Sunday bus service in Iowa City to wait

Iowa City residents will have to wait on Sunday bus service.

The City Council at a work session Monday night said there were too many uncertainties to move ahead with operating buses on Sundays anytime soon. Instead, they ordered a comprehensive study of the public transit system, with Sunday service rolled into that.

Sunday bus service is “very expensive, and I think there are some other gaps that should be filled,” council member Connie Champion said.

More than 900 people signed a petition last spring calling for Sunday service. Supporters said there are many people who would benefit, including people who work or run errands on Sundays and don't own a car.

Chris O'Brien, the city's director of transportation services, said a Sunday service that mirrors Saturdays – nine routes that run 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. – would cost an estimated $350,000 to $400,000 annually.

Using a national study, he estimated that ridership would be about 690 each Sunday, although he acknowledged how many people actually would ride is unknown. Total ridership on Iowa City buses last year was just shy of 1.9 million, O'Brien said.

A group of bus drivers, mechanics and maintenance personnel have said there are more immediate needs than Sunday bus service, like making more frequent stops on busy routes that are prone to falling behind schedule.

O'Brien said his department has discussed providing more frequent service, expanding routes, replacing old buses and building a budget reserve for a new facility – all of which would compete for funds with Sunday service.

Interim City Manager Dale Helling cautioned the council to carefully consider the cost of having buses run on Sundays, saying once Sunday service is in place, it would be very difficult for the council to cut it if money became an issue.

The council said they'd like a top-to-bottom review of the transit system to look at all these issues. They also want to see if Coralville would be interested in adding Sunday buses.

“As much as I want Sunday service, this is really expensive, and I'd like to get the most out of it (the transit system) we can,” council member Mike Wright said.

O'Brien said the goal would be to have the study finished with recommendations ready to be implemented by the start of school next fall.

In the meantime, council members said they'd be interested in exploring whether implementing a system that gives residents vouchers for taxicab rides on Sundays would be more cost effective than Sunday bus service.