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Ridership holding near 461; board hears differences in subsidy by provider
Summary
Dallas Area Rapid Transit project manager Ryan McCutchen reported average active riders of 461 and explained subsidy per trip is about $30 for wheelchair-accessible vehicles versus about $12 for Lyft and $8 for Uber, prompting questions about equity and service mix.
Ryan McCutchen, a project manager with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) assigned to the Collin County transit program, presented the board with recent ridership and service metrics. "Our average active riders is 461," he said, and summarized that average trips per rider rose from about 11 in 2022 to nearly 16 in 2024 and now average roughly 15 trips per month. McCutchen explained that riders are recertified and that most trips fall between one and seven miles, which informed the board's earlier decision to move from a flat fare to a distance-based fare.
McCutchen also reviewed subsidy-per-trip calculations. "Somewhere around $30 per trip" for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, he reported, adding that TNCs show lower subsidies—about $12 per trip for Lyft and roughly $8 for Uber—because TNCs do not bill for deadhead or nonproductive time in the same way as fleet providers. Board members asked for follow-up data on the distribution of trip origins by member city, on 'super users' and dialysis riders, and on longer-distance trips that cross city boundaries. McCutchen said staff will follow up with the requested breakdowns.
