As you may recall, DART is planning to apply for a $20 million dollar federal grant for the capital improvements associated with the Ingersoll/University proposed BRT route. As part of our requirements for that application, DART needs to find a $5 million local match. There was a possibility of receiving $2 million in local match from the state legislature.

In budget negotiations this past weekend, that funding was removed from the budget and there’s no longer any reasonable hope for its restoration, at least not this year.

So far, between the City of Des Moines, Polk County, Nationwide and several other companies, DART had already raised about 30% of the total. The money from the State of Iowa would have got us to our goal more quickly.

The project is not dead, just delayed. DART still has plenty of support for the project and BRT is still a goal for us. And in the meantime, we have a lot of groundwork to lay and documentation to gather for the FTA Very Small Starts grant application. So we’re still marching in that direction, we just won’t be able to file the grant as soon as we thought.

The DART Commission is still supportive of the idea and we’ll redouble our efforts to raise the local match. It’s a great project with a ton of benefits for the citizens of Des Moines and employers to boot. So, stay tuned and we will let you know what happens. Or, follow the local coverage in the news for the most recent updates. Here’s a recent blog post in the Register.

Thanks to all of you DART supporters out there who came to public meetings to support the idea. We’re still committed to making Bus Rapid Transit a reality in Greater Des Moines.

DART is certainly proud of its own progress being made in downtown Des Moines: Construction on DART Central Station is in full swing and it is expected to open on time in late 2012.

But what do you think of downtown Des Moines as a whole? Is it clean? Safe? What do you do here? Do you live here, work here, play here, or all of the above?

That’s what Operation Downtown wants to know. Take a minute to complete the following survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/OD2011Survey.

No Internet? Call it in between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 515-286-4943.  The survey is open throughout December 2011.

Fill out the survey for civic duty. The final product — basically, a report card on downtown — will be used to identify ways of making downtown even better.

Or do it for selfish reasons. Participants have a chance to win an iPad2. Good luck!

Your editor,

Gunnar Olson

A couple weeks back The Bus Blog mentioned a new boss with a renewed emphasis on telling DART’s many stories. That would be Claire Celsi, the new Director of Marketing and Community Partnerships, and this week we hear her own story courtesy of the following video by the Des Moines Business Record. Click here for an extended Q&A with Claire.

Good news. We learned this week that DART will be able to purchase five new hybrid buses, thanks to a $1.125 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. DART was poised to replace five aging buses in its fleet with newer, more efficient diesel buses. With the additional funding, however, DART can replace them with hybrids instead.

Sharing rides on any bus is better than everyone driving themselves individually, and that’s doubly true when the buses are hybrids.

Here’s the full press release:

$1.125 Million Grant Helps Buy Five New Hybrid Buses

 Five aging buses serving the public in Greater Des Moines will be replaced with hybrids – not diesels – thanks to a $1.125 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s Clean Fuels Grant Program that was announced this week.

 The new hybrid buses will replace five 1998-model diesel buses that were due to be replaced with newer diesel buses. The additional funding allows the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority to replace the buses with hybrid buses instead. The upgrade to hybrid buses is estimated to cut carbon emissions by 75 percent and save approximately $2,800 annually in fuel costs for each bus. DART currently has one hybrid bus in its fleet.

 “Greater Des Moines has experienced tremendous growth in the last 10 years – and public transportation will play an increasingly important role in that growth in the future,” Senator Tom Harkin said. “These five new hybrid buses will make DART service even more successful by reducing noise pollution and improving air quality all the while, serving as traveling billboards for the promotion of green initiatives in our state.”

 “The new hybrid buses are a testament to the forward-thinking vision of DART and Greater Des Moines,” said Congressman Tom Latham, chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee.  “I’m proud to support this effort to replace aging buses with hybrids that run cleaner and smarter.  I stand ready to work with DART in any way I can as it continues to update its bus fleet.”

 “I applaud DART’s efforts for securing this award which will put more efficient buses in operation throughout Des Moines,” said Congressman Leonard Boswell, senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. “This is both great for the service options of our residents and for our environment.”

 “This grant provides a great opportunity to choose a hybrid bus as your preferred transportation,” said Angela Connolly, Polk County Supervisor and Chair of the DART Commission.  “Sharing rides through the DART transit system further benefits the ongoing sustainability of our community.”

A quick shout out from The Bus Blog to the Transit Riders Advisory Committee, made up of 13 especially dedicated DART riders. Every other month the TRAC members come together for a meeting with DART staff. They listen to presentations, give feedback, and make suggestions for improving DART.

They act as representatives of the ridership at large, not only from local and express routes and paratransit in Greater Des Moines, but also from the wider central Iowa region covered by DART’s RideShare program. They do a top-notch job of looking our for the interests of all riders. Today was the latest meeting, and it was abundantly clear that they care deeply about improving public transit service in Greater Des Moines and beyond.

Many thanks and a job well done, TRAC members.

Two cool new ridership programs got the green light from the DART Commission earlier this week:

• Reduced-fare program for students
• Reduced-fare program for refugees

A challenge for you the next time you ride DART: Grab your camera and take your best shot.

DART is holding a Community Photo Contest and is calling for submissions. Click here for contest rules.

Do it to show your love for DART. Or do it for a chance to win a $150 Visa card. Either way. We won’t discriminate.

We want photos of showing DART out in the many communities it serves. Not just in the metro, but many miles beyond if you’re a RideShare vanpool customers. We want photos of customers, stops, buses, vans — anything and everything that illustrates DART as a vital thread in the community fabric.

Bit of inspiration from DART’s collection:

Can you do better? Just keep  the photos clean and we won’t have any problems. Email your best photos to dart@ridedart.com or mail them to 1100 DART Way, Des Moines, IA 50309.

Good luck!

– Gunnar

As you know, there’s much to tell, with all of the projects in the works including new facilities, new technologies, and a whole new transit network. But as much as there is to tell about us, I want to hear and share more stories about you, the riders. This is your transit system, after all.

Do you have any story ideas? Maybe an interesting rider with an cool story, or some topic about using DART that you’d like to see covered. Are there any operators you’d like to know more about?

Please send your ideas to thebusblog@ridedart.com

Yours,

Gunnar Olson

If you’re like me you’ve been dying to see some action on the site of the new DART Central Station, the new transit center that will replace the Walnut Street Transit Mall. Unfortunately for onlookers, most of the work to date has been behind the scenes, including the environmental abatement of lead paint and asbestos in the old building.

Last week, crews with the Weitz Company began securing the site with fencing so that demolition can begin later this month. Your editor had the opportunity to stop by the site this week and snap a few pictures. Nothing dramatic, just evidence that work is in fact getting underway. There will be plenty more updates in the future so check back here. As of this date, the project remains on track to be complete in fall 2012.

This video landed in The Bus Blog’s inbox over the weekend and it’s definitely worth checking out. It emphasizes the need for a network of transportation options, not just one or two.