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Jul 15, 2008 10:28 pm US/Central
Some Denton County Buses Filled To Capacity
DENTON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Denton County is trying to figure out how to change its bus schedule to Downtown Dallas because the little-known bus line is about to reach capacity.
Commuters from the north use the line to connect with their jobs in Downtown Dallas. According to the Denton County Transportation Authority, ridership is up 53 percent.
"My wife says I'm a different person by not driving," said Ed Kilgore, a commuter from Lewisville. "I don't have to fight the traffic for 30 miles, back and forth, and I'm rested when I get home, and I'm rested when I get to work."
Commuters who don't use the line can spend up an estimated $800 a month on gas.
Bus driver Joseph Anderson watched as gas prices slowly inched up. "At $3.50 it didn't happen. But at $3.65, $3.75, we started getting quite a few more people day by day," he said.
Now DCTA says some of its buses are running at capacity.
"We're running very tight now on the first departure out of Lewisville and the last departure out of Denton in the morning," said DCTA President John Hedrick.
The agency doesn't have any more buses to add to its fleet, so when the seats are taken up, passengers will have to stand.
In two and half years, overcrowding won't be an issue.
"By December of 2010, commuters won't have to take the buses because rail is coming to Denton County," Hedrick said.
The new rail will intersect with the DART Rail in Carrollton. When that happens, a lot of people - like Kilgore - will be a better mood.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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