North Liberty plans to end transit contract with Coralville next summer

NORTH LIBERTY — North Liberty will not renew its contract with the City of Coralville for its fixed route transit service, often referred to as the “big blue bus,” next summer.

The city council still needs to formally vote on the matter, but has indicated a desire to end the service, effective July 1 2026, due to low ridership and a strategic plan goal to move to more on-demand transit.

The current contract with Coralville, which costs around $100,000 per year, provides bus service from North Liberty to Coralville and Iowa City twice a day every weekday. The route picks up passengers in North Liberty around 6:30 a.m. and returns around 6 p.m. the same day.

Initial reports from city staff have said the bus, which cost $1 per ride, routinely averages only about nine or 10 passengers per day.

“It's market demand that drives service. And we've shown consistently that the demand just isn't there for the cost. ... I think we should have been out of this contract a while ago. ...But it really is a math problem at this point, and it's just not sustainable,” said council member Brent Smith.

Even though the city plans to eliminate the bus service, staff have already begun exploring other transit options to fill that void come next July. However, a plan has not yet been finalized.

“I'm not interested in pulling the fixed route without having something there for them, at least as a gap here, until buying us some more time to kind of figure out maybe even more expansive service. But I feel confident in my conversations. ...that we can come up with something that's maybe more affordable than the city of Coralville bus and more to be able to definitely serve these 10 folks consistently,” North Liberty Special Projects Coordinator Angie McConville said at the city council meeting.

While the city is pivoting from the “big blue bus” it still hopes to continue to work with other area governments and agencies to expand transit system access in and out of North Liberty.

“This is not about fixed route transit being bad in any way. I just want to make clear that it certainly has a place we may not be able to support it with two times a day that are maybe not convenient for a lot of people, but I think it will have a place in North Liberty in the future,” said council member Erek Sittig.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com

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