March 28, 2024

HIRTA rides free until April 30

Fare free transportation provided to those with critical appointments or need essential services

Transportation services provided by Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) will be free of charge to passengers in the central region of the state until the end of the month, the organization announced Tuesday.

HIRTA provides rides to citizens in seven counties including Jasper, Boone, Dallas, Madison, Marion, Story and Warren. Even though several businesses may be closed to mitigate spread of COVID-19, HIRTA recognizes people still need transportation to critical appointments or essential services.

Free fare HIRTA services will be available April 8-30.

The intention is not to increase ridership but merely for safety purposes, the organization noted in a press release. To comply with public health officials’ wishes to keep the population self-quarantined when possible, HIRTA requests passengers only use for service for essential or critical needs

HIRTA also asks riders to be mindful of drivers and other passengers whenever possible by sitting further away and keeping a safe distance from others. Passengers are asked to keep mouths and noses covered — with a either a mask or scarf — while riding the bus. Do not touch drivers or other passengers, either.

If riders have a mobility device, HIRTA requests they turn away from the driver and do not speak to them while they are securing the device.

The organization is committed to maintaining its normal operations, HIRTA Executive Director Julia Castillo said, to ensure residents can depend on its services as a reliable transportation option during unreliable times. HIRTA is also ensuring the safety of both drives and passengers.

“CDC guidelines encourage everyone to stay home, only leaving for essential services,” Castillo said. “HIRTA will continue to help our communities access the services they need.”

Last month, HIRTA responded to what Jasper County Supervisor Doug Cupples, who serves on the organization’s board, described as a “financial crunch” by reducing some of its transportation services. That action was not properly notified to providers and families, resulting in about 43 people not receiving services. Those affected were primarily long distance passengers.

HIRTA has been battling financial hurdles for some time. Brooke Ramsey, the business development manager of HIRTA, said significant changes were needed in order to keep the doors open and buses moving through the end of fiscal year 2020. At this point, there’s no more room for budget cuts, Ramsey said.

As such, the organization wanted its changes to impact the smallest number of people possible. Ramsey said less than 1 percent of the people HIRTA provides services to were ultimately affected by this change. Still, it did provide an inconvenience to at least four out-of-town individuals in Jasper County.

Shannon Minshall, executive director of Park Centre, told the Jasper County Board of Supervisors the way the situation was handled “created a hardship.”

Despite its prior financial struggles, Castillo said HIRTA’s funding situation is on hold in order to address community needs. Making the fare free rides safe for both drivers and passengers, she added, is a to priority.

“Right now, the money issue is off the table and we’re just trying to do what we need to be good stewards of the community and for the protection of everybody involved,” Castillo said.

The federal government, too, will be providing emergency funds for public transit systems, like HIRTA, to help them through this period of time when ridership is low.

Castillo confirmed HIRTA has experienced lower volumes of riders, which she said is to be expected when places like Progress Industries and Willowbrook Adult Day Center are closed to the public.

“That really cut into the ridership,” she said. “We are still out there getting people mainly to work, medical appointments, dialysis or the grocery store. We’ve really asked people to adhere to what the CDC is saying, as well as what our governor is saying — only go out for essential, critical services.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at
641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or
cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com