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Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority

DART #2112, a 2022 New Flyer XD40.
Founded	1973 (as Des Moines MTA) 2006 (as DART)
Headquarters	620 Cherry St, Des Moines, IA 50309
Locale	Des Moines, IA, United States
Service area	Des Moines and surrounding communities in Polk County
Service type	Bus service, Express bus service, Paratransit, On Demand, Vanpool
Routes	26
Stops	1,721
Hubs	1 (DART Central Station)
Fleet	139 (106 Fixed Route buses & 33 On Call/Paratransit buses)
Daily ridership	7,547
Annual ridership	2.75 million (FY2022)
Fuel type	Diesel, Hybrid, Electric
Chief executive	Elizabeth Presutti
Website	ridedart.com

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) operates mass transit service in Greater Des Moines. It is the largest public transit agency operating in the state of Iowa.

History

DART was founded in 1973 as the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority, commonly known as the MTA. Formed by a partnership of the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive, Windsor Heights, and Urbandale. The MTA eventually developed a 14-county carpool and vanpool system in addition to its bus system.

By 2006, population growth in varying regions of central Iowa led to Polk County and nineteen cities forming a regional transportation agency following changes to Iowa law in 2005.

Sunday service was added for the first time in 2007. In 2008, a free shuttle linked downtown Des Moines with the Iowa State Capitol.

DART has offered a Park & Ride service during the Iowa State Fair since 2006.

Free wifi connectivity began to be offered on all buses in 2018. This was implemented at the same time new fareboxes were installed, which required an internet connection.

DART began a pilot electric bus program in October 2020, starting with seven Proterra Catalyst buses on route 60 (Ingersoll/University). The pilot program was funded by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, with a local match from MidAmerican Energy.

DART is represented by a board of 12 Commissioners, one from each member government it serves. DART serves Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, and greater Polk County.

Structure

DART utilizes a hub and spoke system, designed to favor commuters, as opposed to point-to-point system. The network was redesigned in 2012 to utilize the new DART Central Station, which most local and express routes terminate at or pass through. A secondary hub around Valley West Mall connects multiple western routes. A northern crosstown route 50 (Euclid/Douglas Crosstown) was added in 2018.

DART also has On Call routes that operate within specific zones in the Greater Des Moines area.

DART Central Station

Located at 620 Cherry Street in downtown Des Moines, DART Central station serves as the primary hub of the DART system. The $21 million bus transfer station opened in November 2012 on the south end of downtown, ending decades of using Walnut Street as a transit mall. DART Central Station has been certified LEED Platinum, the highest certification of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System of the U.S. Green Building Council. The site was selected in part due to proximity of the historic Rock Island Railroad depot, which is hoped to have passenger rail service in the future. It was designed by Substance Architecture, built by Weitz Construction, and contains both a bicycle storage room and a cafe.

Routes

Local routes

Express rush hour-only routes

Former routes

• 2 Kingman (Discontinued on June 8, 2004, due to budget crisis)
• 9 Express Service (Split into Routes 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, and 96)
• 10 Pleasant Hill (Discontinued on April 25, 2010, due to budget crisis)
• 12 Urbandale Business Park (Discontinued on April 25, 2010, due to budget crisis)
• 51 Merle Hay Crosstown (merged with Route 5 on August 23, 2015)
• 71 Ankeny / Delaware Avenue (Discontinued on November 23, 2012)
• 73 Urbandale / Windsor Heights FLEX (peak only, 20-30 minutes; replaced by DART Flex Connect on October 13, 2019)
• 90 Airport South Business Park Express (Discontinued on June 10, 2012; replaced by extension of Route 8)
• 91 Merle Hay Express (Discontinued on October 1, 2017; replaced by extension of Route 5)
• 97 SW Park Avenue Express (Discontinued on November 22, 2003, due to budget crisis)
• Windsor Heights Express (replaced with new Urbandale Express and On Call Service on March 4, 2002)
• Urbandale Express (replaced with new Urbandale Express and On Call Service on March 4, 2002)
• Summer Special (replaced with new Urbandale Express and On Call Service on March 4, 2002)

Shuttles

• The LINK (free)
• D-Line Shuttle (free)
• Iowa State Fair Park & Ride Shuttle

Flex Connect in Urbandale/NW Des Moines

Flex Connect is a new on-demand service DART is testing that connects riders in the Flex Connect zone to DART buses. Flex Connect replaced Flex Route 73 in Urbandale and Windsor Heights.

With Flex Connect on weekdays, riders in the zone can book an Uber, YellowCabCo. taxi or a DART accessible vehicle to take them to and from one of three transfer points: Gloria Dei Park & Ride, Buccaneer Arena Park & Ride or Merle Hay Mall. From there, riders can connect to DART buses via routes 5, 14, 16, 50, 92 or 93.

On call

• Ankeny
• Bondurant
• Easter Lake
• Grimes

Fares and Passes

Fares

The following fares are charged on the various services DART operates:

Unlimited Ride Passes

Fleet

Fleet number(s)	Photo	Model Year	Manufacturer	Model	Powertrain	Notes
1001-1020		2010	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VII NG	Cummins ISL	1003-1005 and 1019 are retired. 1005 was donated to the Salvation Army of Des Moines as a mobile grocery store.
1021-1022		2011	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VII EPA10	Cummins ISL9
1023-1027		2012	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VII EPA10	Cummins ISL9 Allison
1029-1032		2013	New Flyer	XDE35	Cummins ISL9 Allison EP System	1031 is retired.
1033-1034		2012 (built in 2013)	New Flyer	XDE40	Cummins ISL9 Allison EP System
1401-1410		2014	Freightliner Champion Defender	M2	Cummins ISB6.7	Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service. 1403-1405 and 1407-1410 are retired.
1411-1416		2014	New Flyer	XD40	Cummins ISL9 Allison
1601-1606		2016	Freightliner Champion Defender	M2	Cummins ISB6.7	Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service. 1604 is retired.
1607-1633		2016	New Flyer	XD40	Cummins ISL9 Allison	1610 and 1622 are retired due to various accidents.
1701-1706		2017	Freightliner Champion Defender	M2	Cummins ISB6.7	Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.
1801-1806		2018	Freightliner Champion Defender	M2	Cummins B6.7	Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.
1807-1810		2018	New Flyer	XD35	Cummins L9 Allison
1811-1813		2018	New Flyer	XD40	Cummins L9 Allison
1901-1906		2019	Freightliner Champion Defender	M2	Cummins B6.7	Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.
2001-2007		2020	Proterra	Catalyst BE40		Funded by a Federal Transit Administration grant with the local match provided by MidAmerican Energy. All buses in this series have been sidelined as of October 2022.
2008-2012		2020	Gillig	Low Floor Plus 29'	Cummins L9
2013-2017		2021	New Flyer	XD40	Cummins L9 Allison B400R6
2101-2105		2021	Gillig	Low Floor Plus 29'	Cummins L9 Allison B400R
2106-2115		2022 (built in 2021)	New Flyer	XD40	Cummins L9 Allison B400R6
2301-2304		2023	Gillig	Low Floor Plus 29'	Cummins L9 Allison
2305-2311		2023	Ram New England Wheels	ProMaster Frontrunner LFXLT		Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.
7612, 7712		2012	Gillig	Low Floor 29'	Cummins ISL9	Originally used for paratransit service without destination signs. Reassigned to fixed-route service and retrofitted with destination signs in 2020.
28455-28461		2008	Orion Bus Industries	Orion VII NG	Cummins ISL	28459 and 28460 are the only active units.

Fixed Route Ridership

The ridership and service statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response. Per capita statistics are based on the Des Moines urbanized area as reported in NTD data. Starting in 2011, 2010 census numbers replace the 2000 census numbers to calculate per capita statistics.

	Ridership	Change	Ridership per capita
2002	3,905,433	n/a	10.54
2003	3,748,879	04.01%	10.12
2004	3,696,785	01.39%	9.98
2005	3,854,006	04.25%	10.4
2006	3,919,908	01.71%	10.58
2007	3,987,237	01.72%	10.76
2008	4,612,776	015.69%	12.45
2009	4,212,082	08.69%	11.37
2010	3,768,611	010.53%	10.17
2011	3,909,347	03.73%	8.69
2012	4,094,122	04.73%	9.1
2013	4,185,756	02.24%	9.3
2014	4,388,019	04.83%	9.75
2015	4,413,233	00.57%	9.81
2016	4,359,827	01.21%	9.69
2017	4,239,530	02.76%	9.42
2018	4,163,656	01.79%	9.25
2019	4,061,258	02.46%	9,02
2020	2,132,628	047.49%	4.74
2021	2,207,078	03.49%	4.9
2022	2,754,733	024.81%	6.12

Gallery

• 2010 Orion VII NG #1020
• 2010 Orion VII EPA10 HEV #1028 (retired)
• 2013 New Flyer XDE35 #1029
• 2014 New Flyer XD40 #1413
• 2016 New Flyer XD40 #1630
• 2018 New Flyer XD35 #1809
• 2018 New Flyer XD40 #1813
• 2020 Gillig Low Floor Plus 29' #2012
• 2021 New Flyer XD40 #2016
• 2021 Gillig Low Floor Plus 29' #2103
• 2022 New Flyer XD40 #2113
• 2023 Gillig Low Floor Plus 29' #2303
• 2006 Orion VII #26442 (retired)
• 2008 Orion VII NG #28460
• 2010 Orion VII NG #1011 interior
• 2012 Orion VII EPA10 #1023 interior
• 2010 Orion VII EPA10 HEV #1028 interior
• 2016 New Flyer XD40 #1621 interior
• 2018 New Flyer XD35 #1810 interior
• 2008 Orion VII NG #28459 interior

See also

• List of bus transit systems in the United States

References

1. ^ "Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority FY 2024 Budget" (PDF). Retrieved September 7, 2023.
2. "About DART". Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
3. Hancock, Jason (October 22, 2006). "Miller hopes DART scores a bull's-eye". Business Record.
4. Conetzkey, Chris (March 27, 2010). "DART's budget: Exploring the need for route reductions". Business Record.
5. "Record number of Fair goers used DART Park & Rides" (PDF). August 20, 2019.
6. "IA: DART Now Offering Free Wi-Fi on All Routes". Mass Transit. January 3, 2018.
7. Wanek-Libman, Mischa (October 2, 2020). "DART unveils Iowa's first battery electric bus". Mass Transit.
8. Taylor, Chad (September 6, 2012). "Two weeks on the bus". Cityview.
9. "DART Making Major Changes to its Service on Aug. 19". Mass Transit. August 15, 2018.
10. ^ Olson, Gunnar (November 21, 2013). "IA: DART Central Station Certified LEED Platinum". Mass Transit. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023.
11. "DART central station". Retrieved June 30, 2022.
12. "DART central station". Retrieved June 30, 2022.
13. "Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2004-08-21.
14. "What's New". Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
15. "Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26.
16. "Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2010-03-26.
17. "August Service Change: Effective Sunday, August 23, 2015 | DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2015-08-11.
18. "DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2012-11-02.
19. "Service changed in des Moines (Local Routes 3, 8, 10, 11, 14, 52 and Flex Connect) | DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority".
20. "DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17.
21. "October service change scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1 | DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2018-02-11.
22. "Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority". Archived from the original on 2003-12-03.
23. "What's New". Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
24. "What's New". Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
25. "What's New". Archived from the original on 2002-08-03.
26. Bus Fares ridedart.com/fares, retrieved 09-27-2023
27. "Electric Bus Pilot Program | DART - des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority".
28. "Electric DART buses undergoing maintenance". 9 December 2022.
29. "PTMS Ranking - Transit Portal". secure.iowadot.gov.
30. "The National Transit Database (NTD)". Retrieved June 30, 2022.

External links

• Official Site

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People from Des Moines
About	Education Flag Geography Des Moines River Greater Des Moines Skyline Raccoon River History Fort Des Moines Timeline Media The Des Moines Register Radio Television Transportation DART Des Moines Bus Station Des Moines International Airport I-235
Neighborhoods	Beaverdale Chautauqua Park Downtown Drake Highland Park Historic East Village Prospect Park Riverbend Riverview Park Sherman Hill
Culture and attractions	515 Alive 80/35 Music Festival Adventureland Ballet Des Moines Blank Park Zoo Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Des Moines Art Center Des Moines Arts Festival Des Moines Metro Opera Des Moines Public Library Des Moines Symphony Drake Stadium George Washington Carver Bridge Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Hinterland Music Festival Hoyt Sherman Place Iowa Events Center Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center Hy-Vee Hall Wells Fargo Arena Iowa State Capitol Iowa State Fair Iowa State Fairgrounds Living History Farms Prairie Meadows Principal Park Principal Riverwalk Saylorville Lake Science Center of Iowa Temple for Performing Arts Terrace Hill Water Works Park Western Gateway Park
Higher education and research	Des Moines University DMACC Drake University Faith Baptist Bible College Grand View University Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary Simpson College State Historical Society of Iowa
Shopping venues	Jordan Creek Town Center Kaleidoscope at the Hub Merle Hay Mall Southridge Mall Valley West Mall
Sports	Des Moines Buccaneers Des Moines Marathon Des Moines Menace Drake University Bulldogs Drake Relays Iowa Barnstormers Iowa Cubs Iowa Wild Iowa Wolves Lauridsen Skatepark Principal Charity Classic
Des Moines metropolitan area Category

• Bus transportation in Iowa
• Transit agencies in Iowa
• Ankeny, Iowa
• Urbandale, Iowa