DALLAS — The video above is from a previous story in April connected to DART's new bus system layout.
North Texas will receive nearly $175 million in federal funding this year to improve the area's public transportation -- and to fund the jobs that go along with those services.
Congressman Colin Allred, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced Wednesday that North Texas will receive more than $172 million in 2022 to upgrade and expand local transit.
This funding is part of the nearly $650 million Texas will receive in transit funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which officially became a law in November 2021.
Per Allred, these investments will create jobs and allow transit agencies like Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to upgrade buses and rail cars, make needed repairs and expand services.
“North Texas is rapidly growing and to reduce the congestion we’ve all come to loathe we must invest in improving and expanding our transit options to make it easier for everyone to get around,” Allred said. “The investments from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be a big deal for North Texas, and I will continue to work with DART to get this money to work as quickly as possible not just to reduce congestion but to create jobs and grow our economy.”
Back in November 2021, DART announced it would be changing its bus network at the start of 2022, with the agency's director calling it "a complete redesign of our existing bus network."
This past March, the Dallas City Council unanimously approved to continue building a second light rail alignment through downtown Dallas.
Allred previously announced over $61 million in partial transit funding for the Dallas area, more than $107 million in bridge repair funding, over $80 million in funding headed to DFW International Airport and Love Field Airport and over $60 million for electric vehicle charging as part of the recent infrastructure law.
Find more information on this year’s Federal Transit Administration’s apportionments, including state and regional allocations, here.