Posted on February, 10 2020
DART rider stories allow us the opportunity to highlight transit users' experience with DART. We take a look into their bus-riding habits and gain insight into their opinion on the importance of public transit.
Tammi B. is a longtime DART rider. She began riding the bus in college, back when DART was MTA. She now is a lawyer for the State of Iowa and still rides the bus to get across town.
“I am a bit of a recreational rider, sometimes, meaning that I understand that you see different things in Des Moines and appreciate different things when you’re not behind a wheel. And so, I have ridden it sometimes just to ride. And to kind of see where it’ll take me and have kind of a different perspective on the city.”
Tammi rides the D-Line most often, using it rather than driving in Downtown Des Moines. She also lives near Routes 3 and 60 and will use them if she can’t use her car or if she’s heading to the Downtown Farmers’ Market.
“When cities grow, parking becomes less convenient. And we, as Iowans, and Des Moines folks, get used to it—but like people in Chicago, like four blocks to work, that’d be a gift. Right? They wouldn’t think anything of that.”
Tammi predicts that public transit will become more popular as Greater Des Moines expands and develops in new areas.
“It’s just changing really fast, and so for you guys to be able to make any adjustments and try to keep up is huge. Especially with, I think as parking becomes more difficult, even more people will decide, ok, let’s give this a try. You know, a car is only convenient if it gets you where you want to go, you know, without the hassle of expensive parking that’s four blocks away. If I can replace driving to a place where parking is going to be difficult, I do it.”