Greyhound adds daily Des Moines bus routes to St. Louis and Indianapolis with federal grant support

New Midwest intercity service begins with one round trip per day

Greyhound has started two new daily intercity bus routes from Des Moines, Iowa, creating direct connections to St. Louis and Indianapolis. Each route operates once per day in each direction, seven days a week, expanding scheduled transportation options for travelers moving between Iowa and major Midwestern metro areas.

The new service also adds intermediate stops in several Iowa communities along the corridors. Stops listed for the new routes include Monroe, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Burlington and Mount Pleasant, bringing scheduled intercity service to towns that can have limited alternatives for longer-distance travel.

How the routes are funded and why that matters

The routes are supported through a federal intercity bus assistance framework administered at the state level. In Iowa, that program can be used to help cover operating deficits—defined as the gap between operating costs and ticket revenue—rather than paying for service entirely through fares.

For the current year of operation, the combined state-administered grant support associated with the two routes is up to $551,000, split between the Indianapolis route (up to $186,100) and the St. Louis route (up to $364,700). The program structure is designed to share costs: operating assistance for eligible projects is limited to no more than 50% of net operating costs, meaning the remaining share must be covered through a mix of fare revenue and other matching funds.

Operating assistance under the federal rural transit framework generally may not exceed 50% of net operating costs for a project.

What riders can expect: schedules, pricing, and station details

Greyhound’s own route information indicates the Des Moines–Indianapolis service is advertised as one trip per day, with an average travel time of about 11 hours and 20 minutes and an average distance of roughly 523 miles. Greyhound lists Des Moines boarding at 1641 E. Euclid Ave. Ticket prices vary by timing and demand, and early listings around the launch week showed some one-way fares starting near $52 on the new routes, with higher prices also visible depending on date and inventory.

Uncertainty beyond the first year

The continuation of the new routes is tied to annual funding and performance review cycles. The grant support requires recurring applications, and the service’s long-term durability will likely depend on whether passenger demand and revenues narrow the operating deficit enough to sustain the required non-federal share.

• Two new daily routes link Des Moines directly with St. Louis and Indianapolis.
• Service includes intermediate Iowa stops such as Ottumwa, Burlington and Mount Pleasant.
• Up to $551,000 in grant support is tied to the first-year operating deficits, subject to program rules and renewal.