IOWA CITY, Iowa (KWWL) - The Iowa City City Council approved 13 new bus routes this week that prioritize frequency and efficiency. The routes were the final result of a two-year transit study aimed at increasing ridership in support of the city's climate goals.
The main appeal of the new routes is there will be less time between busses.
"We heard loud and clear from the public: they want more frequent busses," Transportation Director Darian Nagle-Gamm said.
Under the current structure, six of the 20 routes run hourly during the busiest hours. Each of the new 13 routes will run at least every 30 minutes during peak periods, with two of them running every 15-20 minutes.
Nagle-Gamm admits when you design a new transit grid with the same budget, there have to be some sacrifices. They strived to make every address in Iowa City less than .25 miles away from a bus stop but that wasn't possible in every area.
The routes with the lowest ridership were disbanded and absorbed into new routes. There are now only 13 routes instead of 20. One area where it is now harder to get a bus is the Manville Heights neighborhood, north of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and west of City Park.
"There were greater needs in other parts of town," Nagle-Gamm said.
She points out one reason for the loss of seven routes is they took out areas where they were overlapping with Coralville Transit and University of Iowa Cambus. All Iowa City bus passes will now work on Coralville Transit and Cambus has always been free to the general public.
Other strengths of the new bus program are free rides for people over the age of 65, Medicare recipients, people with disabilities and SEATS cardholders. Youth age 5-18 get 50% off and they are brainstorming a way to offer low-income residents free fares.
"It's a priority of ours and the council indicated Tuesday night it's also a priority of theirs," Nagle-Gamm said.
You will also be able to transfer busses at any stop. Currently, you can only transfer at the transit hub downtown on Washington Street. Eleven of the 13 routes will also run on Saturdays and there will be a pilot program for Sunday service later this year.
Nagle-Gamm knows it will be an adjustment for people but her department received over 4,600 points of public input for this, so she believes people will be on board.
The new routes will start August 2.
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