April 7, 2025 - TexasTribune.org -

The Texas Legislature is considering bills that transit officials warn could hamper public transportation in the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. 

Texas lawmakers could imperil the future of public transportation in two of the state’s largest urban areas, transit officials and advocates warn.

 Republican legislators are entertaining proposals to sap hundreds of millions of dollars from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the state’s largest public transit system, and thwart the voter-approved expansion of public transportation in Austin known as Project Connect. 

Texas Republicans have long been wary of investing in public transit, given the state’s cultural ties to oil and gas and automobiles — and have long pursued ways to undercut the state’s urban areas. In the case of Project Connect, lawmakers see state intervention, at least in part, as a way to rein in high property taxes. Here’s what the proposed legislation would do.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/07/texas-republicans-public-transit-dart-project-connect/