DART board member warns state bills could cut transit funding; says Rowlett signal upgrades are coming

Mark Enoch, a Dallas Area Rapid Transit board representative, told the Rowlett City Council on May 1 that two pieces of pending state legislation — referenced in the meeting as HB 3187 and SB 1557 — could sharply reduce DART’s revenues and harm service if adopted.

"That defunding would be, on its face, 25% of our revenues forever," Enoch said. He added that after debt service is paid the cut would amount to about 34% of revenues under DART’s accounting, and that the reduction would translate into service and maintenance shortfalls: "buses once an hour to trains that didn't roll on time because they weren't repaired."

The council heard Enoch describe DART’s financial planning practices and why a sustained revenue reduction would be difficult to absorb. "We operate under a 20‑year financial plan," he said, noting the authority must budget for long‑term repair and replacement costs, including a multibillion‑dollar state of good repair program he said would be jeopardized by the proposed cuts.

Enoch also updated the council on local safety and reliability work at Rowlett. He said the city’s crossing arms at the Rowlett Road crossing have been a persistent problem and outlined steps DART is taking: new signalization (a three‑year program that Rowlett’s portion is already underway), environmental controls and air‑conditioned enclosures for field equipment, and backup power to reduce failures caused by lightning and power outages. "We have backup power. We have environmental controls on it. We have new signaling, and I think it's gonna be done by May," he said.

Enoch described some of DART’s operational constraints at mixed‑control track segments and said the agency has to coordinate with other track owners for maintenance. He asked Rowlett residents and council members to contact lawmakers to oppose the legislation and to share local testimony about how transit has supported downtown development.

On the legislative front, Enoch said DART testified before a transportation hearing where most speakers opposed the bills; he said he was one of about 34 people who testified and that roughly eight comment cards supported the bill. He said there had been no committee vote at the time of his update and no movement on the Senate side.

The presentation was delivered as an informational update; the council did not take formal action on the report during the meeting.

The council thanked Enoch for the briefing and for highlighting the local improvements planned for Rowlett’s crossing arms and signaling system.