DART and the City of Des Moines Partner to Run Free Downtown Shuttle Service on Saturdays

Downtown Des Moines is experiencing an exciting development boom. In order to give businesses, residents and visitors even more options for navigating downtown Des Moines, the City of Des Moines partnered with the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) to extend its free D-Line Shuttle to Saturdays for the next two years beginning Aug. 27. The Des Moines City Council approved funding for the additional D-Line service at its July 25 meeting, and the DART Commission approved the service at an Aug. 2 meeting.

“We’re grateful for the City’s commitment to DART and public transportation,” said DART Commission Chair Steve Van Oort. “Our riders continue to express a desire for more evening and weekend service. As Des Moines continues to grow, offering residents and visitors with multiple forms of transportation will become increasingly important to ensure people can enjoy all Des Moines has to offer.”

“The commercial and residential developments taking place downtown is exciting for our community,” said Des Moines Mayor Cownie. “This additional service will help make public transportation an even more viable, convenient option for our community members and visitors.”

The downtown D-Line currently runs on weekdays in a loop every 10 minutes from the Iowa State Capitol to Western Gateway Park between 6:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.  Beginning Aug. 27, the D-Line will also run on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Running through the heart of downtown, the D-Line provides access to restaurants, shopping and attractions, including Court Avenue and the Iowa Events Center. There are a number of parking options along the route; for more information on public parking spots in downtown Des Moines, visit downtowndesmoines.com/park.

“Extending D-Line services to Saturday will help residents and visitors to navigate downtown attractions more easily,” said Chris LoRang, DC, president of the Historic East Village Neighborhood Association Board of Directors as well as owner and chiropractic physician at Capital Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center. “This becomes especially important as we see a significant increase in residents throughout downtown and a parallel increase in businesses, restaurants, and attractions from the Western Gateway to the East Village.”

A number of efforts are underway to ensure the region, and downtown Des Moines in particular, are accessible through multiple modes of transportation, including DART’s update to its DART Forward 2035 long-range transit services plan, the addition of more bike sharing stations by Des Moines BCycle, and walkability efforts.

In addition, beginning Aug. 21, the D-Line will have a slight detour due to the pending Grand Avenue bridge closure and will turn south on Grand Avenue at East 5th Street to cross the river over Walnut Street.