DART Commission Meeting 04/22/2008 - Part 2

This post is about money, political and economic power, and public transit service. It includes information from the April 22, 2008, meeting of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Commission; comparison information from other sources, and personal observations. The writing of the post has been delayed by a few weeks but it is important for it to be finished now. On May 14, 2008, the DART Commission will hold a daytime meeting to hear from city managers and other officials in its region regarding the formula used to calculate each municipality’s financial responsibility to the DART budget.

DART evolved from the Metropolitan Transit Authority at the end of 2006 as recognition of the reality that transportation services were being provided beyond the core Des Moines metropolitan area. Although, the routes were (and are) still heavily targeted towards downtown Des Moines. The old formula calculated how many miles a bus traveled in a city and how many passengers were on the bus. This calculation included buses that merely passed through an area without stopping. With the express bus service from Waukee to Des Moines that was to have started this year, Urbandale officials were concerned that they would be charged for that service even though it made no stops in Urbandale. Similarly, people commuting from Ankeny to Des Moines were charged to the Des Moines contribution even though the consequences were that the property taxes and jobs from those commuters benefitted Ankeny, not Des Moines residents.

At the April DART meeting, General Manager Brad Miller cited numbers he said came from the Ankeny school district. The city’s average age is 32 and the population is 37,000. In two-parent homes, there are 5,000 stay-at-parents but 13,000 parents commute to jobs in Des Moines each day. Miller also gave a presentation that showed possible financial consequences for DART and for commuters if certain communities were to withdraw from DART. Commissioner Steve Van Oort clarified that ridership from Ankeny is up 27% and that “we’re in folks,” meaning that Ankeny was not going to pull out. However, Van Oort represents a district that includes other communities that are re-considering the direction of DART.

Commissioners seemed to be in consensus that the original reworking of the formula from the miles-and-passenger calculation to a more general population-based formula. Commissioner Bob Parks talked about the need to “continue stirring until we get the lumps out” of the formula. Commissioner Angela Connelly, a Polk County supervisor, said, “I have changed my mind on what we did a couple months ago,” indicating the need to revise the funding calculations used. Miller noted that while the base charge was more equal, the actual amount paid by a community would be impacted by the value of housing. Des Moines’ contribution has been subsidized by revenue from city-owned parking garages.

Miller is interested in keeping ridership up because the federal government gives $0.13 per rider to transit agencies. That also explains so much emphasis on the Unlimited Access program. If communities start pulling out of DART and regular routes need to be shortened or eliminated, that would also have an impact upon the Des Moines Public Schools, Miller said. The school district uses DART routes to help transport students to and from school and if those fixed routes disappeared, then the school district would need to spend more for transportation.

At the April DART meeting, it was estimated that the 90th van pool would start operating in May 2008. The monthly System Performance Report Summary for March 2008 showed an increase in ridership from March 2007, except that weekend passengers were fewer in 2008. In addition, approximately 10,000 fewer miles were shown as being operated. Given the fact that Sunday service existed in 2008 but not in 2007, this is interesting. When I asked Miller after the April meeting why there was such a drop, he didn’t have an explanation. I have noticed during May weekend bus trips that ridership seems to continue to be down. This raises questions about people not having money to spend and possibly staying home, but it also raises concerns that DART staff may start questioning the need for weekend service, if the trend continues. These statistics go to the heart of the purpose of DART. Is it to bring out-of-town residents to downtown Des Moines for jobs or is it to serve as a full-life alternative to reduce all of the pollution and financial strain of automobiles?

Even as DART faces the challenge of immediate financial contributions, other political entities are looking at long-term funding. Senate File 2420 requires the state’s Department of Transportation to study public transit funding. The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking funding to study rapid transit options.

M.R. Field writes about public transportation for AroundDesMoines.com. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend the May 14th DART Commission meeting.