Dee Zee Manufacturing Offers Free Transit for Employees; DART Extends Route 4 in Northern Des Moines

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority will extend service on the Route 4 further north in Des Moines, including access to Dee Zee Manufacturing’s main plant on NE 58th Avenue and other area employers, effective Sunday, Feb. 4. Beginning the same day, Dee Zee employees will have the opportunity to ride DART buses for free thanks to the company’s investment in DART’s Unlimited Access program.

Dee Zee and DART worked together to extend DART’s Local Route 4 and offer Dee Zee employees rides as the employer looks to fill 75 jobs. Dee Zee currently has more than 1,000 employees between six manufacturing plants in the Des Moines area.

“We must be proactive with recruitment and keeping good employees at a time when unemployment rates are extremely low in Central Iowa,” said Dee Zee’s Talent Acquisition Consultant Corbon Kinney. “By offering free bus rides and closer bus stops, we hope to open a larger applicant pool and make it easier for people to get to work at all of our facilities.”

Kinney says some employees currently walk to Dee Zee’s locations from the nearest DART bus stop, walking distances as long as 1.5 miles. In some cases, job-seekers can’t accept or even apply for positions because they do not have transportation options.

“Transportation is an integral component of our economic vitality,” said DART’s Chief External Affairs Officer Amanda Wanke. “The Dee Zee partnership helps connect people to jobs and allows us to extend service in an area that previously did not have transit access.”

DART’s Unlimited Access program, which allows organizations to pay a set amount for employees or students to ride free by showing a work or school ID. DART has 19 Unlimited Access organizations ranging from large employers, such as Principal Financial Group, to small non-profits like the Des Moines Bicycle Collective.