News

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) provided 3,753,065 rides across all transit services in Fiscal Year 2025 (July 2024 – June 2025), an increase of nearly 7% from the previous year.

About 95% of DART’s ridership is on its fixed bus routes, which increased slightly more than 7% to 3,579,974 rides last year. DART carried an average of 17.6 passengers per hour of service on its fixed bus routes, making it the most efficient of DART’s services.

DART will not have bus service and DART Central Station will be closed on Labor Day, Monday, September 1, 2025. 

Bus service will operate normally on the weekend after the holiday. More information about DART’s holiday service is available at ridedart.com/holiday. 

The smartest way to get to the fair!

• Get dropped off directly on the fairgrounds in an air-conditioned ride.

• Safety first! Avoid walking or driving in the traffic around the fairgrounds.

• Find free parking in large, dedicated lots.

DART will make minor schedule changes on some local routes beginning Sunday, August 24, 2025. The following routes will have changes:

DART ended all services in the City of Grimes in June 2025, due to the city’s decision to withdraw from DART. 

Below is a summary of the upcoming service change. 

Please be aware that the July 8 DART Commission meeting will be held virtually, via Zoom, beginning at noon. The DART Commission will not meet in person, due to a short agenda.

Members of the public who wish to provide a brief comment at the beginning of the meeting can attend in person in the Multimodal Room at DART Central Station or join the Zoom call.

Click here to view the July 8 DART Commission meeting agenda and Zoom meeting link.

On June 3, The DART Commission voted to design a new bus network that prioritizes ridership for the region overall with a preference for coverage in Ankeny, Altoona and Clive, along with a budget that would maintain 90% of DART’s current service level. This major milestone for the Reimagine DART initiative will allow DART staff to present a draft network for public input in September and prepare to implement new routes and services starting in summer 2026.

Please be aware that DART will no longer hold a special DART Commission meeting on Monday, May 19. The DART Commission is now scheduled to vote on the budget and priorities for designing a draft bus network – part of Reimagine DART – at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 3, at noon.

DART delayed this vote due to uncertainty surrounding a property tax bill introduced by the Iowa Legislature that would impact funding for DART. The Legislature adjourned Thursday morning without passing the property tax bill.  

FY2025 Section 5310 Funds Call For Projects

DART is a designated recipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding in the Des Moines/Central Iowa Urbanized Area and is responsible for administering grants and distributing funds.

Below is the 2025 Call for Projects for Sections 5310 funds. It will run from January 23, 2024 to February 20, 2024.