The Denton County Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted on Thursday to end its relationship with the North Texas Mobility Corporation and begin a process to directly hire bus drivers within DCTA.
“Ridership on our fixed route bus operation has seen tremendous growth over the last 18 months, increasing 37% last year and another 26% this year following investments made by our Board of Directors to increase frequency of service,” said Paul Cristina, Chief Executive Officer at DCTA.
North Texas Mobility Corporation (NTMC) was created in 2019 when the bus operation was transitioned from a private operator formerly under contract with DCTA. The arrangement between DCTA and NTMC enabled bus operators represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1338 to transition with the bus operation since DCTA, as a public agency in the State of Texas, cannot collectively bargain with the union. NTMC has 78 employees, including 53 active bus operators.
Recent resignations of key leaders within NTMC caused collective bargaining negotiations between NTMC and the ATU to be placed on hold, which prevented NTMC from raising wages and hiring new bus operators. The situation put NTMC’s ability to deliver essential bus operations services at risk, according to DCTA officials.
All employees of NTMC will be offered employment with DCTA. Bus operators who wish to continue being represented by the ATU as DCTA employees will be able to do so.
The DCTA Board of Directors is considering additional investments in its bus network to continue to grow ridership and optimize its cost of service in Denton between fixed route bus service and the GoZone on-demand micro-transit service. Recent ridership growth has made fixed route bus service more cost effective than GoZone in some parts of the service area.
“Our goal is to move as many people as cost effectively as possible. The great service provided by our bus operators has enabled this growth, and DCTA staff has made the business case that fixed route bus service can be the best tool to move people when the demand is there,” said TJ Gilmore, Chairman of the DCTA Board.
“Growth in the Connect Bus and University of North Texas Shuttle services demonstrates there is demand for bus service. This move appropriately recognizes our operators for their contribution to our success and enables us to implement the bus service plans currently in development.”
Overall, across all modes, DCTA ridership growth was up 33% in 2023 and is up another 18% so far in 2024, positioning DCTA to match its best-ever annual ridership performance.
