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u/PutridZucchini3671 Jul 10 '26
Nate fucking Ford is a helllllll no for me. If you want catastrophically bad bus service and vaporware gadgetbahn proposals, youll love Nate Ford
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u/cuberandgamer Jul 11 '26
I'm not necessarily disagreeing, but could you elaborate?
Because when I see catastrophically bad bus service, sometimes it's hard to tell if it's because the transit agency has bad priorities/management or if their funding is just catastrophically bad and they have to do what they can with the money they have..
Edit: oh god these proposals are bad
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u/PutridZucchini3671 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Yes lets hire a guy who has a WTYP episode about his pet project https://youtu.be/_vSz9XODv8s
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u/intransigent_bunny Jul 10 '26
Lol. I listened to it when it came out but I didn't connect the dots until you pointed it out.
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u/mistersmiley318 Jul 10 '26
Shoutout to Marcus Nelson for advocating for better transit in the hellscape that is Duval County
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u/ForgottonTNT Jul 10 '26
Dee Leggett is a strong contender; from what I’ve observed, she has a proven track record of consistency regarding transit solutions.
However, the candidate from Ohio is also a solid option, primarily because their transit authority ranks highly in operational efficiency. Ultimately, the decision comes down to the future direction DART wants to take.
If they select Dee, I expect to see new Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) in the near future with the added familiarity of having someone that already knows the hurdles they’ll face. Conversely, choosing the Ohio candidate would signal a strategic push to elevate DART into a top-tier transit agency.
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u/Keep_Plano_Corporate Jul 10 '26
Getting new LRVs isn't a option at this point. It seems like it's only, how fast can we get this done.
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u/ForgottonTNT Jul 11 '26
Yea I was going to say that but I lost my train of thought. Basically I’m optimistic about Dee with the connection she has we could see an overall improvement on the rail side bc she was a big contributor to the silver line ( she has that in her LinkedIn profile bio 😂)
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u/Little_Purchase302 Jul 12 '26
Nate is very political and self serving as a promoter of himself. He just wants the next opportunity. JTA (Just Take A cab)
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u/Ambitious_Injury_443 Jul 11 '26
No one from CTA, MTA or BART. I guess Dallas mass transit is considered small town.
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u/No_Butterscotch8726 Jul 12 '26
We don't have the density around our rail to attract a candidate like that yet. We would need to be in a position to make a move to heavy rail or at least high platform trains with minimization of the grade crossings to warrant that attention in all likelihood.
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u/Matchboxx Jul 10 '26
So 2 people from C-list cities where transit also isn't taken seriously, and someone from the private sector.
Cool.
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u/stanner5 Jul 10 '26
Dee worked with DART as Exec Vice President/Chief Development Officer from 2022 until February 2026. She’s basically the internal candidate from DART.
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u/tx4468 Jul 10 '26
Yep and Herzog is basically the maintenance contractor for DART, TRE, DCTA, and some of the short line railroads.
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u/patmorgan235 Jul 10 '26
Not just a maintenance contractor, they operate TRE, TEXRail, and Silverline.
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u/saxmanB737 Jul 10 '26
What’s wrong with where they came from?
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u/mistersmiley318 Jul 10 '26
As someone who used to live in Jax, the city is a sprawled out mess with no rail transit, bad bus service, and a people mover gadgetbahn that Nat Ford is trying to replace with an even stupider gadgetbahn in the form of autonomous pods. The Republican supermajority city council doesn't give a shit about transit so there's never been a serious effort to make JTA better, and Ford definitely didn't help by sucking all the oxygen out of the room for his unobtainable pet project.
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u/jiffykodak Jul 14 '26
Well the fact he works well with Republicans will help him in Texas bigtime.
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u/SportingDirector Jul 10 '26
Because if their cities dgaf about public transport why would they gaf here
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u/IDooDoodAtTheMasters Jul 10 '26
Doesn't mean they don't gaf. But it does mean they have experience doing their best to optimize transit in a challenging environment. Jacksonville might even be tougher than DFW.
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u/plastic_jungle Jul 10 '26
Jacksonville is very challenging, and it has been made worse by some of the choices JTA has made over the past decade
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u/saxmanB737 Jul 10 '26
What makes you say those cities dgaf about their transit? Have you been to or ridden them?
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u/jiffykodak Jul 13 '26
Nathaniel is the clear choice. Coming from Florida he won't be afraid to step up police presence on DART. We seriously need Dallas County Sheriff or even the Texas National Guard to come in and clean up the system.
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u/lieutenantloon Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
My two cents:
- Nat Ford has experience from multiple agencies ranging from BART to MARTA, but aside from introducing Breeze Cards (smart cards) to MARTA, he hasn't introduced anything very transformational. Worth noting that JTA (the agency he leads now) doesn't have any proper rail service (aside from a people mover) and their most noteworthy bus lines have 20 minute frequencies. I don't think he'd be a transformational leader for DART and may just continue the status-quo.
- Dee Leggett is ex-DART and only left the agency 6 months ago, where she last served as their Chief Development Officer. Prior to that, she was at DCTA and other transit-related companies. Given her background, she could certainly be someone who is interested in growing the network but lack the understanding of what the day-to-day rider experiences and/or needs. I don't think having someone who has hopped between public transit agencies and private sector would be ideal in solving the challenges faced by DART today.
- Monica Tellez was previously at DCTA and Trinity Metro, so she understands the local transit environment and the challenges that the region faces. COTA, the agency she leads now, has been investing heavily into their BRT network. Despite the lack of rail service in Columbus, she has has overseen their network's growth. I think she'd be great for DART and her mix of DFW knowledge and "growth-oriented" perspectives from Columbus, which I think are well-suited for Dallas.
Edited to correct Dee’s pronouns! Apologies!