# DART/TRE Love Field-Ft Worth ITC



## Pere Flyer (Jan 10, 2018)

I'm flying into DAL (Love Field) tomorrow evening, and my contact has notified me that they'd prefer that I take Uber/Lyft to meet them in Fort Worth. I'd rather take DART/TRE, since I'm sure it will be cheaper and I enjoy taking public transit. (I have previous experience with both services.) I see on Google Maps that I can take the 524 bus to Inwood Station, Green Line to Victory Station, and TRE over to FW. My main questions relate to ticketing. Can I purchase a light rail fare on the 524 bus when I pay my bus fare, or will I have to purchase one at the Inwood station?

I'd also appreciate any tips on logistics catching the 524 from Love Field (primarily where it relates to baggage claim) and advice transferring at Inwood and Victory. Thanks very much.

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## City of Miami (Jan 10, 2018)

When I did it last March the bus fare was free or included in the Dart fare. I had to buy the ticket from a machine (not easy!) at the station. Otherwise it was very smooth and reliable. It's quite a longish bus ride.


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## Pere Flyer (Jan 10, 2018)

City of Miami said:


> When I did it last March the bus fare was free or included in the Dart fare. I had to buy the ticket from a machine (not easy!) at the station. Otherwise it was very smooth and reliable. It's quite a longish bus ride.


Did you buy the ticket from a machine at the airport?

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## VentureForth (Jan 10, 2018)

Do you have a smartphone? If so, download GoPass. It will let you buy the right ticket you need (the $5, 2-hour, Regional may be enough based on a 1:25 travel time, but still the day pass for $10 is a bargain (if your travel is between 9:30 and 2:30, you can get it for $3.50!)). Activate it just prior to boarding the bus, and you should be good to go. I've never used the app for the bus, but you basically get a QR code that can be scanned by the conductors. I used it last time I was in Dallas, for DART only from DFW to Rowlett. It was all I needed, and it was never checked, but it was sure convenient.

FWIW, Uber/Lyft would cost between $40-50 and not NEAR as fun.


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## Pere Flyer (Jan 10, 2018)

VentureForth said:


> Do you have a smartphone? If so, download GoPass. It will let you buy the right ticket you need (the $5, 2-hour, Regional may be enough based on a 1:25 travel time, but still the day pass for $10 is a bargain (if your travel is between 9:30 and 2:30, you can get it for $3.50!)). Activate it just prior to boarding the bus, and you should be good to go. I've never used the app for the bus, but you basically get a QR code that can be scanned by the conductors. I used it last time I was in Dallas, for DART only from DFW to Rowlett. It was all I needed, and it was never checked, but it was sure convenient.
> 
> FWIW, Uber/Lyft would cost between $40-50 and not NEAR as fun.


I have a smartphone, but I don't have the storage for another app. I'm also not in the area often enough for it to be worth sitting in my phone.

Yes, my family in FW is trying to talk me into a Lyft for time savings etc. It'd still be an hour with good Metroplex traffic (oxymoron?) and awkward time with a stranger. Saving 45 minutes versus $25 isn't much of a competition. And you're right, public transit is more fun!

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## Bob Dylan (Jan 10, 2018)

Just go with your original idea ( good plan!) and follow City of Miami's Tips, EZ-PZ!!!


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## Pere Flyer (Jan 10, 2018)

Bob Dylan said:


> Just go with your original idea ( good plan!) and follow City of Miami's Tips, EZ-PZ!!!


A green light from the Texas transit/Texas Eagle guru—now my resolve is unbreakable! [emoji1]

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## Pere Flyer (Jan 10, 2018)

Thank you all for your help. Barring severely delayed flights, my plan is to take DART bus-DART rail-TRE-Lyft.

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## City of Miami (Jan 10, 2018)

Pere Flyer said:


> City of Miami said:
> 
> 
> > When I did it last March the bus fare was free or included in the Dart fare. I had to buy the ticket from a machine (not easy!) at the station. Otherwise it was very smooth and reliable. It's quite a longish bus ride.
> ...


No, I got the ticket at the Dart station from the enigma machine. Iirc no ticket required on the bus if you're going to Dart.


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## fairviewroad (Jan 10, 2018)

It's astonishing to me how difficult it is to get from Love Field to Fort Worth via public transit. City bus --> Light rail --> Commuter train. Fun for the transit buffs among us, but impractical for most folks.

Contrast that with DFW Airport, which offers a free shuttle bus directly to the nearest TRE station. And coming soon, direct rail service from DFW airport into downtown Fort Worth.

As a general rule, if your destination is Fort Worth, then the DFW airport would seem to be the better choice.


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## Pere Flyer (Jan 11, 2018)

fairviewroad said:


> It's astonishing to me how difficult it is to get from Love Field to Fort Worth via public transit. City bus --> Light rail --> Commuter train. Fun for the transit buffs among us, but impractical for most folks.
> 
> Contrast that with DFW Airport, which offers a free shuttle bus directly to the nearest TRE station. And coming soon, direct rail service from DFW airport into downtown Fort Worth.
> 
> As a general rule, if your destination is Fort Worth, then the DFW airport would seem to be the better choice.


It's an understatement that I'm excited for TexRail.

Even with the added costs of DART/TRE, it's still cheaper for me to fly to DAL from my point of origin. It's worth it for Southwest Airlines.

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## trainman74 (Jan 11, 2018)

fairviewroad said:


> It's astonishing to me how difficult it is to get from Love Field to Fort Worth via public transit. City bus --> Light rail --> Commuter train. Fun for the transit buffs among us, but impractical for most folks.


To be fair, that's still a lot better than a lot of other examples of trying to get from (airport serving a certain city) to (another city 30 miles away) elsewhere in the U.S.


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## Pere Flyer (Jan 12, 2018)

Abbreviated travelogue dispatched from my destination in Fort Worth:

I left my parents' house in Grand Rapids, Mich., at 10:28 a.m. ET on the Southbound No. 5 Rapid bus with my luggage. I transferred to the Southbound No. 17 Rapid bus at the Kentwood station and got off at the GRR airport around 11:13 a.m. I had plenty of time to check my bags, go through security, run into a distant cousin, and have lunch before taking off on SWA flight 260 to MDW at 1:45 p.m.

Ironically, that flight was 20 minutes early into MDW, landing at 1:20 p.m. CT, and my flight to DAL was 30 minutes delayed. It would be a tight connection at Love Field.

SWA flight 51 took off from a rainy MDW airport at 4:45 p.m. We made up a bit of time in turbulent weather and landed at DAL at 7:07 p.m. There was a chance. I rushed to baggage claim, got my bags, and ran to the DART bus stop at the end of the curb. A 524 bus arrived at 7:33 p.m. I'd made it—or so I thought. I boarded the bus (City of Miami, you're right, the bus fare is free to Inwood Station) but we weren't moving. It was almost 7:40 p.m., and I still had to catch the Green Line to Victory Station for an 8:05 p.m. Westbound TRE. I realized that I'd needed to take the 7:25 p.m. 524 bus, which I had missed with the flight delay. I stepped off the bus and called a Lyft to take me to the Market/Medical Center TRE station—closer to Love Field and with a WB train time of 8:10 p.m. After a bit of riff raff with the Lyft app and navigation, I arrived at the train station with seven minutes to spare. I ran up the concrete ramps with my bags to the platform, bought a $5 2-hour regional ticket (what a bargain!) and took the 8:10 p.m. Westbound TRE to T&P Station in Fort Worth (a jewel of a station!), where my family picked me up at 9 p.m.

Final thoughts: All in all, I took two local buses, two domestic aircraft, almost a local bus, a rideshare, a commuter train, and a car. I don't take mid afternoon flights often (primarily for the cost savings of daybreak flights), and I don't think I will again unless the destination's transit system has more than an hourly frequency at the time of my arrival. Had I taken the 7:45 p.m. 524 DART bus instead of a Lyft, I wouldn't have gotten on the TRE until 9:05 p.m., adding an entire hour to my travel time.

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## VentureForth (Jan 16, 2018)

Awesome. And, yes, if you're having someone pick you up, the T&P Station is a WAY better option than the ITC.

Glad you had a great trip and made all your connections!


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## Rover (Nov 12, 2018)

Keeping in mind that there is NO Sunday service on the TRE. And beginning on Jan. 5, 2019, you can take the TexRail to Ft. Worth from DFW Terminal B, 7 days a week.


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## VentureForth (Nov 29, 2018)

Excellent point!  This will really help Fort Worth a LOT.


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