The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) is starting a pair of initiatives to get rider feedback.

Starting this week, DART will have representatives on all its routes, counting where people get on and off. Representatives will also hand out surveys for riders to fill out, checking where they originate their trip before getting on the bus and where the final destination is after getting off the bus.

“That will give us a better idea of where and how people are utilizing the service,” said Elizabeth Presutti, chief development officer at DART.

The long-term focus of the surveys is to allow the bus service to work with the Des Moines Area Metro Planning Organization (MPO) to help create a travel model in the city for the next couple of decades.

Part of that will be looking at which routes are most used, and how those routes could be changed or better utilized for faster bus service.

“It will assist the MPO in creating a travel model that has a transit component so that when they’re modeling other road projects, what is the level of investment?” Presutti said. “If you have a certain level of investment of transit, what would that do to your road network?”

That study is expected to be completed in the next year.

DART is also participating in a contest as part of a nationwide effort by the American Public Transportation Association, inviting the public to say what public transit means for their lives.

Riders can submit a “Tell Your Transit Story” in the form of a three-minute video or 1,000-word essay. DART encourages participants to focus their stories on one of four topics: economy, environment, energy independence and quality of life.

Entries can be e-mailed to dart@ridedart.com or mailed to 1100 DART Way, Des Moines, IA 50309, and labeled as “Tell Your Transit Story.” The first-place winner in each category will receive an iPod Nano, and the grand prize winner will receive an iPod Touch.