The “D-Line” is the newest offering in public transportation in greater Des Moines. This service offers a trolley-like vehicle that goes east to west from the capitol building to the Meredith Publishing Corporation and then back again. About 20 or 25 blocks one-way. There’s several trolleys on it, so you never have to wait more than about 10 or 11 minutes to get picked up.
I took the D-line on the first day it was offered. Not a bad deal; but then again, it’s free, so it’s hard to feel gypped, in any event. Gypped. Hey, I just realized that using that term, although somewhat archaic, is probably politically incorrect! It most likely is a cognate of the word “gypsy.” Therefore, one would guess, the use of the word in a pejorative sense would seem to imply a negative association with an entire ethnic group. Whew! That was a mouthful! But, well done…I think I’m ready for the U of I faculty senate!
But, back to the D-line. When I first heard of this shuttle bus and the name they’re calling it, I, with my usual blockhead jock frame of reference to the entire world, couldn’t figure out why DART was calling a bus route the “Defensive Line.” Where was the O-line, I wondered? How about the field goal unit? The special teams? But, then I uncharacteristically went on to read beyond the first paragraph of the news story about it in the Des Moines Register, the daily newspaper, and found that it actually stands for “Downtown Line.” D-line. Downtown Line…get it? Very urban…very edgy…I guess. Anyway, D-line; who cares? It’s harmless enough and it’s not overly cute and/or politically oriented. It could have been called the Obama Line, I guess. That’s probably next, though.
A New Bureaucracy in Town
So, what’s it like, the D-line? Answer: it’s like riding a small bus. Not a life changer, putting it kindly. But, still, it’s not a bad deal. It’s free, it covers the entire loop; east and west and it comes by about every ten minutes. So, you don’t have to wait around too long for it. All pluses. The pickup spots are very clearly marked…you’d have to be Imbecile First Class to miss them. They’re huge copper colored signs with bold red writing and they’re fastened to about every other pole located downtown on Grand and Locust streets. It shouldn’t be a real mystery on where to wait for the D-line, let’s put it that way.
It moves along fine. On the day I was on it, there were quite a few passengers. My wife rode it a couple of days later and she said it was packed. Apparently, DART has identified the correct price-point. Zero. I had to meet a guy at the Temple (Masonic) a couple of days ago; I was thinking about walking up there from the county, but then I said to myself, hey, stupid; take the D-line! It’s FREE, remember? So, I slid over to my old home away from home, the YMCA and picked up the D Line right away and up to the Temple I went. Kind of handy.
But, you have wonder how long DART can keep it up. I like the idea that this free transportation is available, that’s for sure. And, maybe as fuel increases, people will change their transportation behavior. The D-line is a nice step in that direction. It almost made me forget about the open riot that’s brewing on the DART Board. (Unfortunate name, isn’t it?)
Just to cue you in, the legislature allowed a Regional Transit levy in some legislation a couple of years ago. It allowed for a levy to be assessed for regional transportation. Up until then, cities allocated money to help support the our Metropolitan Transit Association (MTA) There’s federal and state money there, too, but a direct levy on the taxpayers is something new. The city has it, the schools, Broadlawns Medical Center and, now, the “MTA”; the newly minted Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority. DART. I know, you’re saying, shouldn’t it be DMARTA? Just shut up. It’s DART, ok?
The idea, and you’ll want to get some professional medical care for your sides because you’re going to split them open laughing at this one; was that the cities would reduce their overall levies as the DART levy took effect because the cities would no longer have to allocate tax money to regional transit. City levy goes down, regional transit levy goes up…even Steven. Everybody’s happy. No tax increase and we have “Regional” transit system. See?
Hilarious, I know. Back here on planet Earth, almost everyone kept their city levies exactly the same; didn’t reduce them by even one red cent, and allowed the regional levy to go into effect. Presto! Tax increase!
How about a free Beamer?
Nonetheless, it was not a big number in anyone’s book so it went largely unnoticed. But, the DART Board wasn’t done. They passed a resolution earlier this year to spread the costs of the regional transit system equally over all the communities. Nice tax decrease for Des Moines, there. A little bit of an increase for West Des Moines, but for virtually everyone else? Woo! Let’s put it this way, if you live in Clive or Johnston, as examples, you’re gonna notice this one.
In Clive’s case, for example, their levy was about 7 cents. So, for an owner of a $200,000 home in Clive (that’d be someone that’s down on their luck in Clive, obviously…like me) the old levy cost you about $70 a year after rollback. Now, the levy is going to .45 cents for all my Clive brethren. So the same $200,000 homeowner is going from $70 per year to about $450. A 542% increase. Not bad if you’re into sobbing uncontrollably.
Now, your first instinct may be to say, well, the City of Clive had better just tighten their belts…I don’t want my house payment going up $35 a month for a service I don’t use! Ah…so naive. This invoice doesn’t get passed on to the City of Clive or any other city…it goes directly to the taxpayer. You! No middle man. Surprise! Happy Birthday!
You know, on a theoretical level, I agree with the regional levy. Everyone should share the costs equally. That seems reasonable. But, when you start drilling down into the actual effects…like a 500% tax increase; well, real life intervenes. In Clive’s case, they have like a dozen people that ride the bus. They’d literally be better off buying those dozen or so people nice used BMWs and fuel for a year than subjecting all their citizens to this tax increase. It would literally be cheaper. But, Clive’s a team player and they are, to their credit, looking for some “middle ground.” So, are many of the other cities. I hope they find it.
Meanwhile, if you’re a Clive resident, like me; use the D-line as much as you can! When you get on the trolley, you don’t have to fork over a dime. You’re doing that already at the first of the month! Use the D-line! It’s free….kind of.
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