The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is the largest public transit agency in Iowa. Their services connect thousands of people every day to jobs, school, medical appointments, and more. Drake has been a long-time supporter of public transportation.
With your Drake ID, you can ride DART for free—whether you are traveling to campus during the weekday or running errands on the weekend. Last fall (September – November) Drake students and employees averaged 3,300 individual trips per month.
However, as stated from DART: “Like many public entities, DART is experiencing a funding shortfall due to local revenue not keeping pace with the cost of providing services.”
Due to budget pressures, DART route impacts with a proposed 20-25% service cut are:
- Route 3 would go from running every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes during peak times
- Route 5 would go from running every 50 minutes to every 60 minutes during peak times
- Route 60 would go from running every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes during peak times.
- DART would end service one hour earlier on weekdays and make all weekend service hourly frequency.
DART plans to present this scenario for public input in late April and May with more details and then changes could be implemented in November 2024, unless alternative funding is approved.
You are encouraged to participate in these public sessions and learn more about the specifics on DART’s website: https://www.ridedart.com/funding-our-future.
— Nate Reagen, Office of the President