DART – Cityplace/Uptown Station

This is a blanket review of the DART system; not everything applies to this location, and I’ll try and be clear when it doesn’t.
I’ve been using this system daily for a month now, so I feel I can adequately express the ease it can be, and the utter complete cluster fuck, rage inducing Hulk phenomenon that it creates in me!
I’ll start with ticket purchasing. You can get your tickets on the bus the old fashioned way; you can get them in station kiosks (preferable since getting on a bus is a rushed affair) and lastly you can use the GoPass app available for your smart phone. I use the GoPass… I can buy it at my convienance and I don’t have to use it immediately; I can activate it when I’m ready (see pic). It’s great, because I get on the bus/​train and show it to the driver and sit down… no worries digging for money or a crumpled paper pass. it’s awesome. Buying a day pass is best if you only use it occasionally; but with regular use buy the 7 day or month passed… they WILL save you money ($ 10 alone on a weekly pass).
City Place is a huge station; mainly out of necessity. The tracks are probably 200 feet below ground level.2 long escalators take you down to the platforms. these things are a pain in the ass; they break down soooooo frequently that you’re often running down to catch a train. And if you need to go up. well you’re outta there. Sometimes they’re just off. WTF? Because you’re not busy your patrons have to walk up stairs or wait for the slooooooooooow elevator to work it’s way down/​up to you? It’s like watching paint dry. it hurts, and when you’re rushed. cue Hulk music.
Secondly, and most importantly there are no bathrooms… NONE. You could be waiting 20 – 30 minutes for a train and you’re fubar’d. This is poor design… all the design and construction and you mean to tell me no thought of a bathroom? You’re down in tunnels. the sewers are assessable. build a couple restrooms. Not hard? Apparently so…
If you’re a workout junkie this place is a weekend haven for runners; they literally run from street level down to platform level. You want a stair master? Here’s one free of charge. And these suckers are steep; you’ll get a great workout in! I wasn’t trying to and my calves were burning from just one flight of them.
Lastly about City Place, you can go up from the platforms in two directions; goto your left and you exit in the City Place shops (Target, Kroger, Big Lots, etc). Goto your right and you come out in Uptown (you literally walk under Central Expressway).the Trolley Barn is there. the West Village is a short walk… you’re all set for a fun night. It’s a pretty ingenious setup really.
Ok…the buses and trains you ask; isn’t that what this is really about? The trains are awesome… you cannot beat them for utter speed of service. From downtown (Ackard) to Bush Turnpike in Plano…20 minutes. You can’t even think about that in a car; not gonna happen, esp in rush hour. Add in strategically placed stops and you can make a day out riding trains… shopping, eating and saving wear and tear on your own car.
Buses…cue Hulk music again. More often than not they’re fine. It all depends on the drivers… like anything else. Most are good, and they stay on time… very important if you need to transfer. Some are tools though. complete f^/cking tools. Won’t drive fast enough to keep their routes up. Being off by one minute can screw a connection… as it did this morning. That actually wasn’t the drivers fault… it was the dumbass who got on the bus and had to fumble for money (see why the tickets were first in my review?). I missed my train, and waited 20 minutes… having to pee (see how that all just came together for you?). Another time the driver took off to the barn with me still on the bus… hello?!? I’m still here. I didn’t know the route. no clue where he was going. Before it was over I was literally a block from my doorstep back on Gaston. Big fucking circle… I had to start all over again…“HULK SMASH!!” we had words… let’s just say that.
Ok, lastly… and I know this is petty, but I think for convenience this would be awesome: free Wi-​Fi on the busses/trains.they’re equipped already, piggy back a public signal on them. Esp in City Place… a dead zone if there is one. With all the buildings/​structures and movement signals can sometimes be hard to get. WiFi would be great, but it’s petty I know.
If you need to get around our transit system works. there are tools in place to help you with your routes; don’t be ashamed if you need to use them. Plenty of people in big cities use them regularly and don’t even own cars (hello Chicago and NYC). Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not cool to use public transportation. if they do. …cue Hulk music…