DART made several changes to its service on Oct. 13, 2019. All changes for this major service change were cost-neutral. Because of this, DART had to eliminate, or shift, resources from underutilized services to better serve riders in other areas.

Local Route 11 - Ingersoll/Valley Junction

DART extended Local Route 11 to travel to the Deer Ridge Apartment Complex. This allowed DART to discontinue service on the Deer Ridge Shuttle and gives residents of the apartment complex and nearby businesses weekday transit access. This move also allowed DART to partner with Des Moines Public Schools to provide service to Merrill Middle School for students during the school year.

The change reduced frequency on Local Route 11, but does provide service for a longer span of time each weekday.
 

Local Route 52 - Valley West/Jordan Creek

DART made routing changes to Local Route 52 to help to reduce rider confusion about where to board buses and improve efficiency on the route. The change allowed DART to operate service along the same route, all-day long, and eliminated inefficient portions of the route. This route services University Avenue between 22nd and 31st St, instead of Westown Parkway.

After receiving feedback on plans to remove a larger loop of Local Route 52 that traveled into the Wells Fargo and Athene Campuses, as well as along Mills Civic Parkway, DART adjusted routing to better meet rider needs. Because of feedback from Wells Fargo employees, DART retained a smaller loop of the east side of the Wells Fargo Jordan Creek campus on select trips. The route does not travel to the Athene Campus, or along Mills Civic Parkway

Flex Route 72 - West Des Moines/Clive

  • DART realigned this route from a Flex Route into a Local Route.
  • The route travels much of the same route that the previous route did, but riders no longer have the option to “flex” service off the fixed route.
  • DART made this decision after analyzing how riders were using Route 72. DART discovered that only 2 percent of riders actually used the “flex” service on the route.
  • The change created a circulator route that would operate every hour in both directions, with additional service added onto the route along Mills Civic Parkway.
  • This new route provides all-day service to key destinations from Valley Junction to other areas of West Des Moines, including Hy-Vee, Walmart and the West Des Moines Library.
     

Flex Route 74 – NW Urbandale

DART changed Route 74 from a Flex Route to a Local Route, discontinuing the flex zone. Upon hearing from riders, and analyzing passenger boardings for this route, DART discovered the majority of riders were not using the flex option on this route and were boarding at stops located along the existing fixed route.

DART maintained the existing schedule and route, and extended the route to the Walmart in Windsor Heights via University Avenue to serve additional employers along that corridor.

Express Route 93 - NW 86th Extension

DART discontinued the Grimes/NW Johnston On Call and replaced it with an extension on Express Route 93 – NW 86th.

Under the new service, DART extended Express Route 93 to the Park & Ride lot at the Grimes Walmart, and to addresses located along SE 11th Street west of Highway 141. This allows riders in Grimes to have an option to travel to downtown Des Moines, without needing to transfer in Johnston.

DART also updated the Route 93 schedule to accommodate the extension, consolidate trips with low ridership, and start service earlier in the afternoon. 

Express Route 94 - Westown

DART made schedule changes for Route 94 to better meet riders’ needs.  This included making changes to the schedule relative to other West Des Moines express routes, including Routes 95 and 96.

Map of DART Express Route 94 - Westown

Express Route 95 - Vista

DART combined some trips on this route that have low ridership. The updated schedules have three morning and three afternoon trips.

Express Route 96 - EP True

DART made changes to Route 96 to better meet riders’ needs. This includes changes to the route schedule relative to other West Des Moines express routes, including routes 94 and 95. Changes were made to the morning trips only, no changes were made to afternoon schedules for this route.
 

Questions?

Riders with questions about this service change, or DART's public input process are encouraged to reach out to DART staff via email, or by calling DART Customer Service at 515-283-8100.

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