DCTA Expands Lewisville Buses

DCTA says ridership is up 21 percent in that city alone

The Denton County Transportation Authority says big growth on its Lewisville system signals the need for bigger buses.

The agency is considering bigger buses on the Lewisville routes because of a boom in ridership.

"Lewisville, we're seeing growth at around 21 percent, so much growth in Lewisville that we're having to up-size our fleet," said Dee Leggett, DCTA vice president of program development.

The buses on the Lewisville system run with a capacity of about 15 passengers. Leggett said the DCTA would like to increase capacity by about 25 percent in the near future.

It has already begun the process by purchasing a larger bus for Route 21, which runs from the northwest side of Lewisville to the Vista Ridge Mall area.

The agency would like to purchase additional larger units for the city's other two routes, Leggett said.

Leggett said it has also seen growth on its Denton bus lines, which already run the larger buses, but the Lewisville growth is definitely a bigger surprise.

"Lewisville's different in that it's brand new, so we expected the growth, but it's grown a lot faster with the launch of the A-Train than we had originally anticipated,” she said.

DCTA reports that ridership of the A-Train, which has been in service for nearly two years, is also up 39 percent in the last year.

The DCTA board of directors is considering a plan to shift some of its weekend A-Train routes from late night to early morning to help accommodate extra riders and encourage others heading to summer events through the Metroplex to use the train service.

After meeting with the public several times, it will present its recommendation at this month's board meeting on May 23.

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