[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CONGRATULATING THE DENTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2008

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Denton 
County Transportation Authority (DCTA) of Lewisville, Texas. The DCTA 
was recently awarded a Federal Transit Administration Ridership Award.
  The Federal Transit Administration Ridership Awards honor and 
acknowledge the industry's commitment to excellence. The recipients of 
the Ridership Award are transit systems that have substantially 
increased their ridership since 2003 through a variety of techniques 
and innovations. The DCTA is one of four agencies being recognized that 
service an area with a population between 200,000 and 1 million people.
  The Denton County Transportation Authority is a synchronized county 
transit agency that provides a wide variety of local services to Denton 
and surrounding communities, as well as a commuter service to downtown 
Dallas. The DCTA has strong relationship with the community. In 2005, 
the DCTA took over the daily operational and management responsibility 
of the campus shuttle service for the University of North Texas. The 
DCTA and the University worked together to provide free fares for 
students, and ridership on the shuttles increased by 15 percent between 
fall 2005 and fall 2006. The program was expanded in 2006 to allow free 
access onto the DCTA Commuter Express service and to expand the service 
on campus by two stops. The number of students, faculty, and staff that 
rode transit increased substantially in 2006 and, by the end of the 
year, 35-40 percent of passengers on the Commuter Express were 
associated with the University.
  I extend my sincerest congratulations to the Denton County 
Transportation Authority. Their commitment to improving the public 
transportation system is to be commended and I hope other transit 
agencies will follow in their successful, innovative footsteps.

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