The city of Des Moines has agreed to give $315,000 to the cash-strapped D-Line free shuttle service this year and next year after the transit agency agreed to add Saturday service.

The Des Moines City Council approved the pact last week, hoping the shuttle will help people get around downtown while many street parking places are blocked for construction, said Amanda Wanke, chief engagement and communications officer for DART.

The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority commission is expected to vote on the agreement Tuesday.

The D-Line will switch part of its route to Walnut Street when the bridge closes.

The Saturday D-Line service will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Aug. 27. The cost of the Saturday service is  $115,000, which is included the city’s overall payment of $315,000.

Weekday service will remain 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Prior to the Des Moines action, all three original supporters of the D-Line — Des Moines, the state and the Downtown Community Alliance — all had stopped paying for D-Line operations, Wanke said. That left the service without $360,000 in funding.

Wanke said DART continues to look for long-term support for the D-Line.

The future of the D-Line has been in doubt for more than a year after the Downtown Community Alliance would not provide operating support anymore. DCA officials noted that DART now uses the D-Line as a central part of its bus network, feeding other routes, and suggested DART should look for help from its member communities and other sources.

The line has continued to operate.

The D-Line carries just under 200,000 passengers a year, with an operating budget of $600,000.