Des Moines quietly hired an expert to study DART; critics say the firm could profit from it

A new Des Moines-led study on the bus system has come under fire from community members who argue the city secretly approved a murky contract that could stifle DART's ability to expand.

For months, Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority's Board of Commissioners has been planning a study to explore how to make the bus system more effective and financially sustainable metrowide. The effort, coined Reimagine DART, comes as the agency barrels toward an estimated $6.7 million shortfall by fiscal year 2027 should it not find a viable, long-term solution to sustain its operations.

Amid the discussions, Des Moines by itself hired Via Transportation , a New York-based transportation consultant and tech firm, to create a city-focused transit strategy that includes options for microstransit.

Microtransit ― also called on-demand transit ― allows a rider to request a pickup through an app and be shuttled to their destination in a multi-passenger vehicle like a car, van or small bus. The company, which started in 2012 and specializes in microtransit, already provides the technology to run this service in Ankeny .

The city's $35,000 contract with Via, approved without a Des Moines City Council vote on April 19, has since drawn ire from community members who argue the decision lacks transparency and reflects DART's deterioration.

A DART commissioner also said the study undermines the commission's goal to find a joint solution ― and could be a conflict of interest as Via stands to profit should it propose expanding its own microtransit services in the metro.

"They can either be a microtransit provider or they can be a transportation consultant," said Urbandale City Council member and DART commissioner Bridget Carberry Montgomery. "They can't do both of those."

Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen and other city leaders have pushed back, saying they feel a sense of urgency to find solutions to provide better service to riders.

"To me, there's an urgency to find out what we can do and if there's mechanisms in place to provide better transit for our citizens," Boesen said.

The study will take approximately four months to complete, according to the contract.

What's the background on DART's financial troubles?

DART is in a precarious financial situation and needs to find new solutions for funding the system.

Primarily funded through property taxes, it faces an estimated $4.7 million deficit in fiscal year 2027 should Des Moines not increase its share of funding, and an additional $2 million gap due to DART's expenses outpacing property tax revenue.

This funding is based on a formula developed in 2021 that considers the population and level of service in 11 cities and Polk County. It's being phased in to lessen the immediate blow to city budgets. Des Moines uses about 74% of the system's services, and the city is eventually expected to fund nearly half of what participating communities pay.

While the city already hit the maximum of what it can levy through property taxes for transit, Iowa lawmakers in 2023 granted it another funding source: Increase a tax on gas and electric bills called a franchise fee.

Des Moines instead opted to give $1.5 million to DART in fiscal year 2025 and another $2 million in fiscal year 2026. City leaders previously said that while voting to increase the fee is not off the table, there may not be an "appetite" from the City Council to approve it.

What will the Via study of DART look at?

The Via study will look for ways to add on-demand service in "hard-to-serve areas" and connections to fixed-route buses, according to the firm's proposal. It also will focus on the fixed-route network to provide "direct, frequent, high-quality service along denser corridors."

"By finding more efficient ways to provide service across different transit modes and geographies, the City hopes to find better ROI for DART’s transit budget," the proposal states.

The study will piggyback off of a 2022 Transit Optimization Study , which looked into what types of services best address specific needs in the region. According to its website , Via has provided services to more than 750 cities and transit agencies, including Wilson, North Carolina, where it helped switch the city from a fixed-route system to an on-demand one.

In a statement to the Register, Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders reaffirmed the city's commitment to equitably supporting DART, but said that also must come with "bold" reform to the system.

"It’s important that we continue planning together to ensure an improved and financially sustainable operation for the future," Sanders wrote. "Given significant additional funding is being requested, the City wants the Council to be well educated on public transit options."

According to the proposal, the first steps include gathering data on where there is significant demand for transit in the city and looking at the existing DART network to identify gaps in the system and where it could benefit from on-demand transit.

In addition, up to five interviews with stakeholders will be conducted to gather anecdotes from DART user experiences. The city has not yet disclosed who those stakeholders will be.

Via's proposal also says it will develop its own "regional service concept" with a focus on Des Moines, and run simulations of possible service models.

Criticisms of Via study include lack of transparency, potential conflict of interest

Some of the sharpest criticism of the Via study comes from Carberry Montgomery, who during a budget meeting in April said the study seemed contradictory to the board's desire to research how to overhaul the system for the entire region.

Carberry Montgomery told the Register that she questions the city's expectations once Via reports its findings, especially given that the company already provides on-demand transit for DART.

"I don't want to be put in the position where Des Moines expects the DART commission to just implement what the study says when we had nothing to do with it," she said. "Obviously, we have no problem with Via providing us services," which it already does for on-demand riders.

She also questioned how Des Moines could pay for the study when it previously claimed it had insufficient funds to raise its contributions to DART. She said Des Moines should have told the rest of the suburbs that participate in DART about the study before approving it.

At the meeting, Boesen said the study came because Des Moines heard "loud and clear" that it was responsible for much of the shortfall. She said the City Council wanted to have a better grasp on how it could provide services with the amount of money it's being asked to fork over. She also said $35,000 is minuscule.

"We are just trying to understand our route system better. We're trying to educate a council that doesn't understand why, quite honestly, the DART system, why we're always upside down ― and that even with the 2.5% franchise fee in five years we're going to be still facing an issue," Boesen said in response to Carberry Montgomery.

Boesen later reiterated to the Register that she sees the study as a complement to the board's larger effort. The solution will include both microtransit and fixed-route solutions, she added, "not one or the other."

"At the end of the day, the goal is to provide a better transportation system to our citizens," Boesen said.

Since it was signed, dozens of community members, some of whom have come forward during City Council meetings over the last several weeks, have demanded the city rescind the contract. Many view the study as a back-door effort to shrink and privatize DART.

"I wanted everyone to understand and be clear here that this study was commissioned behind closed doors so the public wouldn't know about it," Jake Grobe said during the May 20 City Council meeting. "The act in itself ... is an admission by you, actually, that you're going to privatize DART and start cutting services. You want DART to die."

Grobe argued that the city needs a fully funded and expanded bus system and that ridership grows when the system provides service around the clock.

Some critics opposed to the Israel-Hamas War also were quick to point out the Via co-founders' connection to the Israeli military, as reported by Forbes .

"We condemn the undemocratic backroom deal to plan the privatization of DART with those who stand to profit from it," said Elizabeth Leas, who spoke at the June 3 council meeting. "We demand that the City Council of Des Moines drop the contract with Via, expand DART bus service, and end the silence and call for a ceasefire" in Gaza.

For its part, DART CEO Amanda Wanke said the city shared the scope of Via's proposed work, and DART looks forward to reviewing the findings. DART has yet to hire a consultant for its study.

As for how it might play into the agency's future, Wanke said: "The DART Commission and staff are committed to taking a regional look at our entire system over the next 18 months to find consensus in funding and service levels and the types of services we provide for all member communities."

Can Des Moines hire a consultant without council approval?

According to city of Des Moines code, the city manager can sign contracts up to $100,000 without City Council approval.

In his statement, Sanders called it a practice that allows the city to operate efficiently.

In January 2023, the City Council voted to amend the ordinance to raise the threshold from $50,000 to $100,000 .

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines quietly hired an expert to study DART; critics say the firm could profit from it