On Sept. 22 DART begins publishing online the real-time locations of its buses, giving people a greater level of information about bus service in Greater Des Moines. The real-time information is available through three online tools:
- MyDART Trip Planner is an online trip-planning tool, launched in October 2013, which now includes the “Next DART Bus” feature, giving users the estimated arrival and departure times of their buses based on their GPS positions. Available on mobile and desktop devices.
- MyDART Real-Time Map is an online map letting riders monitor buses on route in real time. A color-coding system lets people see if buses are early, late or on time. Additionally, users may select any bus stop on the map to display arrival and departure times for the next three buses. Available on desktop devices only.
- MyDART Alerts is an email-notification program. People can register at ridedart.com with their email address, bus routes or stops, and travel times. Based on their settings, people will receive email alerts five to 15 minutes before their desired trip times with the next three available bus trips. Available on mobile and desktop devices.
DART General Manager Elizabeth Presutti said that, as technology advances, so do people’s expectations for the level of information about their transit service. DART aims to meet these rising demands with the release of real-time information, she said. She noted that this will be the first large-scale test of the new technology and invited public feedback for ongoing improvement.
“With printed maps and schedules, while valuable, people only know where the buses are supposed to be at what time,” Presutti said. “Now they’ll be able to see where the bus is, in real time.
“This is a significant improvement for existing riders, who will have better information with which to plan their days. But it’s also important for attracting potential new riders who are anxious about waiting for a bus at a bus stop, giving them a new degree of confidence that the bus will in fact be there to pick them up.”
The technology advances at DART are part of a larger improvement of public transit service in Greater Des Moines, an effort that includes the opening of DART Central Station in downtown Des Moines and the redesign and expansion of the bus route network throughout the metro area.
