Hub Tower is getting a cool upgrade to its elevator system that’s designed to move passengers to their floors more quickly and efficiently. I experienced the new “destination dispatch” system during a recent visit to the downtown building for an interview. 

Rather than simply pushing an up or down button and waiting for the next available car, users select the floor they need before getting on using a touch screen, and the system tells them which car to use. The new system is part of an upgrade of the building by its owner, EMC Insurance. 

“The building is almost 98 percent occupied, and we have a lot of bodies to move around,” the building manager, Cindy McCauley, told me. Particularly during the morning rush, the system helps to more efficiently group riders by floor to minimize stops and waiting time. The system even “learns” the patterns of the building’s users over time to maximize efficiency, she said. It’s admittedly a bit different as a user, since there are no floor buttons inside the elevator. 

EMC partnered with Otis Elevator for the smart system; a local representative with Otis confirmed it is the first such system the company has installed in Greater Des Moines, although they’ve been used for years in larger cities. 

Four of Hub Tower’s six elevators have been upgraded to the new system so far, and all six should be done by the end of August, McCauley said. The only downside I see: Entrepreneurs will have to really speed up those elevator pitches.