The University Park City Council has approved a contract that will keep paratransit services rolling if voters decide to pull out of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).
Council members voted unanimously on April 21 to approve an agreement with Via, a vendor that has a long-standing contract with Arlington and recently-approved contracts with Addison, Plano, and Highland Park.
If voters decide on May 2 to withdraw from DART, the city’s fleet will consist of four vehicles and one spare vehicle.
The city will provide services that match those that paratransit riders are now receiving from DART. Operational hours will be from 5 a.m. to midnight daily. The coverage zone will include University Park and a one-mile radius around the city, as well as travel to DART member cities. Service to Highland Park will continue even if the town’s voters choose to withdraw from DART, explained special projects coordinator Amanda Hartwick.
The city wrote on its transit webpage that, “The City’s service agreement with Via will provide paratransit service for both residents and non-residents into University Park as long as the trip ends or begins within the City. Paratransit riders will need to meet the same eligibility requirements that are currently in place with DART.”
The city will be responsible for some upfront costs. If University Park withdraws from DART, the service will launch with paratransit only, which will have a per vehicle hourly rate of $67.75.
The city has discussed expanding to microtransit, an addition which would require council direction and have a per vehicle hourly rate of $64.52, according to Hartwick’s presentation.
The city would be responsible for a $45,100 cancellation fee if it chose not to pursue Via’s service after May 13.
Highland Park resident Peter Young raised concerns about the contract. He questioned the quality of Via’s service in Arlington, how eligibility will be determined, and whether the city’s fleet will be able to cope with high demand.
“I fear that by privatizing, (University Park and Highland Park) may become captive buyers,” he continued. “And I’m not convinced either town has the purchasing power to really get a competitive rate on these contracts.”
In other business, the council received an update on progress to create a public improvement district (PID) in Snider Plaza. The PID would include Snider Plaza properties between Rankin Avenue and Daniel Avenue, the city owned lot at 3420 Rankin Ave., and the SMU parking garage east of Snider Plaza on Daniel Avenue.
The city has sufficient support to move forward with the PID, which would impose an additional assessment of 15 cents per $100 valuation on property owners to fund offsite employee parking, Hartwick explained.
The council voted to continue funding employee parking through the end of the year, at which point the PID would begin paying for parking, and to hold a public hearing on the PID and consider establishing it on May 19.
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