In an attempt to keep its head above water, the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority is asking the Des Moines City Council to approve at least a partial amount of a new funding mechanism to avoid “drastic” cuts to its bus services.
During its monthly meeting this week, DART leaders and commissioners offered a “compromise” that would require the regional bus service to reduce its expenses up to $3 million and ask Des Moines to approve a 1.5% franchise fee, a tax on gas and electric bills, instead of the full 2.5% allocated by Iowa lawmakers in 2023.
DART officials on Wednesday also published survey results and feedback from public meetings held in late 2023 meant to get a pulse on whether community members were in favor of Des Moines providing additional revenue through the franchise fee and how possible service cuts might impact community members.
The state’s only regional transit system, which is primarily funded through property taxes, faces an estimated $2.7 million deficit in fiscal year 2025 if Des Moines doesn’t increase its share of funding, DART officials contend.