The fee plan wasn't economically viable, so they had to abandon it. Plan B was to reserve the north lot (the old lumberyard property) for permit holders from DART system cities, and allow anyone to park for free in the south and the west lots. There are always a few empty spaces for Plano folks traveling in after rush hour at the far end of the north lots.
It's been awhile since I used DART, so I didn't realize it had changed.
What does "economically viable" mean? Did ridership drop because the free riders in Allen and McKinney stopped using the train?
If so, screw 'em. DART's fare revenue was about 10% of operating expenses in 2015. Nearly all of the rest came from sales taxes. You can read the financial report here:
https://www.dart.org/ShareRoot/debtdocuments/FY2015ComprehensiveAnnualFinancialReport.pdf
Skip to page 24 for the financial summary.
Yes, a small amount came from federal taxes. And, I'm sure the free riders bought a few things in the DART cities and paid the sales tax. But, I find it really difficult to believe they do so on a regular basis, especially when they get a 1% discount by shopping at home.