Iowa City approves SEATS contract

IOWA CITY – The City Council Tuesday night approved a contract for a public transit service for the elderly and disabled that includes cutting Sunday service and discounted fares.

However, council members have directed staff to search for alternatives to eliminating those features, which would end on Sept. 30 under the contract.

The contract is for the SEATS program, which has been a source of controversy between Johnson County and the cities of Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty in recent months.

The county's Board of Supervisors still must agree to the contract, but supervisors earlier this month said that while some of them do not agree with cutting Sunday service and half fares for qualifying individuals, it ultimately was up to the cities to decide that.