Public Transit in Ankeny is in for Some Changes

Ankeny residents could be seeing a lot more buses in town should a plan to improve area public transportation be approved.

Increased service frequency and routes through Ankeny are among several proposed changes in a plan released July 18 by the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority.  The proposal calls for a completely redesigned transit system to serve the growing population in the greater Des Moines area.

“(DART) is really looking at providing good and dependable service to Ankeny,” said Ankeny Mayor Steven Van Oort during Monday night’s city council meeting. Van Oort also is a member of the DART Commission. “I think Ankeny will fare well in these changes.”

DART officials held an informational meeting for residents at the in Ankeny Monday night. The meeting was one of nine to be held this week in the greater Des Moines area. About a dozen Ankeny residents attended.

In September 2010, DART researched what commuters would want if given the option to improve existing public transportation. Data checkers were placed on buses and riders were asked to complete a survey, said Elizabeth Presutti, general manager of DART.

DART Forward 2035 was the plan created from this research. It focuses mainly on implementing services that will be efficient and better used by residents, Presutti said. 

Changes will be implemented in three phases – near-term, mid-term and long-term. Near-term changes will occur between the years 2012 and 2015.

The biggest change Ankeny residents will notice during first stage of the redesign, Presutti said, is increased frequency of the Ankeny Express bus.

The route – which currently runs 10 trips between Ankeny and downtown Des Moines during peak morning and afternoon hours – will now run all day for a total of 30 trips. Presutti said the number of peak trips will increase in addition to hourly trips throughout the day.

“In the out years, we will look to increase frequency by potentially adding night and weekend service for that connection as well,” Presutti said.

DART also plans to increase the amount of in-town transit to allow residents to get from place to place within Ankeny.

Ankeny residents may start seeing these changes by as early as next summer.

For Ankeny commuters who connect with other routes in downtown Des Moines, the first phase of DART’s plan also will lessen travel time on connecting routes running to other areas of the city.

“We’re trying to stay out of the neighborhoods and get people to their destinations faster,” Presutti said.

Exact schedules for new services have not yet been developed, Presutti said.

The mid-term and long-term phases of the plan will continue increasing frequency as well as create a network in Des Moines to avoid downtown transfers. Beyond the year 2020, DART may also consider adding Express routes to and from cities such as Ames, Indianola and Waukee.

Once all public meetings have been held, plans will be taken to the DART Commission this fall for approval.

“We are very excited about this,” Presutti said. “These changes are long overdue.”