The Reimagine DART initiative is designed to provide more frequent bus service throughout the day in the Des Moines metro.
By having fewer stops, buses will be able to run 15- to 30-minute bus services seven days a week throughout most of the day. Bus transfers will be timed, and stops will be spaced farther apart to run services more efficiently through the area. The new network will target four key corridors, including University Avenue to Valley West Mall, and Ingersoll Avenue to 42nd Street, according to past reporting from IPR.
Service hours will also be reduced by two hours on weekdays and an hour on Saturdays so they match what communities can afford and limit property tax growth, according to the DART website.
CEO Erin Hockman said DART started reevaluating the current system after the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a shift in travel patterns.
“We don’t see as many of those traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. office commuters on transit because they may be working remotely full time or a majority of the time,” she said.
Hockman said DART started seeing that service was in demand throughout the day, rather than at typical peak commute times.
She said the changes to DART followed two rounds of public input. The transit authority wanted to know what kind of bus service its riders and the public thought would be best for the changing travel needs of the area.
Hockman said DART presented two different transit models: one that had fewer routes and provided a higher frequency of service and another that had wider coverage with less frequent service. She said most people across the region preferred more frequent service in the busiest parts of the metro area.
DART customer satisfaction surveys showed that 61% of riders don’t have a driver’s license or a car. Hockman said that many of its riders are essential workers who rely on the bus service to get to their jobs.
“Not all essential workers have an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule,” she said. “Some work early mornings, later in the evenings, certainly on weekends. So we’re really seeing that transit ridership all throughout the day and all throughout the week.”
The new network aims to increase ridership and make transit consistent in the areas with the most schools, jobs and entertainment, Hockman said.
She said DART data estimates that the average resident will be able to reach 15% more jobs within 45 minutes.
DART estimates the new route network will give 22,000 more people access to transit in the Des Moines metro area.
All bus routes will be free to ride from June 14-30 so riders can adjust to the changes. Regular fares will resume on July 1.
In late May, DART leaders hosted a guided tour that highlighted one of the new routes. Route 4 creates a loop that connects five major communities, including Urbandale and West Des Moines. DART buses toured the new route, making a few stops along the way.
One bus stopped in the Highland Park neighborhood on the north side of Des Moines, where community members crowded into Scoops by Beth.
Chatter filled the small ice cream shop as the bus hummed in the background at the bus stop outside. Community members clapped as shop owner Beth Mensing stepped to the front of her ice cream parlor to speak.
“I chose this area because the redevelopment obviously has been a really big positive,” Mensing said. “So this has been a really awesome experience being in this neighborhood.”
She said she sees more people walking along the shops in Highland Park, sometimes with her ice cream in hand. Mensing currently has a DART stop outside of her store, which will now be visited more frequently by riders.
“I’ve had a few people take note of the shop when they stop at this stop here, and a few actually walk in and be like, ‘Oh I didn’t know you were here,’ and be excited to stop in my business,” she said.
Mensing said she hopes frequent bus services will lead to more interactions like that.
Alec Davis also spoke during the tour. He’s the founder of Momentum DSM, a volunteer-run organization that advocates in Des Moines for issues impacting urbanism, like public transit. Davis said he’s been at nearly every board meeting for the last two years as Reimagine DART has been developed.
“I’m excited to see this network be more useful for more people,” he said. “We’re doing the fundamentals right now, and 15-minute frequency on this many corridors for a city our size is pretty unique in this country.”
