Feeding Futures

Fighting food insecurity with innovative action. A story series sponsored by Principal® Foundation

DART: Connecting central Iowans to essential resources

Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is a whole lot more than just the bus.

The largest public transit agency in Iowa, DART provides 3.5 million rides a year—or 12,000 rides on a typical weekday—through more than 25 bus routes, paratransit, on-demand, on-call and special service trips across greater Des Moines.

Driving much of the demand are jobs. More than half of DART riders depend on affordable public transportation to get to work, says Sarah Welch, DART’s senior marketing and communication manager. But that’s just one vital spoke in the DART wheelhouse. The agency also connects the community with essential resources like food (think grocery shopping) and health care. Local employers, higher education and even economic development projects are on board, leveraging access to public transit as a workforce, housing and business development strategy.

West Des Moines resident Todd Kilzer, who faces health and mobility challenges due to diabetes, is one of many individuals who rely on DART to get where they need to go. “All of my appointments are centered around DART transportation,” Kilzer says. “With dialysis on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and other medical appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I literally use DART Paratransit services every day. It means everything to me.” 

As DART helps central Iowans remain healthy, productive and independent today, it’s also looking to the future with Reimagine DART, a collaborative effort to redesign the entire transit network to meet the community’s evolving needs. “Public transit is a public service—just like libraries, parks and roads,” Welch says. “DART will always strive to connect central Iowans to the places that allow them to participate and thrive in our communities.”