| DART, TRE & The T single ride & premium tickets | ||
| Day Pass | M-Line | Shopping List for rail tickets |
The base single ride fare on DART is $1.25. The single ride ticket costs $1.25 for one zone, which takes in the entire Dallas County. This fare is good for one continuous ride on any DART bus, up to 90 minutes of travel on light rail, or one zone (within Dallas County) on Trinity Railway Express. The 90 minute period includes any necessary transfers en route. DART operates on the proof-of-payment system. A ticket must be purchased from a machine at any DART or TRE station. Single ride tickets will come with the current date and time already on the ticket. The single ride ticket cannot be used to transfer from light rail to bus, or vice versa. Single ride tickets for kids ages 5-14 and senior citizens 65 and over are 50 cents.
For travel in two zones, which would mean travel to Centreport or Fort Worth (between Dallas and Tarrant Counties) on TRE, a premium fare ticket is required. This fare is good on all DART and Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) buses, all TRE trains, and all DART light rail trains, for a period of 90 minutes from issuance. The premium fare is $2.25. The 50-cent reduced fare is applicable throughout the system for kids 5-14 and seniors 65 and up.
For OTOL Eagle RailFest 2005, Day Passes will be most worthwhile or our needs on Monday and Tuesday. However, if you need to use DART to get to your hotel on Sunday evening, you will have to buy a single ride ticket before boarding that train.
A Day Pass is available for both the local and premium zones, for twice the price of a single ticket. Thus a local Day Pass costs $2.50, while a premium Day Pass costs $4.50. The Day Pass is good on the date of issuance, until 3 AM the following day. Like the single ride and premium tickets, it can be purchased from ticket vending machines at any DART or TRE rail station. The Day Pass is not available for advance sale. The ticket will come imprinted with the date when purchased each day in advance of your first ride on DART or TRE.
There is also a reduced fare Day Pass. Children ages 5-14 and senior citizens ages 65 and over can get this for just $1.00. The reduced fare Day Pass is good in all zones, so it should be valid as far as Fort Worth on Monday.
For our purposes, those going to the Age of Steam Museum will need a local Day Pass for the round trip bus ride. We can purchase these from the Union Station light rail vending machines upon arrival in Dallas and before boarding the bus. If you will need to ride the light rail to your hotel following the museum bus round trip, your pass will still be valid for travel.
We will need a premium Day Pass for our travels on Monday, since we will not only be covering the entire DART light rail system, but we also will be riding TRE over the fare zone line into Tarrant County (Fort Worth). On Tuesday, we will only need a local Day Pass since we will be traveling exclusively on DART light rail, and also riding the M-Line (which is free anyhow).
Fares on the M-Line streetcars are free to everyone at all times.
Assuming you will be with us from our arrival in Dallas on Sunday afternoon until our departure on Tuesday afternoon, this is what you should expect to spend, and how you should obtain it. Obviously, if you are going to participate in fewer activities, or are planning to either join us later in the day or leave the group early, the amount will be lower.
| Day | Ticket | Adult Cost | Child 5-14 Cost | Purchase at vending machine: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Local Day Pass | $2.50 | $1.00 | at Union Station DART station upon arrival on Amtrak. |
| Monday | Premium Day Pass | $4.50 | $1.00 | at any DART or TRE station on Monday morning. |
| Tuesday | Local Day Pass | $2.50 | $1.00 | at any DART or TRE station on Tuesday morning. |
| GRAND TOTAL | $9.50 | $3.00 | ||
As always, bring enough money to cover your meals.