Testing Dallas's Public Transportation

Last week I took my first ride on a Dallas public bus. This was my second test of the city's public transportation system—the first being the time Dan and I rode the rails of the new Green Line train out to the State Fair, a trip that, despite the crowds, went rather smoothly.

Back to the bus ride...I was trying to get from my apartment in Uptown to 560, the restaurant housed in the big ball at the Hyatt hotel. I used the Trip Planner on DART's web site, which told me how to get from point A to point B. So far so good. I caught the bus on McKinney heading downtown and kept an eye out for my stop, Houston and Young Streets. Well, the bus never stopped at "Houston and Young," and pretty soon I was whizzing out of town on a bus bound for god knows where. After we got far enough away from downtwon that I realized I'd missed something, I asked the bus driver to let me off and I transferred to an uptown coach. Turns out I needed to get off at Union Station, which is located at Houston and Young. Would've been nice if the easy-to-use Trip Planner would've just mentioned that. So, I finally arrive back at Union Station, and I see the ball! Great! I walk towards it only to find a wide gap in the ground holding several north and southbound train tracks. Can't go over it, can't go under it...

Turns out I had to make a big arc around the station and down an underbridge ramp to get to my final destination. Great night to be wearing heels...Thanks again Dallas for being so pedestrian—and public transportation-friendly.

But I do have a soft spot for one mode of transport in Dallas's system: the M-Line trolleys that runs up and down McKinney. A.) They're free. B.) They're actually refurbished trolleys from the early 20th century—kind of like the historic trolley tours found in other cities, but without a driver spouting off factoids. Kind of makes me want to don my best feathered hat and head for a night on the town...