Trinity Metro is a transit agency located in and serving the city of Fort Worth, Texas and its suburbs in surrounding Tarrant County, part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Since 1983, it was previously known officially as the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA), and branded itself as The T. As of January 29, 2018 the Board of Directors has voted to rebrand bus services as Trinity Metro, replacing the previous and long standing name.[4] In 2023, the system had a ridership of 5,717,800, or about 19,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
Through the early 1970s, bus transit services in Fort Worth were provided by City Transit Company, a private enterprise. Starting in 1974, the city's Traffic Engineering Department began coordinating bus operations. In 1978, the city established the Fort Worth Department of Transportation, which took over public transit operations. These operations included the City Transit Service (CITRAN) and the Surface Transportation Service (SURTRAN, a service jointly owned between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, shuttling passengers to and from DFW from stops in Dallas (including Dallas Union Station), Fort Worth and Arlington),[5][6][7] with transportation services for the handicapped (MITS) being added in 1979.[8]
On November 8, 1983, voters approved formation of The T. To finance the system, voters levied a half-cent sales tax. The CITRAN, SURTRAN, and MITS services were folded into the new agency, along with carpool and vanpool coordination.
The agency's first addition came on November 5, 1991 when the small suburb of Lake Worth voted 344–206 in favor of joining the T. That prompted three more elections on May 2, 1992 when Blue Mound, Forest Hill and Richland Hills had the issue of joining the agency on the ballot. Blue Mound and Richland Hills voted in favor while Forest Hill declined the measure nearly 2–1.[9]
The T saw its first departure when voters in Lake Worth approved a pullout in September 2003. Service withdrawal became effective on March 21, 2004. Lake Worth had previously tried to pull out in 1996, but that measure failed. On November 8, 2016, Richland Hills residents voted to withdraw from the agency's services. FWTA's final day of service in Richland Hills was November 23, 2016.[10]
In 2001, the FWTA saw its cooperation efforts with DART pay off as the Trinity Railway Express reached downtown Fort Worth. The other end of the line terminates in downtown Dallas.
On August 24, 2016, Trinity Metro broke ground on TEXRail, the second commuter rail project undertaken by the agency, and the first built solely by Trinity Metro.[12] The rail line was initially envisioned to run along the existing Cotton Belt Railway Corridor[a] from DFW airport to the Fort Worth Stockyards, head South along Union Pacific owned track to the Fort Worth Central Station, and continue along Fort Worth & Western Railroad tracks to Benbrook Lake.[14] As of the FWTA 2015 master plan, citing "project costs and other considerations", the agency decided to build the 27 mile Minimum Operable Segment (MOS) between downtown Fort Worth and DFW Terminal B. The other considerations likely included stalled negotiations with Fort Worth & Western, Union Pacific, and DART, over securing right of way for TEXRail trains.[15] The MOS included 2 new stations in Fort Worth, one in Grapevine, two at DFW Airport, and 3 potential stations in North Richland Hills and Haltom City. The three potential stations were conditional on either city joining the Trinity Metro service area, which requires imposing a half-cent sales tax to help fund the agency.[b] North Richland Hills joined Trinity Metro in 2018, while Haltom City never did, as a result, two stations were built in North Richland Hills, and the Haltom City station was not.[16] The MOS was completed, and TEXRail began service between downtown Fort Worth and DFW airport on January 10, 2019, with free rides until January 31, 2019 to " give everyone an opportunity to ride".[17]
On January 29, 2018, the transit agency's board of directors voted to rebrand FWTA/The T as Trinity Metro, and revealed a new logo, that depicts three triangles forming the letter "M" in its negative spaces. The name change officially took place on March 23, 2018 on its website and social media presence.[18][19]
Member cities
Full member cities of Trinity Metro are required to levy a 1⁄2¢ sales tax to pay for the system. Because the state of Texas caps the total sales tax for a municipality at 2¢,[20] many municipalities are unable to join without reducing their sales tax revenue.
In lieu of full membership, Trinity Metro allows cities to gain service through interlocal agreements. For example, Grapevine and North Richland Hills made agreements in 2006 and 2016, respectively, to obtain stations on the then-planned TEXRail line.
Fort Worth hosts the vast majority of Trinity Metro services, including its main transfer center (Fort Worth Central), four TEXRail stations (from T&P to Mercantile Center), and five TRE stations (from T&P to CentrePort/DFW).
River Oaks receives paratransit service through Trinity Metro's ACCESS. The city was also serviced by one bus route (route 91) from 2017[25] to 2024.[26]
Blue Mound was serviced by ACCESS Paratransit and the Mercantile ZIPZONE, an on-demand service. The city left Trinity Metro following a successful pull-out election in May 2024.[27]
Crowley was serviced by the South Tarrant ZIPZONE (originally Crowley ZIPZONE), an on-demand service, with funding from a federal CMAQ grant.[28] Service to the city ended in 2024 after the grant expired.[29]
Everman was serviced by the South Tarrant ZIPZONE, an on-demand service, with funding from a federal CMAQ grant.[30] Service to the city ended in 2024 after the grant expired.[29]
Lake Worth was serviced by a flexible-service route, Lake Worth Rider Request. The city left FWTA following a successful pull-out election in September 2003.[31]
Richland Hills was serviced by the TRE Richland Hills station and by a flexible-service route, Richland Hills Rider Request. The city left FWTA following a successful pull-out election in November 2016.[10] The TRE station remained open until 2024, when it was replaced by the Trinity Lakes station in Fort Worth.[32]
As of September 15, 2024[update], Trinity Metro operates twenty-three regular bus routes, five Xpress/Limited routes, and two specialty services.[33] The bus network travels throughout Fort Worth, with its main hub at Fort Worth Central Station. The system has three additional transfer locations and two park-and-rides.
Prior to Fort Worth Central's opening in 2001, the main downtown transit hub centered around bus lines all converging along the Houston/Throckmorton corridor, with northbound service on Throckmorton Street and southbound service on Houston Street.
Xpress routes connect suburban park-and-ride locations to Fort Worth Central station with no stops in between. These routes only operate during weekday peak times.
Specialty
991, LL
15
Specialty routes are short shuttle routes.
Trolley Routes
Trinity Metro currently operates two "trolley routes", which are tourist-friendly routes with unique branding and liveries. (Despite the "trolley" designation, the routes do not use trolley-replica buses.)
From 2019 to 2024, Trinity Metro operated The Dash, a shuttle route which connected Fort Worth Central station to the Cultural District and Dickies Arena using red-colored electric buses.[37] The route was discontinued due to low ridership and its proximity to an existing local route.[38]
On-Demand
Launched in July 2019,[39] On-Demand (formerly ZIPZONE) is a curb-to-curb microtransit service operated in partnership with Via Transportation. The service allows riders to book trips on-demand (using an app or phone number) so long as each trip starts and ends within specially designated zones. Travel between zones is not permitted, though some zones overlap. The service costs $1-3 per ride and is included with multi-ride passes.[40]
Trinity Metro previously offered a separate curb-to-curb service in the Alliance neighborhood, which offered a complimentary Lyft ride through a promotional code. The service was replaced with a standard On-Demand zone on July 15, 2024.[41]
Zone
Hours
Points of Interest
Connections
Alliance
4:30 AM - 7:30 PM (Mon - Fri) 5:30 AM - 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM (Sat - Sun)
Operated in association with BCycle, Fort Worth Bike Sharing is a short-term bike rental service. Users check out electric bikes from docking stations across Fort Worth and ride them for up to two hours.[43] This service is not included with any Trinity Metro tickets, though bike-exclusive memberships, which allow unlimited rides for their duration, are available.
VANPOOL
VANPOOL is a service which allows groups of five to fifteen people to collectively rent an SUV or van for travel to and from work, with prices varying based on the type of vehicle and distance traveled by each rider. Trinity Metro covers the cost of registration, insurance, fuel, and maintenance, though they do not cover tolls.[44]
ACCESS Paratransit (originally Mobility Impaired Transit Services, or MITS) is an ADA-compliant paratransit service for riders with disabilities that prevent them from using standard Trinity Metro services. The service allows eligible patrons to schedule curb-to-curb transportation to any location in Fort Worth or River Oaks.[45]
List of Bus Routes
Current
1 – Hemphill
2 – Camp Bowie
4 – East Rosedale
5 – Evans Ave/TCC South
6 – 8th Ave/McCart
11 – North Beach/Mercantile Center
12 – Samuels/Mercantile Center
16 – Alliance Town Center/Mercantile Center Station
21 – Boca Raton
22 – Meadowbrook
24 – Berry Street
25 – Miller/E. Seminary
29 - West Seminary/Hulen Mall
33 - Felix/Oak Grove
46 – Jacksboro Highway
51 – Bryant Irvin
52 – Hulen
53 – University
54 – Riverside/Sylvania
55 – Handley
72 – Hemphill/Sycamore School Rd
89 – SPUR/East Lancaster
91 – Normandale/North Side Station
Xpress/Limited routes
30 – CentrePort Circulator (Amon Carter Loop / East Loop / West Loop)
From November 6, 2006 through November 11, 2006, around 100 of FWTA's union workers went on strike, citing the agency's policy regarding termination of employees who had used up their short-term disability benefits. This represented about a third of the workers represented by Teamsters Local 997. Service continued with delays the next morning by non-striking drivers, and FWTA began advertising for replacement drivers. During the dispute, bus rides on FWTA were free, and the agency announced that monthly pass holders will receive a 25% discount on their December passes. By Friday, replacement workers and other drivers willing to cross the picket lines had restored service to normal levels.[60]
FWTA offered a new contract proposal late in the week, which was rejected on Saturday by a vote of 37 to 21. But because less than half of the 155 union members voted, a 2/3 majority of the vote was required to reject the contract. That would have required 39 of the 58 votes, so the contract was declared "accepted".[61]
Service on the Trinity Railway Express was not affected, as the rail line's employees work under a different contract.
Nine years earlier, a four-day strike in 1997 shut down 75% of The T's service.
Notes
^ The Cotton Belt Corridor is a 56-mile disused rail line, running between Wylie and the Fort Worth Stockyards. It was purchased by DART in 1993.[13]
^Texas law limits local governments to a sales tax of, at most, 2%
