TRINITY METRO INITIATIVES
Trinity Metro Senior Vice President Bob Baulsir Baulsir’s presentation highlighted Trinity Metro’s innovative transit solutions, including TEXRail, The Dash, ZipZones, and TRE Link.
“We’ve changed a lot. There’s a lot of forward motion,” Baulsir said. “We’ve pushed really hard to develop some new partnerships and try to understand what people want in public transportation and Trinity Metro.”
TEXRail, already in operation, has several existing stations between Fort Worth and DFW Airport, along with several other stations planned.
The Dash, which is set to get underway Sept. 22, has highlights that include being an electric bus with zero emissions and a very quiet ride. The motor is powered by energy stored in rechargeable batteries.
ZipZone is Trinity Metro’s first mile/last mile solution. Trinity Metro is partnering with the Denton County Transportation Authority on the first ZipZone in Alliance, using Lyft as the service provider.
On Feb. 1, ZipZone replaced Alliance Link, which was a pilot program begun by Toyota. Trinity Metro reports a 41-percent increase in riders since.
Currently, the company is defining the ZipZone area and work scope with Arlington service Via for the Mercantile area with a target start date of July 1. The city of Fort Worth has also indicated interest in a potential partnership, and Trinity Metro is in
discussions with BNSF Railway and Mercantile Partners about a financial commitment to the Mercantile ZipZone.
TRE Link is a shuttle from Centreport Station to DFW remote parking, created from a new partnership between DFW Airport, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the North Central Texas Council of Goverments. Service begins April 15.
The presentation noted that Trinity Metro has a 97 percent on-time performance. In 2018 nearly eight million North Texas citizens and visitors rode with the company.
The briefing noted the focus of Trinity Metro is to:
*Strengthen partnerships to ensure parallel paths.
*Seek innovative transit solutions that make sense.
*Steadily improve services to ensure a safe, clean transit system.
*•Share and steward its corporate pass program, EasyRide.
The company also recently changed the name of its downtown hub from the Intermodal Transportation Center to Fort Worth Central