Dallas Area Rapid Transit has partnered with Toyota and Circuit to provide free ride-share shuttles in West Dallas, linking the West End light rail station with retail, healthcare, local bus stops and other services in a one-year pilot program, DART announced last week. Circuit uses electric low-speed vehicles to provide on-demand transportation in more than 30 communities in eight states, it reports.
The West Dallas service began in 2020 as a collaboration between Toyota and Circuit, with DART joining the partnership this year, according to a DART spokesperson. In addition to serving the West End DART station, the shuttle connects with Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, which serves the Trinity Railway Express commuter line and Amtrak as well as DART and Greyhound. Six shuttles operate weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. within a 3-mile service area.
“The response from the Community has been incredible and it’s been amazing to see how one solution can help residents in so many ways,” said James Mirras, co-founder of Circuit, in a press release.
The shuttle also serves a pre-kindergarten to 8th-grade STEM school — one focused on science, technology, engineering and math — in West Dallas. The school is a public-private partnership of the Toyota USA Foundation, Southern Methodist University’s Simmons School of Education and Human Development, and the Dallas Independent School District.
“DART’s participation in this on-demand shuttle service furthers the agency’s commitment to environmentally friendly shared mobility, local communities and economies in West Dallas,” said Jing Xu, DART assistant vice president of service planning and scheduling, in a press release. “This one-year pilot program will allow DART to evaluate service effectiveness before determining long-term goals and strategies in the area.”
Founded in 2011, Circuit currently operates in large cities including Boston, Houston, Miami and San Diego, as well as smaller communities including Asbury Park, New Jersey; New Rochelle, New York; and Plymouth, Massachusetts.
