Folks from McKinney and Allen made the economic decision to drive to the Bush station. They didn’t have nearly as many willing to pay as projections indicated. Don’t hold me to this, but I think the way it was set up, the contractor took the financial hit, and they weren’t willing to renew the contract unless Dart kicked in some cash to them.
Here’s a story about the problem:
“But the agency also hoped to make money off of what’s called the “fair share” parking program. Instead, the vendor operating the program has yet to break even and DART has yet to earn a penny.
“We thought we could make some money,” said board member Randall Chrisman, who chairs the revenue committee.”
http://transportationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/dart-looks-to-end-paid-parking-at-four-light-rail-stations.html/
Apparently, no one at the DART board knew Economics 101. Let’s see - drive 4 more miles and save $40 or $80 a month, or pay 50% or 100% more for my daily commute (monthly passes were $80 last time I bought one.)
Under the DOT transit subsidy program with participating federal agencies, the rail pass would be covered, but the parking pass would not,
That's when they should have instituted the same fee at the Bush Turnpike station.
They did charge the fee at the Carrollton station, although I don't know if it is still in effect. Now, there's an train from Denton that stops in Highland Village and Lewisville, providing an option for the 35E corridor. There's parking in Highland Village, but hardly any parking in Lewisville.