DART Timeline: How Six Withdrawal Elections Narrowed to Three

Research note: Partisan, advocacy, campaign, opinion, editorial and ideological commentary sources were excluded from this reporting process.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) entered 2026 facing one of the most serious membership challenges in its history, with six member cities calling elections on whether to withdraw from the regional transit system. Over the next three months, negotiations over funding, governance and service changes narrowed that number to three, reshaping the trajectory of the dispute and the future of the agency.

​​In the months leading to 2026, several North Dallas suburbs were already evaluating whether to remain with DART, citing concerns about funding, quality of service, and safety. According to state law, 2026 is a statutory withdrawal year and voters can decide to stay or leave the agency.

Here’s a quick recap of situation since the start of 2026:

Jan. 6

University Park opened the 2026 timeline by calling a May 2 special election on whether to remain in DART or withdraw. The city’s transit page says the City Council voted that day to call the election.

Source: University Park Transit page; University Park council records page.

Jan. 13

The Town of Addison moved the issue onto its own agenda. Addison City Council discussed DART at a Jan. 13 work session and directed staff to bring back an ordinance to call a withdrawal election.

Source: Town of Addison DART election page; Jan. 13 Addison presentation materials.

Jan. 20

The City of Dallas publicly framed the dispute as a fight over governance, service and funding. In a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee briefing, city officials said five cities — Farmers Branch, Highland Park, Irving, Plano and University Park — had already called May withdrawal elections and that a city-manager working group had been meeting since September 2025.

Source: City of Dallas Jan. 20, 2026 committee briefing, “Briefing and Discussion on DART Member City Negotiations.”

Jan. 27

The conflict widened. Addison formally called a May 2 DART election, and the DART Board called a March 24 public hearing on possible service changes if member cities withdrew. DART’s official release listed the then-current election cities as Farmers Branch, Highland Park, Irving, Plano and University Park; later DART materials added Addison after its Jan. 27 vote.

Source: Town of Addison Jan. 27 election notice; DART Jan. 27 public-hearing news release; DART board presentation materials.

Feb. 12

The Regional Transportation Council formally entered the process. NCTCOG workshop materials said six cities — Plano, Irving, Addison, Farmers Branch, University Park and Highland Park — had called elections, and that any cancellation had to occur by Feb. 23, 2026.

Source: NCTCOG/RTC workshop materials, Feb. 12, 2026.

Feb. 20

DART approved the six-year General Mobility Plan and interlocal-agreement framework that became the central compromise of the 2026 dispute. DART said the plan addressed member-city concerns over funding and governance, and official summaries said the arrangement paired local funding with proposed governance changes.

Source: DART news release on the General Mobility Plan; City of Dallas Feb. 20 update memo; NCTCOG summaries of the proposal.

Feb. 23

Plano became the first city to reverse course because of a funding-return agreement and governance reform that provides more representation. The city’s transit page says Council approved the new DART agreement and rescinded the May withdrawal election. Plano also approved a contract with Via Transportation for microtransit service.

Source: City of Plano transit page; Plano Feb. 23 public materials.

Feb. 24

Addison considered canceling its election but did not. Addison’s official DART page says the item was placed on the Feb. 24 agenda for that purpose and that Council voted to continue with the May 2 election.

Source: Town of Addison DART election page; Feb. 24 Addison agenda materials.

Feb. 25

Farmers Branch rescinded its election. In an official city press release dated Feb. 25, Farmers Branch said that at the previous night’s special-called meeting, Council voted to move forward with the DART General Mobility Program agreement and formally rescind the previously ordered withdrawal election.

Source: City of Farmers Branch official press release dated Feb. 25, 2026.

Feb. 26

Irving followed. Irving’s official release says City Council voted 7-2 to rescind its May 2 withdrawal election and unanimously approved its interlocal agreement with DART, which the city said would return an estimated $54.5 million over six years for transportation-related projects.

Source: City of Irving official release dated Feb. 26, 2026; Irving transit/election pages.

March 20

With the election still on track, Addison escalated its objections to the DART compromise package. Addison’s official DART page says City Manager David Gaines sent DART a March 20 letter objecting to the proposed interlocal agreement for General Mobility Program funds.

Source: Town of Addison DART election page and linked March 20 letter.

March 24–26

By the end of the reporting window, DART’s public-hearing materials said the cities still calling for a vote were Addison, Highland Park and University Park, while Farmers Branch, Irving and Plano had withdrawn their elections. DART also said that if any city successfully withdrew on May 2, service there would cease upon canvass of the vote, as early as May 3. Addison’s official DART page and Highland Park’s and University Park’s public information pages were consistent with that narrower late-March picture.

Source: DART public-hearing page and hearing presentation; Town of Addison DART election page; Highland Park DART information page; University Park Transit page.

April 21

University Park approved a contract with Via to provide paratransit service if voters chose to withdraw from DART. The city said the service would begin May 13 if withdrawal were approved.

Source: University Park Transit page.

April 28

DART briefed its board on potential May 2026 service changes and said Highland Park, University Park and Addison were the three remaining cities with May 2 withdrawal elections. DART’s presentation again said any city approving withdrawal would trigger a legal requirement for DART to stop service there the day after canvass.

Source: DART Committee-of-the-Whole presentation, April 28, 2026, “Briefing on Potential May 2026 Service Changes & Financial Implications.”

May 2

The three remaining DART election cities held their votes. Addison said preliminary results showed voters chose to remain in DART. University Park said unofficial results showed voters did not approve withdrawal, meaning the city would remain in DART if that result is certified. DART said Highland Park voters elected to end DART service there, pending official canvass.

Source: Addison preliminary election results page; University Park Transit page; DART May 3, 2026 news release.

May 3

DART said service in Addison and University Park would remain unchanged. For Highland Park, DART said the Town Council would canvass the election on May 13 and that DART service there would cease on May 14 if the result is accepted. DART said the affected service changes would include bus stops inside Highland Park, GoLink service within Highland Park, and paratransit service to and from Highland Park.

Source: DART May 3, 2026 news release.

As of May 5

The May 2 election results were still in the canvass window. Dallas County Elections listed May 5 as the first day to canvass and May 13 as the last day to canvass for the May 2 joint and special election. University Park said its DART result would be canvassed and certified on May 13, and Highland Park’s official materials identified May 2 as the special-election date and continued to direct residents to the town’s DART information page.

Source: Dallas County Elections May 2, 2026 election page; University Park Transit page; Highland Park DART information and election pages.

Source Index

Primary reporting for this timeline came from official materials published by DART, including its public-hearing page, Jan. 27 public-hearing announcement, board presentations, and General Mobility Plan announcement; the City of Dallas, including its Jan. 20 committee briefing and Feb. 20 update memo on DART member-city negotiations; the North Central Texas Council of Governments and Regional Transportation Council; and official city materials from Addison, Farmers Branch, Irving, Plano, Highland Park, and University Park. Source documents used for city actions included the Addison DART election page and agenda materials, the Farmers Branch Feb. 25 press release, the Irving Feb. 26 rescission release, the Plano transit page and Feb. 23 materials, the Highland Park DART information page and election announcement, and the University Park transit page and council records. Nonpartisan local reporting, including KERA, was used only sparingly during research to check chronology, not as the lead source for the published timeline. Partisan outlets, advocacy groups, campaign sources, opinion pages, editorials, activist materials, and ideological commentary were not used.