DES MOINES, Iowa — Two months after the mayors of multiple suburban cities threatened to withdraw from their agreement with DART if the City of Des Moines did not agree to a new funding formula by Dec. 1, the cities have now decided to work together.
The suburbs had been frustrated with the amount they were paying relative to Des Moines.
According to Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART), Des Moines funds 36% of the total amount of property taxes collected, but is using over 70% of the services. That leaves eight suburban cities to pay over 60% of the bill while using under 30% of the services.
The suburban cities in question include West Des Moines, Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Clive, Johnston, Urbandale and Windsor Heights.
Over the next 18 months, these cities are planning to "redesign the system."
"I guess I regret that we've been fighting for so long and tried to figure this out," West Des Moines mayor and DART chair, Russ Trimble, told Local 5 News on Monday. "We all want the same thing, we all care about the region, communities, our riders, our DART staff, and that's really why we're coming together."
Trimble added that DART will continue to operate under the previously agreed upon phase-in of the funding formula that was adopted unanimously in 2021 to better align costs and benefit for all member communities.
"Is there a better way of doing it?" Trimble said, looking ahead to figuring out how to reimagine public transit in the metro over the next 18 months. "Can we partner with Uber and Lyft in doing some micro-transit? Are there different routes we need to provide service for?"
Trimble added that under the re-agreed-to funding formula, suburban members pay 50% based on population and 50% on service received.
DART provides 3.2 million rides per year, and about 60% of those rides take people to their jobs.
"DART is not going away," Trimble assured. "We are going to work together to figure out the best possible system that we can."
The City of Grimes told Local 5 News that DART is still serving the city for the remainder of its contract. However, once that ends, it's looking at alternative para-transit option like the City of Pleasant Hill.