Dallas (WBAP/KLIF) – A Southeast Dallas community continues to fight for the return of a former well-used bus route over a year after it was eliminated by Dallas Area Rapid Transit [DART].
DART eliminated Bus 12 in Dixon Circle, along with several other routes on January 24, 2021. The routes were replaced with DART’S new GoLink service which is akin to a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft.
Gordon Shattles with DART says, GoLink “provides curb-to-curb service for no additional charge anywhere a particular service are zone or to the nearest transit location.” Shattles also said the the agency has received inquiries from residents in Dixon Circle and that DART representatives have been to the area providing educational sessions on how to use it.
The incentive of “no additional charge” applies to riders who have purchased monthly or yearly DART passes. Long-time residents however, say that GoLink is an added cost for those on low and fixed incomes in Dixon Circle who use cash everyday.
Community activist Cory Strickland says that 60% of the residents in Dixon Circle use cash. Strickland is a member of the grassroots group Unified People Unified Purpose [UpnUp]. He says that residents use cash on a daily basis. “The community has a high unemployment rate. People are on limited income, so they use the service when needed. Whereas some other areas pay for their year passes or their monthly passes all at one time.”
Resident Michael Sneed who has lived in Dixon Circle for over 6 decades says that he remembers riding Bus 12 as a kid with his mother, “in the back of the bus.”
During a recent DART board meeting he said, “Today I feel like I’m in the back in in Rosa Parks. Ya’ll didn’t just make us sit in the back of the bus, you done took the bus.”
Meantime, Maurice Ash, founder of UpnUp says the issue is symptomatic of a bigger issue. “Re-gentrification, starving people out,” he said. “There’s no grocery store in the area. So, what do you do in your last effort to rid the people in the community. You take the lifeline of the community.”
UpnUp has planned a march and rally calling for the return of Bus 12. The group plans to gather for a peaceful ‘March In Dixon Circle’ on Saturday, March 18 at 10am. The group will gather at the Larry Johnson Center at 3700 Dixon Ave.
(Copyright 2023 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News.)