If you are UT Dallas student and have a valid Comet Card, are registered and have paid the fees for the current semester, you can get a semester-long pass to use all of DART's public transportation for free.
The GoPass app is also the best way to navigate and plan trips with the DART system, with more accurate arrival times than other apps such as Google or Apple Maps. Physical passes can also be acquired by contacting park@utdallas.edu. UTD faculty and staff can also get free passes through a separate form.
The Comet Cruiser is shuttle bus run by a partnership of UTD and DART that follows a short local route, without the need of any ticket to board. Comet Cruisers often look like regular DART busses except with different exterior branding, or sometimes they are black private charter busses. See Comet Cruiser map:
They run from 10am to 6pm on Sundays and 7am to 11pm on all other days, with 15 minute frequency on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends. The 883 East route runs starts from the UTD bus stop (near the traffic circle by JSOM), with stops along Synergy Park Blvd and Waterview Pkwy, closer to the dorms and apartments if you live on campus. It ends at the CityLine transit-oriented development next to the CityLine/Bush Station. where take the DART train on the Red or Orange line to reach downtown Dallas in about 40 minutes
While using the 883 East, you'll see (and use, if you have a DART pass) the regular DART bus 232 which runs a similar route near campus along Synergy, ending at CityLine, but starts from much further west. Another DART bus that passes campus, except along Campbell Road, is DART 244 (which has replaced the old DART 240) that goes from the top of campus, linking the Silver Line UTD station (once it is completed) down to Arapaho Center Station on the Red Line. See DART 244 map:
The Silver Line is a DART train line in the process of being constructed, with service anticipated in late 2025 to mid-2026. It will run east to west from Grapevine to Plano, notably with a stop right at UTD, just north of the Northside Apartments. Once it is constructed, you will be able to easily get to, for example, the DFW airport in much less time than the current route (taking the train south, downtown, then northwest out to the airport) and for much less money than an Uber or Lyft. You will also be able to take it east to get to CityLine/Bush quicker than the bus.
For more information, to participate in our activism, and to join a welcoming community of others who use transit in the area, join the Comets for Better Transit Discord server.