AMRivlin

Is the bus situation any better yet? I looked on Google Transit and it looks pitiful that such a big city has no access to transit.

I am landing at 6am and need to make my way to downtown Dallas.

jsmeeker

do you mean public transit to/from DFW?


No.

It's not really any different.

There is transit in the area. It's not really convenient to DFW. DAL does a little better in this regard.

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

I thought I saw some signs about the DART getting to DFW? I haven't tried it myself.

swag

For a while now, the transit option has been shuttle buses via South Remote to the TRE train (no Sunday service).

Now, DART recently opened the Orange line rail as close as Belt Line Rd. You can take the DART #500 bus from Terminal A (curbside upstairs near gate A10) to the Belt Line Rd station and ride the rail from there to downtown. This may be a little faster (and service a bit more frequent) than the TRE, especially if your flights happen to be using Terminal A. But it's still a schlep.

Target date is December 2014 for the Orange Line to extend all the way to the airport. The station will be at Terminal A. Once open, this will eliminate the extra bus ride.

All the details here:
http://www.dart.org/riding/dfwairport.asp

EmailKid

If you are arriving early in the morning, the TRE situation is a little better, as they run more often for the morning commuters instead of once an hour and a half or once every two hours

And there is still a shuttle to the south economy parking lot, which leaves from ALL terminals, not just A. Going TO the airport I find it better from TRE, as I hop on shuttle and change to a shuttle to proper terminal (I fly mainly int'l, and usually cannot print a boarding pass, so it's easier to go to Term E).

Yes, the 500 shuttle is better, though it's still a major pain, both from TRE and Orange Line. I've done the Orange Line several times, and it's a pain.

BTW, 500 shuttle goes both to Orange Line and TRE (except Sunday), so be careful, as DART drivers don't always change signs and you may go the wrong way

Orange Line is very slow, so between the shuttle and the ride downtown is well over an hour OTOH, unless you can get to TRE in time for train, it will still be faster.

And SuperShuttle isn't much better, just more expensive.

EmailKid

AMRivlin

Thanks everyone. Ill try and hit the lounge PrioPass for a shower, then catch the 720 am TRE to Victory. Then Ill catch Orange to Ackard where my hotel is.

I was also thinking of going to a Ballgame at Arlington, but it is evident DFW Metro Region really hates mass transit. From Dart's website: Note: There is no DART service available to Dallas Cowboys home games at Cowboys Stadium.

Lovely.

Sackett

If you guys find yourself stuck at DFW for more than a couple hours, hop a shuttle to the rental car building. Lots of couches, chairs, and plugs. The wifi is much better and never overwhelmed like it is in the terminals. Good enough for a Netflix movie or two. The only drawback are no restaurants (only vending) and you have to go back through security. Pointer on the latter is go back through terminal B, short to non-existant lines (Only serves Eagle flights) and hop the skylink to your real gate. I hit this airport almost weekly and hit lots of delays.

EmailKid

There is a stigma to public transit in the Metroplex. About the only time people use it is to commute to work, so most of the day and on weekends there are very few riders.

And Arlington, where both Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers play, is particularly against public transit. IIRC each city that participates has to raise their sales tax by 1%, and City of Arlington chooses not to participate.

And unfortunately DART does its best to make public transportation look bad, so people don't support it, and many if not most resent having to pay the tax.

And in public meetings they treat attendees with contempt, making it obvious that they will ignore suggestions from the public, and do things their way.

[/RANT]

EmaiilKid, having just come back from the world of public transportation in Madrid, Prague, Brno and Barcelona, where it pretty much works.

AMRivlin

I know I risk taking this off topic and offending our Texan brothers, but I have lived in many cities all over the world. I have been to Houston (and while I didn't like it) Dallas(Arlington specifically) seems to have a problem.

NYC/SFO/ORD aside.

North American Cities that Get it

Vancouver BC (population 2m)
Has an amazing interconnected system of skytrains and buses. It does break down outside of the "City" but it works.

Los Angeles
recently/finally "figured it out" and is playing catchup building out a system that by 2030 will connect most ever

Portland

And Even Seattle is now expanding their transit offerings (to Bellevue)

North American Cities that DON'T get it (Worst listed first)
Orange County
Dallas/Arlington
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Tampa
Miami

Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo, London all get it.

jsmeeker

Cowboys Stadium and the Ballpark is in Arlington. Arlington is not a member of DART and has not had any transit at all and has actively resisted it. DART or the City of Dallas or Dallas or Tarrant County can't really FORCE Arlignton to buy into it. The citizens there just don't want it.


Things ARE better east of I-35E. You can take DART to get to AAC for major events (Stars, Mavs, etc.). You can get to Fair Park for major events (State Fair/Texas vs. OU). By no means perfect, but better than the mid-cities.

iplaybass

You can always purchase a day pass to an AC, but I'd probably take the minute suites suggestion because it's cheaper. By the time you get into the terminal, you'll probably only have 3 1/2 hours to kill, and with a 30-minute window to board, that's down to 3 hours, so you can be a leisurely about your breakfast while waiting for the coffee to kick in. A ride around the the whole SkyLink to your terminal (or walk to get those legs moving again), and you're at your gate in plenty of time to catch your flight. (I don't recommend the Sky Link if there's inclement weather; if they close it, you could get stuck in terminal E-of course, your flight will be delayed in turn, so no worries about that-I just find E to be the most boring one at DFW.

jsmeeker

Only good thing about E is that it's the best way to see planes that aren't AA. If you are a "plane spotter", that could be fun.

yrlesru

After satisfying your digital needs at Fry's suggest you drive west on LBJ to Royal Lane, exit and go up a few miles to stop light, make a right onto Bethel Road and drive to next light which is right at Hard Eight BBQ, a place that originated in Stephenville, TX (home to rodeo hall of fame). It is a great experience that you should not miss!

http://www.hardeightbbq.com/

Then stagger back to DFW south rental car drop off and your flight :-)

Taff-in-kiwiland

I will be arriving in DFW at 3pm on American Airlines in Y and transiting to Qantas J for the 10pm flight to BNE.

Will I have time to get to downtown Dallas to have a look around? I'm keen to go to the JFK museum, see Dealy Plaza and stand on the grassy knoll.

I think there is a train but not sure if it is connected to the airport.

I'm based in New Zealand.

Thanks in advance

T-in-K

jsmeeker

You have time. But the public transit options from DFW into downtown Dallas aren't the most convenient at this time. If you aren't adverse to the expense, a cab is probably your best bet.