After fare collection began Jan. 20 on the north line, some 30,400 weekday riders boarded DART trains, up from the expected 25,000. The first Saturday saw 22,000 riders, and 14,400 rode Sunday. The healthy numbers were sweet relief for DART, an agency with a hard-earned reputation for overpromising and underdelivering. Officials promised the first trains would start running in 1987 on what would eventually be 147 miles of line. The next 14 years saw charges of racist hiring practices, resignations of top officials, infighting among member suburbs and bitter disputes about where the lines would run.
Critics point out that other light-rail systems have been built for less.
Current plans call for the starter system to be finished this spring and 53 total miles of light rail in place by 2010. That will link up with 37 miles of diesel-powered commuter rail, with average daily ridership on the complete system at 70,500 per day by 2010. Those figures don't impress longtime rail opponent Jerry Bartos, an engineer who served on the Dallas city council in 1987-93. He contends rail is inefficient for the sprawling Dallas area, and that hundreds of freeway miles could have been built instead. Others believe intangible benefits will help justify the investment.