member cities have a sales tax hike of 0.50% to fund DCTA. The Denton County Transportation

Authority is governed by a 14-member board appointed by respective entities (DCTA 2016).

Eight board members represent large cities, three board members represent small cities, two

board members represent unincorporated areas of Denton County, and the final board member

represents Denton County at-large (DCTA 2016). All DCTA board members serve two-year

terms, and must have professional experience in the field of transportation, business,

government, engineering or law (DCTA 2016). In accordance with DCTA by-laws, the Board

adopts the annual operating budget and is responsible for setting policy (DCTA 2016). The

president oversees the day-to-day operations of DCTA and implements policies set forth by the

Board (DCTA 2016).

DCTA Bus [Local and Shuttle] Routes & Paratransit

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DCTA currently operates local fixed-route buses [called DCTA Connect] in Denton

[Routes 1-9, formerly called LINK and formerly operated by the City of Denton] and Lewisville

[Routes 21 and 22]; as well as an on-call bus route [Connect RSVP] and a peak-period shuttle

bus route [Connect Shuttle] in Highland Village (DCTA 2016). However, DCTA needs to focus

more on the Lewisville and Highland Village Connect local bus services by investing in larger

buses for those local bus routes, as well as more bus routes; as those Connect bus services are not

as mature as the Connect bus services in Denton (DCTA 2016). DCTA also operates all twelve

of the University of North Texas [UNT] shuttle bus routes, the Texas Women’s University

[TWU] shuttle bus route, and the two North Central Texas College [NCTC] shuttle bus routes to

the NCTC campuses in Corinth and Flower Mound (DCTA 2016). DCTA also operates a

contracted demand-response bus service in Frisco since Texoma Area Paratransit System

[TAPS] dropped service in Frisco in 2015 (DCTA 2016). There is also an upcoming Express

[non-stop] bus route from Downtown Denton at the Eulene Brock Downtown Denton Transit

Center [DDTC] to Downtown Fort Worth at the Fort Worth Intermodal Transportation Center

[ITC] along I-35W from both DCTA and The T (The T 2016). DCTA also provides paratransit

service [known as DCTA Access] in all three member cities for senior citizens [65+] and the

disabled (DCTA 2016).

DCTA Commuter Rail Lines

DCTA also currently operates a 21-mile commuter rail line on a former Santa Fe [ATSF]

freight rail line known as the A-Train (DCTA 2016). DCTA was initially loaned ten of the

thirteen Budd Rail Diesel Cars [RDCs] from the Trinity Railway Express [TRE] until DCTA got

their own desired rolling stock for the A-Train completely delivered; which are eleven

lightweight GTW 2/6 Diesel Multiple Units [DMUs] from Stadler Rail of Switzerland, with a

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contract for up to 25 additional GTWs (DCTA 2016). The ten borrowed Budd RDCs have as of

now all been returned to West Irving Station [the TRE maintenance yard]. Stadler Rail also plans

to build an assembly plant in Lewisville, Texas for the final assembly of the TEX Rail [FLIRT]

DMUs near the maintenance facility for the A-Train [GTW] DMUs. The A-Train goes from the

Eulene Brock Downtown Denton Transit Center [DDTC] all the way to the DART Trinity Mills

Station [formerly known as the North Carrollton Transit Center] in Carrollton [to connect to the

DART Green Line light rail and DART buses for a Regional fare] (DCTA 2016). However, parts

of the A-Train line have only one set of track [especially at the DART Trinity Mills Station in

Carrollton and at Old Town Station in Downtown Lewisville], causing major delays between

northbound and southbound trains; therefore, DCTA needs to double the sets of track on those

single-tracked segments of the A-Train commuter rail line and modify the station platforms at

those two A-Train stations so they can accommodate trains in both directions and also provide

full weekly service on the A-Train. Also, Downtown Carrollton Station [currently an aerial-grade

DART Green Line light rail station] is also to become an A-Train Station in the near future to

connect the A-Train to a proposed dual DART-DCTA operated commuter rail line from

Downtown Irving to Downtown Frisco on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe [BNSF] corridor; as

well as to the upcoming DART Cotton Belt crosstown commuter rail line to DFW Airport at

Terminal B to the west and Shiloh Road Station in Plano to the east for a Regional fare (DCTA

2016). DCTA Cotton Belt commuters can stop at DFW Airport Station at Terminal B, and then

use TerminalLink [DFW Airport’s Inter-Terminal bus shuttle service] to get to Terminals A, C,

D, and E; or if already passed through TSA screening, use SkyLink, DFW Airport’s Intra-

Terminal Automatic People Transport [APT] line. DCTA is also possibly considering another

future commuter rail line from Downtown Denton [DDTC] to Downtown Fort Worth [Fort

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Worth ITC] on the Union Pacific [UP] corridor; if the currently proposed express bus route from

Downtown Denton to Downtown Fort Worth on I-35W proves successful enough to upgrade to

commuter rail, to connect Denton County residents along I-35W to the TRE regional commuter

rail line, the TEX Rail crosstown commuter rail line, and FWTA bus services in Tarrant County

for a Regional fare (DCTA 2016). However, the Union Pacific corridor from Fort Worth to

Denton is also used by Union Pacific freight rail trains; as well as the Amtrak Heartland Flyer

intercity passenger rail trains [to Oklahoma City, OK]. Therefore, Union Pacific would have to

increase the sets of tracks on that corridor to at least three or four sets of tracks.

DCTA Fare System

DCTA also needs to simplify their fare system by adopting a similar structure to that of

DART, because DCTA currently upgrades tickets and passes by paying the fare difference in the

ticket or pass prices, like FWTA in Tarrant County; for example, upgrading a DCTA Local Day

Pass to a Regional Day Pass costs $4.00. If implemented, there would be no need for upgrades,

saving both time and money; as well as two levels of coverage: Local and Regional. The Local

fare would cover all DCTA bus and rail services only. The Regional fare would cover all DCTA

bus and rail service, all DART bus, light rail, and Cotton Belt commuter rail service, full Trinity

Railway Express [TRE] commuter rail service from Dallas Union Station in Dallas to T&P

Station in Fort Worth, all Metro Arlington Xpress [MAX] bus service in Arlington, all T bus and

TEX Rail service in Tarrant County, and all Mesquite COMPASS bus service from DART

Lawnview Station to the Mesquite Park and Ride at E.H. Hanby Stadium in Mesquite. DCTA,

however, has a special pass for youth during summer vacation that DART and The T do not

have, called the Summer Youth Pass, which provides local fare coverage to young people out of

school at an affordable price.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, there are currently three DCTA member cities in Denton County [Denton,

Highland Village, and Lewisville] (DCTA 2016). Possible new member cities include Argyle,

Coppell [a former DART member], Corinth, Flower Mound, Frisco, Hebron, Justin, Lake Dallas,

Little Elm, Ponder, and Roanoke, especially when the Denton to Fort Worth commuter rail line

is made. However, more countywide and regional cooperation must occur in order for DCTA to

become as robust as DART or FWTA; as well as more interlocal agreements between DCTA,

DART, and FWTA. Also, the Texas Department of Transportation [TXDOT] also needs to

improve roadways to accommodate buses traveling throughout Denton County. Also SPAN

Transit, which serves Denton County communities currently not served by DCTA, needs to

make interlocal agreements with DCTA in order to cover all of Denton County with connecting

bus service to current and future DCTA commuter rail stations.

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References

Denton County Transportation Authority [DCTA], Official Site, http://www.dcta.net

SPAN Transit, Official Site, http://www.span-transit.org