Regional Transportation Council discusses Transit 2 recommendations, approves EV charging call for projects

Commissioner Webb told the Collin County Commissioners Court that the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) meeting ran long and that most of the discussion focused on Transit 2 recommendations for expanding transit in the North Texas region.

“We've gone two months in a row where discussion of DART, member, nonmember… consumed pretty much the entire meeting,” Webb said, and added the council intends to form a subcommittee to pursue the “low hanging fruit” from the Transit 2 study and draft policies intended to incentivize jurisdictions to provide or support transit services.

Webb described possible incentives such as providing additional funding for projects around existing rail stations to encourage participation. He noted DART has removed its prior requirement that a jurisdiction become a full member to take on rail service, allowing nonmember cities to contract for rail service as a customer. “DART now… eliminated the requirement that you become a member,” Webb said, adding that contractual arrangements could let a city be a customer rather than a member.

The RTC approved its Unified Planning Work Program for 2026–27 and voted to issue a call for projects for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure with $15,000,000 available. Webb cautioned that the EV charging funding will be limited to sites on public property and stations must be accessible 24/7.

Webb said the council is still weighing how to structure incentives so nonmember or suburban jurisdictions are encouraged to participate, and that discussions about transit funding and regional roles could continue over the next one to two years. He added that micro-transit and technology-enabled local services may play a central role in future regional plans.

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Webb said he may place an item on a future county agenda after the budget cycle to discuss Collin County’s potential leadership role and policy options related to transit.