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In 1983, Texas voters approved the establishment of a regional transit agency, which began service the following year. Twenty years and more than one billion passengers later, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) operates one of the country’s largest multi-modal transit agencies, serving 13 cities covering 700 square miles.

When DART began bus service in 1984, agency officials also decided to proceed with plans for light-rail service. Officials spent the next several years purchasing right-of-way for the system, and began construction in 1990.

DART began light-rail service on its 20-mile starter system in 1996. Since then, the agency has expanded the system to 44 miles and 34 stations; last year, agency officials finalized plans to expand the system 49 miles, connecting Dallas with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Irving, Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Love Field, Fair Park and Pleasant Grove.

Since 1996, more than $1.3 billion in private funds have been invested in mixed-use, transit-oriented development along DART’s light-rail route.