DLINK Popular With Tourists, Costly For Taxpayers

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DALLAS (CBS11) - Nieman Marcus on Main Street. NYLO Hotel on South Lamar. How about Victory Park or Klyde Warren Park?

If you're visiting Downtown Dallas, a daily 12-hour rotation of buses will "link" you to those locations, free of charge, six days a week.

DLINK is a two-year old project financed by DART, the City of Dallas and Downtown Dallas, Inc.

Tourists, visitors and downtown workers can access popular attraction districts by using the free-fare bus system. Buta two-day examination of rider use of DLINK found a constant rotation of empty seats.

"No, I haven't heard of it," Laura Hibbend, a tourist from Australia said. Hibbend was visiting Klyde Warren Park, then planned to hop a trolley for Uptown. "I took a taxi here," she explained.

Close to $2-million a year finances the free service. Yet drivers of the buses, who wished to remain anonymous, along with other critics, claim the DLINK system is not operated effectively , based on low numbers of users. "I didn't know it was here until today," one woman needing a ride to an Oak Cliff church said.

"We average 1,000 riders daily," said Morgan Lyons, spokesman DART. DART says yearly conventions, along with annual downtown events generate more use of the free service. But officials with Downtown Dallas Inc said last week's Mary Kay a Convention did not enhance DLINK use. "They have their own buses,"Shalissa Colwell, of Downtown Dallas Inc said.

Colwell says the free rides help market the city and enhance its reputation. She added, however, July and August are slow months for the service. "105 degrees does not help."

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