Dallas Council approves annual payment for Dallas Streetcar; members press for expansion and operations plan

The Dallas City Council voted Oct. 22 to authorize fiscal-year 2026 payments to Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) to support operation and maintenance of the Dallas Streetcar, approving an amount not to exceed $2,330,143 after a $250,000 credit from DART’s public-transit improvement program.

Councilmember Kara Mendelsohn, who regularly pulls the item for discussion, emphasized the need to understand the grant’s uses and asked staff for ridership and fare-revenue figures. Department staff reported about 180,000 riders year-to-date through September and fare revenue of roughly $150,000 for the year, figures that members said underscored the current subsidy per ride.

Multiple council members argued the streetcar should be viewed as part of a longer-term transit strategy, not an isolated two-and-a-half-mile line. Members pressed staff to return with specific expansion alignment options through downtown and to identify operation-and-maintenance (O&M) funding sources for any extension. Transportation staff said a procurement and study of downtown alignment will be advertised under the city’s Reimagine Downtown grant work, and a consultant is working on O&M options.

Councilmember Mendelsohn noted the current subsidy per rider is substantial; staff said they are averaging a roughly 4% annual increase in required payments and that earlier one-time developer/TIF contributions had expired.

The council voted to approve the disbursement; members asked staff to brief the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a comprehensive streetcar expansion plan, including projected ridership for proposed alignments and options for long-term O&M funding.

The action is part of an ongoing multi-year commitment that staff said includes obligations through mid-century tied to earlier agreements; several council members urged negotiating with DART to increase DART’s share for future operations if the network remains limited.