As Highland Park prepares to leave Dallas Area Rapid Transit, town leaders are rolling out on-demand rides, paratransit and plans for a shuttle service for construction workers.

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Officials say the local services may better fit the town’s needs, costing less than DART and helping unclog streets crowded by construction workers’ vehicles.

The proposed “Builder Shuttle” is aimed at reducing contractor parking and traffic tied to residential construction projects that officials say slow emergency response vehicles on neighborhood streets.

“What we’re trying to do is get contractor parking off our streets,” Mayor Will Beecherl said. “We’ll use the Via service, off-site parking and ‘van’ those individuals in instead of having to park up and down the streets.”

Town Administrator Tobin Maples wrote in an e-mail to The Dallas Morning News the shuttle service is being developed “in response to a unique local challenge” that existing transportation services “were not specifically designed to address.”

Also dubbed “Workforce Circulator” in town documents, the proposal will be presented to the council after further review. It will operate separately from the town’s on-demand and paratransit services.

Town leaders are considering a flat-fare structure during the pilot run of its new on-demand service, without discounts tied to age or DART transfers.

On-demand plans

Because voters chose to cut ties with the agency last week, Highland Park will lose DART services Thursday, the day after town leaders canvass the election results.

Officials are working toward “a smooth and seamless transition,” town spokesperson Lt. Lance Koppa said.

He said on-demand and paratransit services are scheduled to begin Wednesday from Via, a transportation software company that also has contracts in Arlington, Plano and Addison.

The six-month pilot will provide on-demand rides for trips originating in and traveling within Highland Park and a one-mile radius beyond the town’s borders, including access to Love Field and Mockingbird Station.

The service also will include paratransit for trips beginning or ending in the town and extending across the DART service area.

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“It’s our belief that Via will provide a better service,” Beecherl said. “It’s going to be a whole lot cheaper for us to run Via than to pay $8 million to DART.”

Highland Park council members on Tuesday considered a fare structure at $3 per one-way trip and $3.50 for paratransit rides, the same as the fare for DART services.

During the six-month trial period, town leaders are considering charging full price for all riders, including seniors and people connecting from DART who already paid a fare.

Officials said they may revisit that after seeing how residents use the service.

“Why don’t we just discount it?” asked Highland Park council member Leland White at the council meeting. Charging “twice for a three- or four-block ride seems a little bit heavy.”

End of line for DART

DART reported about 35 boardings per average weekday on Highland Park’s lone bus route. The route has 15 bus stops in the town that will close next week. The town does not have rail service within its boundaries but will lose access to DART’s GoLink on-demand service.

Interim DART CEO David Leininger said the town may not yet fully grasp the work of delivering transportation services to those who rely on them.

“We’ll try to help them with that,” he said.

The vote last week came after some member cities questioned whether they were paying too much for the level of DART service they received.

“The funding model doesn’t match today’s needs,” Beecherl said. The mayor said withdrawing was the right choice for the town.

“We’re not opposed to mass transit,” he said. “We just don’t like paying a disproportionate share for it.”

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