DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- Dallas Area Rapid Transit has started putting employees on train platforms and at bus stops to survey riders about how they use the system. DART last conducted the survey in 2014.
Survey teams will ask riders about how often they use the system, where they go and how they use the payment system. DART will then use that information when they review scheduling, which is done twice a year.
"We make sure we do our schedule changes twice a year because it's interesting how much can change just in a six month time frame," says DART's Gordon Shattles. "All of a sudden, a new business could pop up where people need to get to work, where new areas boom and it's much easier to live there, go to the grocery store or the doctor. We make sure we have as much information as we can, timely information when we make these changes."
Employees will wear blue vests with the DART or TRE logo and "SURVEY TEAM" printed on the back. Surveys will continue through the middle of May.
Shattles says, as North Texas continues to grow, DART needs to continue updating is schedule. He says DART, Trinity Metro and the DCTA all share information to develop a plan.
"Trinity Metro has been fantastic, especially with TEXRail that's been added, of course the TRE from Fort Worth to Dallas. We're making sure all that aligns for our ridership," Shattles says. "The Dallas-Fort Worth area is a very large Metroplex. We have people who live in Fort Worth and live in Plano or live in Denton and need to get all the way down to Southern Dallas. Making sure we've got the right services that align with our riders' needs is very important."
Shattles says ridership may also change as a result of the pandemic. Last year, DART ridership dropped more than 50%. He says numbers are now increasing.
"We're slowly seeing our numbers creep back up. Once we start seeing events open back up and more opportunities to get out of the house, I think we're going to see those numbers go up even faster," he says. "One of our big focuses right now is making sure every vehicle we have, light rail, buses, trains, are spotless and cleaned on a regular bases."
Shattles says buses are cleaned throughout the day, and light rail trains are cleaned every 30 to 60 minutes. He says that schedule will be maintained, saying, "we don't see an end to that any time soon."
Anyone who fills out the survey will be entered to win a $500 Visa gift card.
