Des Moines hires New York company to rethink its metro transit future
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The city of Des Moines last month hired a New York-based company to study DART routes and recommend a "multimodal transit vision" for the metro, according to records obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: Via Transportation is behind some of the biggest reforms in recent public transit history across the country.
- The company recently helped Wilson, North Carolina, for example, park all its buses and launch a publicly subsidized on-demand van service, the AP reports.
Catch up fast: DART has for years wrestled with operational costs, warning recently of a possible 40% service reduction if the agency doesn't shore up its finances.
- The regional service is made up of about a dozen metro communities with DSM being the largest.
Yes, but: Most cuts were avoided in the next two fiscal years thanks to a $3.6 million award from the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and extra money contributed by the city.
What they're doing: Via will use DART's recent Transit Optimization Study to identify opportunities to provide coverage in hard to serve areas both through on-demand and fixed route models, according to its contract with the city.
- The review will develop a regional concept "with a focus on the city of DSM."
Context: City Manager Scott Sanders in a December press statement said DART failed to deliver on years of DSM's requests for revised service plans.
- Sanders signed the $35,000 contract with Via on April 19, which Mayor Connie Boesen mentioned at a DART meeting a few days later.
Friction point: Urbandale City Council member and DART board member Bridget Carberry Montgomery voiced concern during that meeting about a "significant conflict of interest" for Via, which already provides on-demand support services to DART and other Iowa transit agencies.
- "So they're going to want to have on-demand service as part of what they give you," Carberry Montgomery said.
The other side: Boesen said the city was trying to be transparent and help find long-term solutions.
Behind the scenes: Carberry Montgomery tells Axios that she would prefer a metro-wide solution rather than one with a focus on one city or area, like the DSM-funded Via study.
The intrigue: DART staff is not directly involved with Via's study but will work with the company to provide information, spokesperson Erin Hockman tells Axios.
- Via completes multiple consultations for cities or transit agencies every month and goes into each project as "transit mode-agnostic," spokesperson Sara-Jessica Dilks tells Axios.
- The goal isn't to cannibalize bus routes but compliment or extend their reach by using on-demand as Via helped cities like St. Louis do, Dilks says.
What's next: Via's work will take about four months to complete.