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STAR Transit
STAR Transit is a transit agency in Texas serving the cities of Mesquite, Balch Springs, Seagoville, Hutchins, and DeSoto, plus the entirety of Rockwall County and Kaufman County. From its inception in 1988, it was previously known as Kaufman Area Rural Transit (KART) and operated only as a rural transit district before adopting its current name in 2011.
STAR Transit primarily connects non-DART member cities to the light rail system in Dallas with fixed bus routes and on-demand service. The agency also provides general and Medicaid transportation in its entire service area (plus neighboring Ellis and Navarro counties) and operates one of DART's GoLink service areas.
The Texas and Pacific Railway runs through the city of Mesquite and through Kaufman County; passenger trains such as the Sunshine Special and Texas Eagle regularly traveled on the route for much of the 20th century (Amtrak continues to run its modern Texas Eagle through the old track). Passenger trains never have and still do not drop off passengers in either Mesquite or Kaufman County, instead doing so in Dallas.
The origins of public transport for residents East of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex began in 1980 when the company Kaufman County Senior Citizens Services (presently known as Senior Connect) started providing limited transportation services to the county. The system ceased being senior-exclusive in 1988 when it fell under a new name: Kaufman Area Rural Transit.
KART operated only in Kaufman County for the next 17 years until the agency began servicing neighboring Rockwall County in 2005. The agency also began providing Medicaid transportation for Ellis and Navarro counties in 2009.
However, KART would soon need to expand its focus as cities in Dallas County who had originally rejected to join DART in the 1980s realized the system's benefits; Mesquite agreed to pay over $300,000 a year for DART to establish a new bus route that connected the city's Hanby Stadium to the Green Line through Lawnview station. In 2011, KART renamed itself to STAR Transit. By April 2018, STAR Transit had launched fixed bus routes in seven cities. In 2021, the agency released a ridesharing on-demand app known as STARNow.
Below is a table displaying cities and counties that are members of STAR Transit. As of April 2023, no cities have left the agency since joining. Due to the volume of members, only cities that have or have had fixed bus routes are included on this list; otherwise, they are part of the listed counties.
As of April 6, 2023, STAR Transit operates three fixed bus routes in three cities. All services connect to a DART light rail station, whether automatically or by verbal request.
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STAR Transit
STAR Transit is a transit agency in Texas serving the cities of Mesquite, Balch Springs, Seagoville, Hutchins, and DeSoto, plus the entirety of Rockwall County and Kaufman County. From its inception in 1988, it was previously known as Kaufman Area Rural Transit (KART) and operated only as a rural transit district before adopting its current name in 2011.
STAR Transit primarily connects non-DART member cities to the light rail system in Dallas with fixed bus routes and on-demand service. The agency also provides general and Medicaid transportation in its entire service area (plus neighboring Ellis and Navarro counties) and operates one of DART's GoLink service areas.
The Texas and Pacific Railway runs through the city of Mesquite and through Kaufman County; passenger trains such as the Sunshine Special and Texas Eagle regularly traveled on the route for much of the 20th century (Amtrak continues to run its modern Texas Eagle through the old track). Passenger trains never have and still do not drop off passengers in either Mesquite or Kaufman County, instead doing so in Dallas.
The origins of public transport for residents East of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex began in 1980 when the company Kaufman County Senior Citizens Services (presently known as Senior Connect) started providing limited transportation services to the county. The system ceased being senior-exclusive in 1988 when it fell under a new name: Kaufman Area Rural Transit.
KART operated only in Kaufman County for the next 17 years until the agency began servicing neighboring Rockwall County in 2005. The agency also began providing Medicaid transportation for Ellis and Navarro counties in 2009.
However, KART would soon need to expand its focus as cities in Dallas County who had originally rejected to join DART in the 1980s realized the system's benefits; Mesquite agreed to pay over $300,000 a year for DART to establish a new bus route that connected the city's Hanby Stadium to the Green Line through Lawnview station. In 2011, KART renamed itself to STAR Transit. By April 2018, STAR Transit had launched fixed bus routes in seven cities. In 2021, the agency released a ridesharing on-demand app known as STARNow.
Below is a table displaying cities and counties that are members of STAR Transit. As of April 2023, no cities have left the agency since joining. Due to the volume of members, only cities that have or have had fixed bus routes are included on this list; otherwise, they are part of the listed counties.
As of April 6, 2023, STAR Transit operates three fixed bus routes in three cities. All services connect to a DART light rail station, whether automatically or by verbal request.