Johnson County communities look into $90 million Bus Rapid Transit system on CRANDIC line

IOWA CITY — A $90 million Bus Rapid Transit line along the CRANDIC route connecting Penn Street in North Liberty to Burlington Street in Iowa City is the latest proposal as Greater Iowa City communities look toward future regional public transit opportunities.

The recently completed Bus Rapid Transit feasibility study, which was authorized by the Iowa City Council last fall, calls for removing the existing Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway train tracks, paving over them and adding adjacent bike trails.

At this time, no entity has made an official decision about whether to pursue a Bus Rapid Transit line.

The study is the most recent in a series of five studies completed over the last 10 years looking at the potential for regional public transit along the 27-mile CRANDIC freight line. The specific area between Penn Street in North Liberty and Burlington Street in Iowa City is about nine miles.

In addition to those studies, Johnson County communities also are considering the possibility of using the CRANDIC line for battery powered passenger trains.

There has not been passenger service on the railroad since 1953.

Potential route connects North Liberty to Iowa City

The proposed $90 million in capital costs that it would take to launch a Bus Rapid Transit line is subject to change based on factors such as number of buses, stops, securing the right of way on CRANDIC tracks and other amenities such as bike racks or stop shelters.

In addition to the capital costs, there would likely be around $2 million in annual operating costs, which also is dependent on factors such as hours of service and number of terminals.

Bus rapid transit is a high-capacity system designed to deliver fast and efficient service that may include dedicated bus lanes, busways, traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, elevated platforms and new stations, according to the Federal Transit Administration.

Because it contains features similar to a light rail or subway system, bus rapid transit often is considered more reliable, convenient and faster than regular bus service, according to federal transit officials.

The proposed schedule calls for 30-minute weekday service between 5-6 a.m., 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The schedule would have 15-minute weekday service during the peak hours of 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.

Weekend schedules would include 30 minute service from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.

It’s estimated that ridership on the line could be around 4,300 and could reach more than 5,000 daily commuters by 2045 based on projections using Simplified Trips on Software, an application from the Federal Transit Administration used to forecast ridership.

Options for potential grant funding

The consulting firms involved in the study — Nelson Nygaard and Felsburg Holt & Ullevig — recommended the entities look into different state and federal grant opportunities to fund the development.

In order to be eligible for some grants, the transit service must offer weekend service. The firms recommend both Coralville and Iowa City transit look into expanding into Sunday service to provide access to Bus Rapid Transit stops, which they estimate would cost at least $500,000 a year.

Additionally, the firms recommend the existing transit agencies look into aligning their stops with the Bus Rapid Transit stops.

Next steps

Iowa City, North Liberty, Coralville, Johnson County, the University of Iowa and the Municipal Planning Organization of Johnson County all contributed to paying for the $250,000 feasibility study.

Implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit line or any other form of public transit on the CRANDIC line would likely need the entities to collaborate once again.

Exactly how that collaboration could occur still is to be determined. The groups also would need to work with CRANDIC to secure the right of way on the tracks.

“I think at some point it's got to get out of the MPO board's hands, just because we're not a group that can actually make that decision. It really is going to boil down to city management. City management's got to work with individual councils to try and figure out what's best for their community,” Kent Ralston, executive director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County, said at an MPOJC meeting last week.

Tom Barton contributed to this report

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