Huge Turnout at DART Public Hearing Against GMP Cuts
Over 170 people spent their Tuesday night at DART HQ speaking out against service cuts, marking the agency’s largest turnout ever. Let’s keep the pressure on at the August 26 board meeting.
Hoooooly moley! That was a turnout!
This was DART’s highest-attended public hearing in the agency’s history. There were 171 speakers at the meeting. So many folks came out to speak at the DART board public hearing that the boardroom filled up, the overflow room filled up, and the second overflow room was almost full.
We heard stories about the paratransit fare increases being unaffordable. We heard about people not being able to make their dialysis appointments. We heard that GoLink is not a substitute for fixed bus routes. We heard that these cuts are using transit funds to subsidize rich suburbs with unsustainably low property taxes. Jarrett Walker’s “Frequency is freedom” was a frequent refrain throughout the evening.
What we did not hear was a single speaker in support of these cuts. These are wildly unpopular changes, pushed by a handful of city governments whose residents have not shown up to support them.
Thank you to everyone who came out this evening! Whatever happens, we know we did everything we could to support this agency that is so important to us all.
I want to commend the DART staff who ran the meeting tonight. There was every opportunity for it to devolve into chaos. Instead, the DART staff was well-prepared and organized, and they handled the crowd masterfully. Well done!
Our next step is showing up at the board meeting on August 26.
This is when the board is expected to make a final decision on the changes. If they do approve changes, service changes will take effect in January, and fare changes will follow in March.
No caps! No cuts! No going backwards!
