Grimes has signed a contract with HIRTA Public Transit to begin providing service to residents after the city’s contract with the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority expires in June.

The Grimes City Council approved the agreement with HIRTA on March 25. The council voted in November 2023 to withdraw from DART.

Whitney Tucker, marketing and communications manager for Grimes, said in an interview the city will pay HIRTA $75,000 a year, about one-tenth of what the city paid to belong to DART. The city decided to withdraw from DART, claiming the high cost outweighed the small number of riders from Grimes.

Tucker said an estimated 13 Grimes residents used DART in 2023. DART provided 3,500 trips per year in Grimes, which Tucker said averaged about $180 a trip.

According to the HIRTA website, it provides public transit service to Boone, Dallas, Madison, Marion, Story and Warren counties. It operates five days a week in all the counties. In Ames, it also provides service on weekends.

It was formed in 1981 under a 28E agreement with its partner counties in Central Iowa, and provides service to all residents, regardless of age, ability or income level, the website states.

The ability of HIRTA to provide paratransit services was a factor in Grimes’ decision to enter into an agreement with the agency, Tucker said.

“It’s very important to our community to still have an option, especially for residents with disabilities,” she said. “That’s how HIRTA came into the conversation on what they could do to help our residents because providing accessible transit options is essential to make sure all our residents have access to reliable transportation.”

Tucker said Grimes is partnering with the Grimes Volunteer Support Services, a group of about 70 volunteers who help transport more than 210 elderly or disabled Grimes residents to medical appointments, shopping, the library or social events.

The contract with HIRTA is ongoing and will renew each year if neither party gives notice to terminate the agreement, she said.

Tucker said HIRTA is a direct pickup service and will not run fixed routes through the city. 

Riders can schedule service in advance with HIRTA through an app, by email or with a phone call, she said.

HIRTA will be connecting current DART users to help coordinate service to meet their needs. 

“They will be reaching out in order to make it a smooth transition, and they are also offering travel training so people have hands-on experience to be able to get adjusted to a new service,” Tucker said.

She said some details of what the service will look like are still being worked out. 

Brooke Ramsey, business manager for HIRTA, said in an email that the agency provides door-to-door service, picking up people at their location and dropping them off at a destination. It offers same-day on-demand service and service scheduled in advance.

“We’ll provide service within Grimes and for Grimes residents who are needing to get into other parts of the metro as well,” she said.

Grimes’ departure from DART comes as the transit agency undertakes a network redesign to better meet the evolving needs of the region and address some of the financial challenges it faces.

Last fall, several DART member communities agreed to work together to redesign public transit and remain members of the agency. That followed a letter sent by seven suburban communities who gave a Dec. 1 deadline for the city of Des Moines to commit to requirements of a new governance structure and funding formula that was approved by DART members in 2021 to make the representation and funding more equitable.

Pleasant Hill also previously gave its notice to withdraw from DART, beginning in June 2026.

In Grimes, Tucker said the city is “excited to work with HIRTA to bring this service to our residents.”

“It’s important to provide this option, and we’re looking forward to working together,” she said.