Changes to bus service in Urbandale/Johnston coming?

                Des Moines Area Rapid Transit personnel heard from users and residents on September 26 about an Urbandale route which can deviate from its course to serve passengers during the morning and evening rush hours—but could be improved.

                Among the improvements suggested were shorter and faster trips, along with stops on the route at Merle Hay Mall and more service along such avenues as Douglas Avenue and Meredith Drive. Others have complained about the problems of changing the schedule at the last minute if need be. Plans call for changes to be announced at a series of public meetings in the next few months or so; the September 26 session was an open house at the DART Central Station in downtown Des Moines.

                The route, 73, makes a loop encompassing the route from Meredith and Marsh, west of Interstate-35 to the Des Moines Ice Arena from 5:28 to 7:55 in the morning and from 3:30 to 6:34 in the afternoon along a route whose stem consists of Meredith Drive from west of Interstate-35 to 70th Street and 72nd Street to 73rd and Hickman.

                The bus connects with the 92 express route which runs along Hickman Route at the Ice Arena and can deviate from its route to connect with the express and regular bus routes which serve which serve Merle Hay Mall, as well as other points on one mile of the route in Urbandale, Windsor Heights and Johnston.

                The route is a flex-route; while it runs down Meredith Drive, 70th and 72nd Streets, it can deviate from that route depending on when a user makes an appointment for a trip.  Trips for this route are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be made up to seven days in advance, according to a brochure from DART.

                Scheduling and cancelling are one of the problems with route 73, noted personnel at the September 26 meeting. Greg Boschen, a member of DART’s Transit Riders Advisory Committee who lives within the area served by route 73, northwest of the intersection of Merle Hay Road and Meredith Drive, noted that it was difficult to cancel a trip, especially when it becomes necessary to cancel an early-morning trip after the DART office hours have closed for the day.

                “If you need to change an appointment, you need to call the day before,” he said. This is especially difficult when he has a trip scheduled for 6:30 a.m. and the DART offices open only at 6:00 a.m., for example.

                The area served by the Urbandale route was previously served by on-call service, Boschen said. Under that arrangement, it was possible to call the driver directly—the driver had a cell phone--and cancel a trip. “If I knew at 6 in the morning (about a trip that needed to be cancelled),” Boschen explained, “I could call the driver. I miss that flexibility.”  

                Boschen had praise for the drivers. “The drivers have been fantastic about making connections (to the other routes),” he said. “They do everything they can do to help.”

                Making connections is one way service could be improved. The route should link with the 14, 16 and 51 regular routes along with the 91 express route at Merle Hay Mall at a permanent stop, it was suggested. Currently, the bus can deviate from its route to go to Merle Hay Mall, but the mall is not on route 73.

                At Merle Hay Mall, people can board route 14 which goes downtown via Douglas Avenue, route 16 which goes to downtown via Beaver Avenue or route 51 which goes downtown via Merle Hay Road and Interstate-235. Another bus which stops at Merle Hay Mall is the 91 express route which comes from Johnston and goes downtown on Merle Hay Road and Interstate-235.

                Other suggestions include improving service on such streets as Meredith Drive and Douglas Avenue in Merle Hay Road. According to Gunnar Olson, DART’s public information officer, one person at the meeting suggested a crosstown route which would link Valley West and Merle Hay Malls via 86th and Douglas Avenues.

                DART is still interested taking ideas from the general public. They can be submitted to DART offices at dart@ridedart.com, telephoned to the DART offices at 515-283-8100 or mailed to Gunnar Olson at the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, 620 Cherry Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-4530. Ideas should be submitted to DART by October 1.

                An online survey can also be found on the home page for DART, www.ridedart.com. This survey will be open to website visitors up to October 1.

                 For more information, call DART at 515-283-8100 or e-mail dart@ridedart.com.