The award honors public transit agencies that demonstrate innovative concepts or effective problem-solving techniques not previously applied in the industry.
(L to R): DART EVP/Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Fontayne-Bárdowell; Vice Chair, DART Board of Directors Michele Wong Krause; DART AVP Innovation Tina Morch-Pierre; DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas; and Christopher P. Boylan from APTA's Awards Committee.
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(L to R): DART EVP/Chief Administrative Officer Nicole Fontayne-Bárdowell; Vice Chair, DART Board of Directors Michele Wong Krause; DART AVP Innovation Tina Morch-Pierre; DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas; and Christopher P. Boylan from APTA's Awards Committee.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit's (DART) ongoing dedication to developing innovative programs that provide North Texas riders with greater access to public transit earned them the 2019 Innovation Award from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). DART accepted the award at the annual TRANSform Conference in New York.
The APTA Innovation Award honors public transit agencies that demonstrate innovative concepts or effective problem-solving techniques not previously applied in the public transportation industry.
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DART's winning entry, the GoPass® app, is the first public transit ticket-purchasing app in the nation that involved multiple transit agencies and different types of transportation. The all-in-one travel tool gives customers mobile ticketing for transit throughout North Texas including DART, Trinity Railway Express (TRE), Trinity Metro, and the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA).
Since its initial launch in September 2013, the DART GoPass app has continued to evolve to serve the needs of riders, providing new options and features that make traveling easier and more comprehensive. In 2016, corporate annual and college semester passes were added. One year later ride-sharing services were integrated into the app, like DART's GoLink microtransit service that provides customers an on-demand first-, last-mile solution.
In 2018, the agency released DART GoPass 2.0, which continued to revolutionize how riders transact with DART. New features and benefits included fare capping, cash-to-mobile payment option, Apple Pay, and GoPass Wallet.
With the release of DART GoPass 3.0 earlier this year, GoPass is positioned as a mobility manager platform that can be leveraged nationally, providing Mobility as a Service without regard to mode or provider.
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