DES MOINES, Iowa — DART has released its Reimagine Draft Bus Network, the first major redesign of services in more than a decade. DART is proposing to cut more than half of its routes, taking it from 27 routes to 10. 

DART provides 3.75 million rides a year, almost 60 percent of those are for people going to or from work, which was a focus when coming up with a new system. They wanted to serve those who are using DART, which they say aren’t necessarily the 9-to-5 workers, but more so the retail and service workers. 

In the new system, buses would pass more frequently, adding more 15-minute wait times. A goal for DART was to speed up a ride length. So instead of stops every 1-2 blocks, they’d be 3-4 blocks. 

A huge part of this was also budget, and to help with that, service hours would be reduced by 10 percent. 

Operational hours would be slightly reduced to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. 

The redesign would help decrease the budget slightly from $45 million a year to $43.7 million. 

“I feel like we are bringing forward something that is based on what we heard from the public and our member communities,” DART CEO Amanda Wanke said. “It really focuses our service on those key corridors and that frequent all-day weekend service that is important to our community. I’m really proud of the team for being able to come up with a plan that increases access even while having fewer service hours to work with. So, we’re trying to deliver the best possible service with the resources we have.”

Before the draft came out, DART sought feedback from the public, and now that it’s out, they want more. 

Matthew Shankles is a DART rider and member of the Transit Riders Advisor Committee. 

“I come from downtown Des Moines all the way to outlets of Des Moines every single day, so I ride an entire line basically, and that can be a 45-minute commute. I think the ridership can increase through making these faster,” Shankles said. “It’s a really big deal for anybody, not just myself or the people on track, to be able to put in their input to the actual people who are making the network.”

DART says the new network, for the average resident, would be able to reach 21 percent more jobs within 45 minutes compared to the existing system. 

They are encouraging people to visit their website to look at the draft maps and take the survey with feedback. There will also be several public events in September where they want input. 

DART hopes to have an approved plan by the end of the year with the new system starting in Summer 2026.