Iowa Transportation Commission approves funding for public transit programs

AMES, Iowa – Dec. 8, 2009 – The Iowa Transportation Commission today approved funding for projects from four discretionary public transit funding programs.

Public Transit Infrastructure Grant Program
This grant program provides assistance to Iowa’s public transit systems for new or improved facilities to support their public transit services. The Commission approved funding for seven projects totaling $1,818,443. Of that amount, $1.25 million is from I-JOBS – an $830 million, three-year initiative of the Culver/Judge Administration intended to create jobs, strengthen the state’s economy and invest in Iowa’s infrastructure. 

The following transit systems received funding from the Public Transit Infrastructure Program.

• Coralville Transit
• Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority
• Ottumwa Transit Authority and Region 15’s 10-15 Regional Transit System for a joint project (based in Ottumwa)
• Region 2’s North Iowa Area Council of Governments (based in Mason City)
• Region 5’s MIDAS Transit System (based in Fort Dodge)
• Region 9’s River Bend Transit (based in Davenport)
• Region 16’s Southeast Iowa Regional Bus (based in Burlington)

Job Access/Reverse Commute
This program is a federal program to help support open-to-the-public transit services designed to assist low-income persons in accessing jobs, training and child care services. The Commission approved the following five projects totaling $243,077.

• Dubuque’s Keyline Transit
• Region 3’s RIDES Regional Transit Authority (based in Spencer)
• Region 5’s MIDAS Transit System (based in Fort Dodge)
• Region 8’s Regional Transit Authority (based in Dubuque)
• Region 12’s Western Iowa Transit System (based in Carroll)

New Freedom
This program is a federal program to help support open-to-the public transit services designed around the needs of persons with disabilities and providing services that go beyond the levels required under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Commission awarded a total of $353,161 to the following five projects from four transit systems and one statewide project. 

• Fort Dodge’s DART system
• Region 3’s RIDES Regional Transit Authority (based in Spencer)
• Region 5’s MIDAS Transit System (based in Fort Dodge)
• Region 8’s Regional Transit Authority (based in Dubuque)
• A statewide project to assist rural transit systems throughout Iowa establish mobility manager programs

Intercity Bus Assistance
A federal program to help support scheduled intercity bus services. The Commission approved 21 individual intercity bus projects from five applicants, for a total of $2,155,613. 

• Royal Charters of Le Mars (new participant), which will begin scheduled intercity service on two routes in northwest Iowa in 2010
• Burlington Trailways
• Jefferson Lines
• Greyhound
• DART of Fort Dodge

For more information about the overall I-JOBS initiative, visit ijobsiowa.gov; or learn more about transportation-specific investments by visiting the Iowa Department of Transportation’s I-JOBS Web site.

 listing of the individual projects and funding amounts is available on the Iowa DOT’s Office of Public Transit’s Web site www.iatransit.com. For additional information, contact Peter Hallock in the Office of Public Transit at peter.hallock@dot.iowa.gov or 515-239-1765.

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