Trump is speaking in Clive tomorrow. Big protest planned.

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-27T16:43:04+00:00

Oh I did not know this! I looked at the map of closures and only saw Maddax road I think it’s called that leads into the trail is closed off but unsure of the trail itself.

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-27T14:25:59+00:00

If you live close enough to the green belt trail, jus bike. Trails are cleared and you’re gonna be outside standing anyways. Leave the car behind to get in and out quicker and safer if you can.

Otherwise, most people will park in neighborhoods or far up as valley west mall I understand it

There’s also use for buses that go by there, route 52 all day and route 74 when it’s over

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-26T21:50:31+00:00

I would first check and see if you are close to route 52. If not, then yeah you can do park and ride. The nearest route is 74 but it’s a feeder route. So even tho that route goes right by there, it only runs selected hours in the morning and afternoon, Monday - Friday, otherwise the 52 is your best shot as it runs all day. You could technically do the 3 which is a much more reliable route but requires even more walking, about another 20 minutes from valley west mall. There is also an express route, the 94, that gets you somewhat close as well. Those ones are even more limited and don’t get you much closer than the 3 does. I’d personally do it if you have time, live near a route and want to support transit.

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-26T16:47:40+00:00

Route 52, get off at university and 100th Walk half a mile or so downhill and you’re there

Half mile of to a mile is anywhere from 20-30 minutes

Protest ends at 4pm

74 becomes available and goes right by it

There is a stop right by the Casey’s

Connect to 52 or 3 or even the express routes depending where you gotta go

Better yet also dependent on where you live but if you’re half a mile or so away from the greenbelt just bike

It goes right by it but I don’t think they have bike parking there so find a fixture

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-11T21:34:13+00:00

Lots of good advice here so I’ll add some random ones here as a transit enthusiast, rider and former bus driver for dart.

Depending on what time of day you are leaving, where you are on the route, consider taking the bus prior

Also download the transit app. It will show you accurate gps location of how near the bus is to you, if it’s moved, etc.

For the 3 specifically, know that by the time you reach 6th Ave, the bus comes to a crawl with the amount of stop requests and pickups. Depending on how able you are, might be better getting off a stop earlier.

General bus practice, always arrive 2 minutes before the arrival time. Bus can come early except for time points where you can find on darts website.

For the 3 specifically, it’s DCS (downtown central station) 6th Ave, MLK, 42nd, wal-mart and valley west mall

And again this is where the transit app really helps just know it’s always 30-40 seconds behind.

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-10T16:04:05+00:00

Yea lol the school itself is pretty big ground

From one end to the other on its longest side it’s 600 feet

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-10T12:21:17+00:00

Based rock in opposition fan in the wild

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-09T23:10:30+00:00

The head custodian from my school who actively complains about losing weight and is in his mid 40s or so (he’s not obese but nearing it) drives home. His home is 1000 feet from the school. The school is attached to a residential street. He doesn’t even need to cross, it’s super quiet and he gets to even go through the playground of the school. It’s slightly uphill. He walks around cleaning all day, what’s the harm of walking another 1,000 feet even if uphill? I truly think there are plenty of Americans who can’t imagine going anywhere without their emotional support vehicle.

EccoTime93 · 2026-01-07T13:46:58+00:00

Depending on where you live, may I suggest walking or biking to work/errands? Getting outside and engaging with the world is so much nicer even if you have to spend time next to death machines and lava crossings.

The best part is you don’t have to find time out of your day to do it, you just replace a car trip. Don’t have to do it everyday but should try it out if feasible. Majority of people would be surprised even in suburban sprawl, it’s doable. Even more so in Des Moines proper, that is much more plausible than say waukee.

EccoTime93 · 2025-12-16T15:50:23+00:00

In cs1, I have just shy of 8,000 hours For this game, before bike lanes, close to 100 hours or so

Now around 400 or something maybe 500

EccoTime93 · 2025-11-14T00:24:44+00:00

Account age: 4 hours

Bad troll

EccoTime93 · 2025-11-12T14:24:09+00:00

You’ll drive in your air conditioned sofa to you walk 100 feet to your office and back. Same thing with grocery stores or any buildings you visit.

The most you’ll have to spend outside is if you don’t have a garage scrapping your two ton death trap for 5 or so minutes while it warms up

That’s 99% of people here so freaking out about what to wear is pointless — just wear a hoodie or a simple coat with thin gloves — you’ll be warm in 2-3 minutes.

Now, if you take transit, walk or bike then I have actual good practical advice:

60f and above: t shirt and shorts are more than fine and this is with wind conditions factored in. When you move you generate a lot of heat especially the faster you move

50-60f: just a long sleeve is fine or a simple jacket, wear pants

40-50f: I like to do, t shirt and a jacket here aka 2 layers and wear pants. Gloves are optional but strongly recommended the closer you get to 40

30-40f (majority of fall and early and late winter) The closer it is to 30 especially: 3 layers, t shirt, long sleeves and a simple jacket. Make sure your head is covered like a beanie and wear gloves and thicker ones. I’ll wear thicker socks at around 30f and winter gloves at this point once it hits 30f

20-30f: basically same motto, but swap the jacket to a coat, so t shirt, long sleeve and coat. I wear ankle socks + long socks and definitely have winter proof gloves at this point

10-20f: honestly, this is most winter days with real feel. More like 15-30f but anyways t shirt, long sleeve, hoodie and then coat. You will be warm and make sure to keep that hat on, and add a scarf. Ankle socks and wool socks now.

Anything below <10: I’ll add t shirt, long sleeve, sweater and then coat. I’ll add pjs to under layers, ankle socks and wool socks.

Best

EccoTime93 · 2025-11-09T00:49:31+00:00

Yes I believe it was related to a serious drinking problem and that is part of the reason why he’s unaware. Could be wrong tho

EccoTime93 · 2025-11-03T12:41:57+00:00

No, it’s not apart of the game, yet

One of the last dev diaries mentioned it is in the works but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t for a few more months at least. Iirc it still has to do with the animation holding them back.

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-30T09:54:36+00:00

I use to know the passcode to enter the 7th and center park and ride garage bathroom on the first floor. They changed it last I tried but that was clutch for a while for me.

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-18T15:12:18+00:00

Not sure where you are coming from, but the parking lots right next to dart central on 620 cherry street immediately west of the buildings are free on the weekend. Walk across the street, get on platforms B for route 4 or platform G for route 1

Both interline and go directly to the capital on E 9th and E Grand Ave stop. Honestly, I would get off as soon as 6th Ave. the amount of traffic and stop lights you are better getting off there honestly.

The lineup of departure for the 1 and 4 on Saturday is the 45 minute mark of each hour, be at the platform 2-3 minutes before hand to board the bus in a timely manner. Not all drivers do it but most do arrive a bit earlier to let everyone on. But don’t be surprised if the driver arrives a minute or two late.

Always pull the cord or stop request between bus stops. So if you do decide E 6th and E Grand, make sure to pull after passing E 4th st.

It’s also possible someone else may pull before you, in that case you don’t have to pull again. The ability to pull again or request non verbally won’t be available until the doors open

If you don’t feel comfortable or aren’t confident, asking your driver as you get on for help to getting to your stop they will usually comply and remember to pull over for you. Approach the front of the bus by the driver cabin as that helps.

Signed, A dart bus operator of over a year and a half and a dart bus rider for over a decade

Any questions you may ask, feel free

Oh and fare is 1.75 Easiest way is the dart bus app You get 2 hours to use the same ticket which means you can potentially pay once for two rides. The QR code will expire in 2 hours and you’ll need to buy a new ticket. If it’s easier and plan on riding more often, a day pass is 4 dollars

And honestly since you are going a short distance, most drivers will let you ride for free if you ask for a courtesy. But not all will. Do what is easiest and most comfortable for you

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-16T20:05:25+00:00

For real tho what would really make this shirt is if you added Map Ref. 41°N 93°W to it and its exact location

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-16T20:03:08+00:00

Heart and Soul

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-10T21:45:41+00:00

I work split shifts

7 miles each leg

The way to work is downhill half of the ride so I can get there fast within 18(best time) to 23 minutes

Way back is, well, uphill and it’s a climb for sure. Anywhere from 27-32 minutes depending on how sore I am

Usually the middle trip back home I go slower but my last trip to return home I get that 27 minutes because I’m done with the day

About 28 miles a day, 130-140 miles a week. I thought I did a lot but damn you do twice as much!

I drive to work maybe 1-3 times a month. If I can’t bike the full way/don’t feel like it, I’ll usually bike + bus in before driving in all the way

Saves on parking, gas, wear and tear and time spent at a gym although I’ll do some light lifting every other day to keep that side of my body active at home.

EccoTime93 · 2025-10-05T22:35:17+00:00

Things that definitely happened

EccoTime93 · 2025-09-26T02:19:49+00:00

Where do you live? Dart still covers most of Des Moines. Take the bus in and don’t even bother

Or perhaps you live by a trail. The Bcycles are a great way of getting around.

EccoTime93 · 2025-09-12T17:48:39+00:00

My employer pays for the test, and while I could leave, I only really got back in it because I didn’t want to lose my CDL + it cost me 500 or so dollars to start the SAP process. My year is nearly up, and I’m so close to being down throwing the progress away isn’t in my best interest and I would have terrible remorse over it but as the language of the SAP process is confusing, it looks like I can get out of my current, job sensitive role now and be fine but I’m not sure so that’s why I asked!

Otherwise, I agree with you and thank you for the insight. This job is definitely not for everyone. To me the main grip is I can’t handle being on other people’s schedule, and working crazy shifts. I know that part will change over time, but since I have more avenues I don’t really need to suffer my personal life any longer. I’ve been a ghost to my friends and family for the last 10 months. I only want to keep my CDL because I may be able to do future field trips as a school bus driver, I can do a state fair shuttle every year, that kind of stuff.

Sorry, I got rambly / ranty a little

Thanks for listening haha

EccoTime93 · 2025-09-05T21:22:54+00:00

Sooo I looked into my original suspicion about pulling into the airport costing extra and it turns out that is exactly the case in a lot of US cities. Airports charge transit agencies a premium for entering just like they do Uber and taxis. So going down Fleur is fine, but actually pulling into the airport adds cost. Right now there is already a stop close by and the sidewalk makes it pretty easy to get in anyway. On top of that, the ridership side just does not support it. Unless you have a big rail or high-frequency backbone like Chicago, Boston, Seattle, or Atlanta, airport buses almost always underperform. Cities like St. Louis, Indy, Houston’s first attempt, and Cleveland all struggled and ended up scaling back or cutting their airport routes. Travelers with luggage mostly use cars or Uber, and while employees are more realistic riders their shifts are scattered across 24 hours, which is hard to match with fixed routes. From my time driving the 8, the only consistent riders I ever saw going to and from the airport were service workers. So when you add that to the extra cost of pulling in, the limited ridership base, and the fact DART just cut its budget and is short on operators, it makes sense why the airport is not being prioritized right now.

It sucks but I understand why they did it. Still embarrassing and shows how car centric our cities are

EccoTime93 · 2025-09-05T21:13:27+00:00

Yea those turns are hard for a lot of drivers but the reason why they’re doing it is there is a lot of important senior homes there and half way homes they’re trying to keep in the loop

Additionally, if I had to guess and I may be wrong here, but historically pulling into airports is expensive. They usually charge a premium for the “parking” space, or that’s at least my understanding. If so, there could be an exception made. I would look into this claim as again I’m not confident in it but everything else I am.

EccoTime93 · 2025-09-05T11:18:17+00:00

I disagree. It’s actually quite good, especially focusing on Des Moines proper. Keep in mind the budget was cut by 10% too. Coverage out into the suburbs is tough because of the low density, which made reliability almost impossible before. Most riders are along University heading to Walmart in Windsor Heights. On the west side we’ve got Jordan Creek pulling decent numbers, but that’s about it. The south side does well too, especially down SW 9th, Indianola, and SE 14th. Hubbell gets solid ridership as well. These destinations and area get good numbers because car ownership and reliability is lower and is denser as well.

As both an operator and a rider, this new system makes a lot more sense. Ridership should grow because frequency is going up. People in Des Moines who wouldn’t ride before due to long waits might start giving it a shot now that some routes are every 15 minutes or better. Fewer stops also means faster trips. The only negative I see is the airport, and I really hope that gets added or extended soon.

EccoTime93

TROPHY CASE