116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa City Transit ridership increases 30 percent during fare free pilot program
Fare Free pilot program set to end later this summer
Mar. 12, 2025 5:39 pm, Updated: Mar. 13, 2025 7:47 am
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IOWA CITY — Iowa City Transit ridership increased 30 percent, about 388,700 rides, from 2023 to 2024 in the first full calendar year of the city’s fare free transit program.
The city launched a two-year fare free pilot program in August 2023 to encourage people to use public transit and as part of the city’s climate action goals. Members of the city council have indicated they’d like to continue the program beyond the pilot that will end this summer.
Iowa City Transit had around 1.26 million rides in 2023 and around 1.65 million in 2024.
Ridership increase by route
Only two of the city’s 13 routes — 3-Eastside Loop and 4-Downtown Shuttle — did not experience increases in ridership. Both routes had decreases in ridership of 14.3 and 16.1 percent, respectively. City staff attribute the low ridership to street repair projects that impacted both routes throughout 2024.
Ridership changes by route are as follows:
- 1- South Iowa City increased by 35.4 percent, or 58,842 rides
- 2- Court Street increased by 43 percent, or 48,172 rides
- 5- Lower Muscatine/Kirkwood increased by 39.8 percent, or 61,860 rides
- 6- Peninsula increased 26.5 percent, or 6,349 rides
- 7-North Dodge increased by 34.4 percent, or 11,145 rides
- 8-Oakcrest increased 33 percent, or 68,211 rides
- 9-Towncrest increased 41.6 percent, or 50,676 rides
- 10-West Iowa City increased 38.6 percent, or 60,628 rides
- 11-Rochester increased 5.5 percent, or 3,127 rides
- 12-Highway 1 increased 38.4 percent, or 29,996 rides
- 13- South Gilbert increased 53.6 percent, or 9,601 rides
Transportation staff have previously told city council that they’d like to explore the possibility of rider surveys and other data collection measures to get a full data set by stop.
Franchise fee increase proposed to continue fare free transit
The pilot program, set to end later this year, costs around $1 million a year and has been funded through federal pandemic relief aid. The city council has expressed its intention to continue the program beyond the pilot.
City staff have proposed a 1 percent gas and electric franchise fee increase in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, estimated to provide the city with an additional $1 million each year to support fare free transit.
The first public hearing on the budget is scheduled for April 1, followed by a final public hearing and council vote April 15.
Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com
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