Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is an American mass transit service that operates in the Greater Des Moines area. It is the largest public transit agency operating in the state of Iowa.

History DART was founded in 1973 as the Des Moines Metropolitan Transit Authority, commonly known as the MTA. Formed by a partnership of the cities of Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive, Windsor Heights, and Urbandale. The MTA eventually developed a 14-county carpool and vanpool system in addition to its bus system.

By 2006, population growth in varying regions of central Iowa led to Polk County and nineteen cities forming a regional transportation agency following changes to Iowa law in 2005.

Sunday service was added for the first time in 2007. In 2008, a free shuttle linked downtown Des Moines with the Iowa State Capitol.

DART has offered a Park & Ride service during the Iowa State Fair since 2006.

Free wifi connectivity began to be offered on all buses in 2018. This was implemented at the same time new fareboxes were installed, which required an internet connection.

DART began a pilot electric bus program in October 2020, starting with seven Proterra Catalyst buses on route 60 (Ingersoll/University). The pilot program was funded by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration, with a local match from MidAmerican Energy. Due to numerous issues with the buses, including suspension and weatherproofing issues, all seven buses were sidelined in fall 2022 shortly before their major manufacturer warranties expired. Despite attempts from Proterra technicians to address the issues, they were never fully resolved, and the buses were retired from the DART fleet in early 2025.

DART is represented by a board of 12 Commissioners, one from each member government it serves. DART serves Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Grimes, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Urbandale, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, and greater Polk County.

In 2023, the system received 10,808 boardings on weekdays, 5,237 on Saturdays, and 3,335 on Sundays

In December 2025, DART announced the first major redesign of the bus route network in over a decade. The redesign, named Reimagine DART, reduced the number of routes from 27 to 11. Peak-only weekday express routes were eliminated, and most routes in the new network operate seven days a week. The new routes prioritize faster and more reliable service, with most routes having 15- to 30-minute intervals. The new network also features three microtransit zones in Altoona, Ankeny, and Clive-Urbandale. The new routes began service on June 14, 2026.

Structure DART utilizes a hub and spoke system, designed to favor commuters, as opposed to a point-to-point system. The network was redesigned in 2012 to utilize the new DART Central Station, which most local and express routes terminate at or pass through. A secondary hub around Valley West Mall connects multiple western routes. A northern crosstown route 50 (Euclid/Douglas Crosstown) was added in 2018.

DART also has on-call routes that operate within specific zones in the Greater Des Moines area.

DART Central Station Located at 620 Cherry Street in downtown Des Moines, DART Central station serves as the primary hub of the DART system. The $21 million bus transfer station opened in November 2012 on the south end of downtown, ending decades of using Walnut Street as a transit mall. DART Central Station has been certified LEED Platinum, the highest certification of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System of the US Green Building Council. The site was selected in part due to proximity of the historic Rock Island Railroad depot, which is hoped to have passenger rail service in the future. It was designed by Substance Architecture, built by Weitz Construction, and contains both a bicycle storage room and a cafe.

Routes DART operates eleven bus routes, most of which originate and terminate at DART Central Station. Cities served include Altoona, Ankeny, Clive, Des Moines, Johnston, Urbandale, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights. The eleven routes, along with their variants, are listed in the table below. №NameNotes2MLK Jr. Pkwy3University Ave3L variant serves Jordan Creek Town Center.3L4CrosstownOperates both clockwise and counterclockwise.5Merle Hay Rd6SE 14th St7SW 9th St8Watrous Ave96th Ave9L variant serves Ankeny.9L11Hubbell Ave12Easton Blvd20Mills Civic Pkwy

Fares and Passes

Fares The following fares are charged on the various services DART operates:Bus Fares ridedart.com/fares. Retrieved September 27, 2023 TypeAdultHalf FareFull Fare TokenHalf Fare TokenChildren 6–10Children 5 and UnderLocal Fares$1.75$0.75Token (10/$17.50)Token (10/$7.50)$0.75FreeExpress Fares$2.00$0.75Token (10/$17.50) + $0.25Token (10/$7.50)$0.75FreeOn Call Fares$3.50$0.752 Tokens (10/$17.50)Token (10/$7.50)$0.75FreeShuttle FaresFree

Unlimited Ride Passes TypePriceHalf Fare PriceWeekly$16.00$7.00Monthly$48.00$24.00Monthly Express Plus$58.00$29.00Day Pass$4.00

Fleet DART's fleet primarily consists of 40-foot heavy-duty transit buses, most of which are manufactured by New Flyer and previously by Orion Bus Industries. There are also a handful of 29-foot Gillig buses that are most commonly used for lower-ridership routes. The fleet also includes various minibuses used for On-Demand and Paratransit services. The current DART fleet can be referenced in the table below.

Fleet number(s)PhotoModel YearManufacturerModelNotes1001-10202010Orion Bus IndustriesOrion VII NG Currently being retired.1023-10272012Orion Bus IndustriesOrion VII EPA10 Currently being retired.1411-14162014New FlyerXD40 Entered service in September–October 2014, replacing six older buses.1607-16332016New FlyerXD40 1610 and 1622 are retired due to various accidents.1701-17062017FreightlinerChampion DefenderM2 Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.1801-18062018FreightlinerChampion DefenderM2 Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.1807-18102018New FlyerXD351811-18132018New FlyerXD401901-19062019FreightlinerChampion DefenderM2 Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.2008-20122020GilligLow Floor Plus 29'2013-20172021New FlyerXD402101-21052021GilligLow Floor Plus 29' 2104 is retired following a fire.2106-21152022New FlyerXD402301-23042023GilligLow Floor Plus 29'2305-23112023RamProMasterFrontrunnerLFXLT Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.2401-24052024RamProMasterFrontrunnerLFXLT Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.2501-25052025RamProMasterFrontrunnerLFXLT Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.2506-25092025GilligLow Floor Plus 29'2510-25192025GilligLow Floor Plus 40'2601-26042026RamProMasterFrontrunnerLFXLT Used for On-Demand and Paratransit service.

Fixed Route Ridership

The ridership and service statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response. Per capita statistics are based on the Des Moines urbanized area as reported in NTD data.

+ Year Ridership Change Ridership per capita20134,185,756 2.24% 9.320144,388,019 4.83% 9.7520154,413,233 0.57% 9.8120164,359,827 1.21% 9.6920174,239,530 2.76% 9.4220184,163,656 1.79% 9.2520194,061,258 2.46% 9.0220202,132,628 47.49% 4.0420212,207,078 3.49% 4.1820222,754,733 24.81% 5.2220233,222,226 16.97% 6.11

Gallery

See also List of bus transit systems in the United States

References

External links Official Site