DART to expand transit service to West Des Moines next month

Ever wait for a bus ride around the area and wonder where your bus is—or if you even arrived at your bus stop on time?

                With your help, you’ll be able to try out the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority’s new online trip planning device, which can be used with smartphones, tablets and other devices, and tell the staff how well it works.

                According to news releases from DART, you’ll also be able to learn about such improvements to bus service to West Des Moines and elsewhere in the Des Moines area including:

·         An additional trip on Route 11 in the morning and an additional trip in the evening on weekdays. This route goes to the Valley Junction area of West Des Moines.

·         Additional service on Route 3, which runs on University Avenue to Valley West Mall in West Des Moines. Service will now end at 11:30 p.m. on weekdays. On Saturdays, the buses will begin running around 6:40 a.m.; the last bus to leave the DART central station at 6th and Cherry Street, in downtown Des Moines, will be around 9:45 p.m. Sunday service will end around 6:30 p.m.

·         Later service on Route 52, which runs direct form the downtown area to Valley West Mall and the Jordan Creek area. Service will run until 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. This route will also have earlier Saturday service, beginning around 6:45 a.m. Sunday service will be extended by an hour.

·         Later service on Flex Route 72, which connects the Valley Junction area with Valley West Mall, the medical centers at 60th and University in West Des Moines and the Jordan Creek area. Service will now run until 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. This route will also have earlier Saturday service, beginning around 6:45 a.m.  Sunday service will be extended by one hour.

·         Friday service will be added for Ankeny on-call service. With that addition, Ankeny on-call service will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  

·         A direct crosstown route from the DART central station out to Merle Hay Mall on weekdays via Interstate-235.

                These changes are slated to begin on Sunday, August 18. Plans call for the schedules with the new times and services to be on DART’s website, www.ridedart.com on July 29 and on DART’s buses on August 14.

                You can learn more about these schedule changes at a series of informational sessions around the Des Moines area:

·         Monday, July 29, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jordan Creek Town Center, community room. (near the movie theater entrance), 101 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines.

·         Tuesday, July 30, noon to 1 p.m. DART Central Station, multimodal room, 620 Cherry Street, Des Moines.

·         Tuesday, July 30, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Merle Hay Mall, Mall Tower meeting room, 2nd floor, 3850 Merle Hay Road, Des Moines.

·         Wednesday, July 31, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. DART Central Station, Multimodal room, 620 Cherry Street, Des Moines.

·         Wednesday, July 31, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. SouthRidge Mall, Suite 75 (in the plaza near Target), 1111 East Army Post Road, Des Moines.

·         Thursday, August 1, noon to 1:30 p.m., DART Central Station, multimodal room, 620 Cherry Street, Des Moines.

·         Thursday, August 1, 4 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. East Side Library, 2559 Hubbell Avenue, Des Moines.

        Meetings will feature a chance to try out DART’s soon-to-launch online trip planner and provide feedback to staff. They will have a question-and-answer session with DART staff members.        

          Language, visual and transportation services are available for meetings upon request. Requests should be made by calling DART at 515-283-8100 with as much advance notice as possible. For more information, call DART at 515-283-8100 or e-mail dart@ridedart.com.