In many larger cities, commuting by bus or public transit is quite common. But in Des Moines, IA, most commuters still choose to drive to work and park in company lots. There are many reasons behind this; namely the planning involved in catching the bus to and from work and the pressure to have $1.25 in pocket change at all times. Employers in Des Moines like Principal Financial Group, ING and Allied/Nationwide Insurance,have introduced a program where employee ID cards also serve as bus passes for DART,the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit system. Principal’s 8,000 employees and any of 1200 ING employees may board any DART bus simply by showing their employee ID card.

This drastic boost in ridership could benefit both employees and DART – employees could get the valuable half hour of “wake up” time the bus provides in the morning, while increased ridership for DART could mean more routes, more drivers and more buses. Although DART and participating Des Moines-area employers aren’t getting too optimistic (they say most will still drive by car), they hope that employee ID badges/bus passes will help increase ridership and decrease the amount of cars on the road.