Frequency is freedom: Fund DART bus service, then envision the future

Alec Davis
·3 min read
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Save the Bus.

We are at a critical juncture for public transportation in central Iowa, and the time to act is now.

The issue at hand is simple, DART (Des Moines Area Regional Transit) needs more funding, or it will have to enact service cuts. And these are not insignificant cuts: The worst-case scenario would call for 40% of all service to be eliminated in the city of Des Moines.

Frequent and reliable service is the number one request from transit riders across the country. Frequency is freedom for riders, and the potential service cuts would mean wait and travel times for our non-drivers to get to jobs and appointments would often double, or worse.

Public transportation is a public good, and one that we should be investing more in, just like we do with our roads and our airport. It unlocks job opportunities for those who cannot or choose not to own a personal vehicle, and it allows them to strive for a quality of life similar to what we provide for drivers in our community.

More: Keep DART going with a higher Des Moines franchise fee

The issue is a revenue one, not one of uncontrolled costs. Our public transportation system in Des Moines is funded primarily through property taxes, a source that 1) is capped by the Legislature, and 2) has not kept up with inflation.

The potential solutions are much more complex than can be explained in a single letter, but the city of Des Moines now has a new funding mechanism, a 2.5% franchise fee on utility bills, to help meet its obligation to fund DART operations. City leaders have also expressed the possibility of using additional existing funds for DART.

As DART faces a potential death spiral of ridership due to service cuts, the first step towards saving and improving our public transportation network must come from the leaders of the city of Des Moines to help stave off impending cuts.

And yes, we want all communities in the Des Moines metro to invest more in DART, many of whom are very willing to do so. But our suburban network is outdated and designed for a pre-pandemic commuting base that no longer exists. DART needs time to redesign this network and envision a future where they can serve a growing need for transit outside of the city core as well.

More: Public transit through DART can work, if we let it. DART can even work in Ankeny.

We call first on our leaders in Des Moines to fund DART’s existing service levels, to give DART a lifeline to envision a future with more service, not less. We also call on all member communities of the DART commission to revisit the funding formula and look within their community to see the true value that public transportation provides. And finally, we call on our legislators and governor to provide more funding sources for regional transportation in Iowa, as relying so heavily on property taxes is a model rarely seen in the US, and for good reason.

With these reforms in mind, we can be a community for everyone.

Wherever you live in central Iowa, talk to your city councilor, your mayor, your state rep, your state senator, your governor.

Tell them to save the bus.

Alec Davis, founder of Momentum DSM, a nonpartisan political action committee that advocates for more funding for public transportation and redesigning streets to make them safer and more accessible, stands for a photo on a bus at DART central station on Dec. 5, 2023.
Alec Davis, founder of Momentum DSM, a nonpartisan political action committee that advocates for more funding for public transportation and redesigning streets to make them safer and more accessible, stands for a photo on a bus at DART central station on Dec. 5, 2023.

Alec Davis is the founder and chair of Momentum DSM, an urbanism action committee working to build a Des Moines that is accessible, livable, and sustainable for all.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Frequency is freedom: Fund DART, then envision the future