Express bus service taking shape in Corridor

CEDAR RAPIDS - Express bus service between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City is slated to start in the summer of 2017 and to be called Iowa Creative Corridor Ride Connect, Brandon Whyte, a planner with the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, told the group's Executive Committee on Wednesday.

Whyte was reporting on the latest meeting on Aug. 28 of the Corridor Commuter Transportation Steering Committee.

Whyte said the emerging bus plan still hasn't settled on an exact route, but he said it is apt to include stops in downtown Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, perhaps Coralville, the University of Iowa medical campus and downtown Iowa City.

He said the thought is a round-trip ride would cost a customer $7.

Under different estimated scenarios, the number of daily riders in one direction could range from 430 to 280, Whyte said.

He said the time to get from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City would take between 45 and 52 minutes with buses running every 30 minutes during times of operation.

The Steering Committee also is discussing ride sharing and subscription van pooling in the Corridor.