Posted on January, 18 2011
Dear DART Riders, Commissioners and others:
We write to inform you of a debate at the Statehouse this legislative session to possibly cut public transportation spending that would affect the D-Line Downtown Shuttle and the Unlimited Access program for state employees.
Currently, the state is one of three parties, along with DART and the business community through the Downtown Community Alliance, in a public-private partnership to fund the D-Line Downtown Shuttle. If the state withdraws funding from this program, DART would be forced to cut some service on the D-Line. With reduced service, the D-Line:
• Would continue to operate downtown and to part of the East Village.
• But would no longer travel up the hill to or around the State Capitol Complex.
The state is also currently DART’s second largest Unlimited Access partner, meaning all state employees can ride DART at no cost to them. With a loss of funding to this program, DART would have to charge state employees directly for the service. About 200 state employees take advantage of this program every day.
If you would like to join the discussion of state funding for public transit, you can do so in a couple of ways:
1. Contact your state legislators. (Who are they? Look them up here: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/Advanced.aspx)
2. Attending a public hearing before the House Appropriations Committee from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 18th, in the House Chambers, on second floor of the north side of the Iowa Capitol.
3. Submit written testimony by email at lioinfo@legis.state.ia.us.
4. Email DART at dart@ridedart.com and we’ll make sure the legislature gets your note.
Thank you for your support, and thanks always for riding DART.
Sincerely,
Brad Miller
DART General Manager