Carrie Kruse

It’s been a full year since I made the decision to trade in my four wheels for the dream of owning a Specialized Turbo Vado 6.0.

It was only five years earlier that I became the proud new owner of a massive car loan and this beaut:

This Inifinti was best car I ever owned, but I found biking and riding the bus to be a far better and less stressful experience than driving.

This revelation kicked off what later became my “practice year” of not owning a personal vehicle. The practice year went great so by fall of 2017 I decided to officially trade in the car and pay a visit to my friends at Kyle’s Bikes to order the dream bike!

The crew at Kyle’s Bikes in Ankeny is incredible. They got my bike ordered and were super nice every time I called them like a kid on Christmas asking if the bike was in yet.

They even sent me a selfie the day the bike arrived at the shop:

After a full year of the bike and bus life, I can confidently say that I do not regret getting rid of my car. I am saving at least $650 a month between the monthly depreciation on my previous ride, insurance, registration fees, fuel, repairs and maintenance expenses.

Another perk, my commute went from looking something like this:

To this:

Peaceful trails, dream bike, sunrises, coffee, and music is how I prefer to kick off the day. ❤️🚲🚌🚲

As an avid transit rider in Des Moines, I felt compelled to share my experiences riding DART and to challenge others to discover their love for riding DART throughout #DSMUSA.

For the past two years I have relied on DART to get me to and from work, however, when it came to after hours and weekend activities, I found myself automatically looking to my Uber app to get me around.

I have discovered that most of the time I was using Uber, I could have hopped on a DART bus (and for a much smaller fee or no fee if your employer provides an unlimited access bus pass) to reach my destinations.

Don’t get me wrong, Uber is awesome and very convenient when needed, but if you live near any of the local or express routes, I highly recommend you take advantage of this.

Recently, my husband and I found ourselves at the end of Day 1 at the 80/35 music festival looking for a quick way to get us and our bicycles home when it dawned on me, we could simply take DART home!

With DART, we were able to take our bikes home with us:

The first reason I love Riding DART is because the upgraded technology makes it super easy to ride DART:

1. Download the MyDART app.

2. Click on the Store icon and purchase a pass:

Here in the MyDART app, you can see how simple, affordable and convenient riding DART is. A one way pass for a local route will cost you $1.75. If your employer provides you with an unlimited access pass, simply show your pass/employer ID to your driver and that’s it.

3. Find a seat and enjoy the ride.

We would have spent at least $20 on an Uber ride home this night, or about an hour biking home versus the 15-minute bus ride and 2-3 minute bike ride from the bus stop.

Other reasons I love DART:

- The drivers are amazing

- The busses are well maintained and clean

- Free WiFi

- I feel safe riding DART

- I save a ton of money riding the bus (parking, gas, vehicle fees, insurance.. etc)

- Have I mentioned that a year ago I sold my car?

- I get more exercise walking to and from bus stops

- The technology/MyDart app makes riding the bus super easy

- I’ve had the privilege of meeting and getting to know some of my neighbors riding the bus

- I can catch up on my work emails every morning while I’m riding the bus

- I get to relax and listen to music on my commute home from work (while many of you are stuck focusing on driving in traffic)

- As previously identified, I can take my bike on my bus route (huge benefit)

A call to action:

I initially made the effort to start taking the bus because I knew that I was “part of the problem.” Many people that I talk to claim they would ride the bus if the service was more frequent, if there were more routes, and if they had extended hours. Ridership helps in that equation.

So what comes first? Stronger ridership or more frequent and extended service? Well good news, Des Moines! DART is rolling out more frequent service, additional routes and extended hours!

So, the next time you reach for your phone to hail an Uber, do the region a favor and check the MyDart app to see if you can catch a DART bus to your destination instead. We must be a region that supports transit if we want the robust transit system many of us desire.