Bernard Jackson

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) announced today that Bernard Jackson has been selected as the agency’s new chief operations officer. Jackson will assume his new role on May 23, 2022.

Reporting directly to DART president & chief executive officer Nadine Lee, Jackson will lead the agency’s operations teams, including bus, light rail, facilities maintenance, GoLink and mobility management.

“Bernard is a tremendous transit leader and we are excited to welcome him to DART,” said Lee. “He brings over 30 years of transit operations experience to the agency, consistently developing and achieving employee engagement and customer satisfaction performance targets that have a real impact on the lives of our riders. I have incredible confidence in his ability to align industry-leading operational practices with DART’s vision to improve rider experiences.”

Jackson joins DART from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) where he served as the chief operations officer, service delivery. Prior to his time at Metro, he worked at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for nearly 30 years, including as the vice president of bus operations and the director of rail operations. During his tenure at CTA, Jackson was instrumental in establishing customer-focused performance measures to improve transit operations for the benefit of riders.

“I’m proud to join the DART team at a time when leadership is focused on building a world-class rider experience,” said Jackson. “The new direction and strategy that DART has embarked on, a focus on the needs and satisfaction of our riders, has never been more crucial to the long-term sustainability of the North Texas region. I am incredibly excited to be a part of this new course, and I look forward to helping steer the agency to its next phase of operational and mobility excellence.”

“We are thrilled to welcome someone of Bernard’s caliber to the team at DART,” said Michele Wong Krause, chair of the DART Board of Directors. “The knowledge he brings to the agency will allow us to continue to enhance and expand the operations of DART for the benefit of our passengers across North Texas.”

Along with an extensive list of distinctions including involvement in the Eno Transit Senior Executive Program, Jackson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Loyola University in Chicago.

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, multi-agency efforts have led to more than 246,000 migrant apprehensions, along with more than 15,000 criminal arrests — and more than 12,400 felony charges. Over 4,800 weapons and over $38 million in currency have been seized. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 344 million lethal doses throughout the state.

As part of the response to President Biden’s reckless decision to end Title 42 expulsions this month, which his own administration has estimated will lead to 18,000 illegal crossings per day, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas border communities to Washington, D.C. Since launching this busing operation a month ago, a total of 35 buses have transported 922 migrants.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden’s open border policies.