NEWS

North Liberty considers bus service for some residents

Stephen Gruber-Miller
sgrubermil@dmreg.com

North Liberty is hoping to implement a city bus service as soon as this year.

On Tuesday night the city council discussed options for implementing an intra-city transit system targeted toward residents who would otherwise be unable to travel to meet basic needs like buying groceries or going to the doctor.

The city's Transit Advisory Committee presented plans for the city to contract with the Johnson County SEATS department, which provides transit for senior citizens and people with disabilities, to hire a 14-person bus to travel a fixed route in North Liberty.

"It’s a big issue for people that are transportation burdened, that can’t get around. It’s just a big piece of a lot of puzzles, of affordable housing, food insecurity, education inequity," said North Liberty Mayor Amy Nielsen.

The recommendation, which the council approved unanimously, calls for the service to operate four hours a day in the middle of the day at a cost of $1 to travel the route. Riders could also call to request a ride and pay $2 to be picked up from any location in North Liberty.

Contracting with SEATS, which stands for Special needs and Elderly Assisted Transportation system, will cut down on startup costs and minimize ongoing expenses, according to Amy Johnson, who chairs the advisory committee. The project has been allocated a $50,000 starting budget.

"Contract service is really a great option to start, especially if we’re trying to determine how successful it will be," she said.

A potential route proposed by the committee would be about 40 minutes in length and serve business areas and high density residential areas in North Liberty. Council members asked Johnson whether it would be possible to collect rider information to streamline the route, and she said the committee hopes to work with SEATS to see what would be most effective.

Johnson said the service will need to be well-advertised to attract riders, and if it proves to be a success the city may want to purchase an additional bus.

Nielsen stressed that the project isn't intended to be a way for people to get to work every day, calling it a baby step to help people who have trouble getting around.

"We want to make sure that the people that don’t have access to regular transportation can get all their needs met. And then we’ll work on making it bigger," she said.

Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan, who was at the meeting, said the county is excited about the possibility of partnering with North Liberty, although a formal contract has not been drawn up.

"SEATS Director Tom Brase has emailed the board just to let them know that the conversation was taking place and that he thought it was very doable, but we haven’t had any formal discussion," he said.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him at @sgrubermiller.