New buses herald start of Charles City Public Transit under new management

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Three shiny new buses went into service Wednesday, delivering Charles City passengers to their destinations.

Now under a subcontracting arrangement with Circle K Communications Inc., Charles City Public Transit has the new buses and a new telephone number — 641-715-1314.

Tammy Elthon, an owner of Circle K, said that Monday was spent training the drivers and others involved with the new system, then starting Wednesday, “We’re picking people up and we’re dropping people off, and so far nobody has cussed me out, so it’s a good day.

“It’s been fun and kind of chaotic today,” she said Wednesday. “I’ve got drivers and we’ve got buses going in and out. These are brand new state-of-the-art buses. They are quite the machines.”

The transit system ran with just two buses in the past, so with three buses now the hope is that the service will be able to offer more rides and more timely rides, Elthon said.

Circle K took over management of the transit system as an independent subcontractor after the city’s contract ran out with the previous managers, Joe and Jolene Hagarty, and they wanted to retire.

Circle K oversees the drivers and handles dispatching, selling tickets and day-to-day oversight. The North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) provides the buses, shares in providing an operating subsidy and does the paperwork with the Department of Transportation.

Elthon said the phone number has changed and the hours of service are slightly different, but the transit system still offers the same door-to-door, on-call transportation service for the same price.

Rides are available 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. All three buses are fully handicapped-accessible.

Previously issued tickets are still good, Elthon said. Fares are still $1 per trip for seniors and disabled, $1.50 for students, and $4 for other adults.

“My biggest concern is we want to be sure the new number gets out there,” Elthon said. “It’s been on a blanket email. But this is elderly people and disabled people, you know, that’s the biggest share of our riders. Those people aren’t social media people sometimes, so we want to be sure the number gets out.”

According to NIACOG, “All services are open to the general public, including commuters, shoppers, students, seniors, persons with disabilities and travelers of all types. … The bus will pick you up at your door and deliver you to your job, medical appointment, meal site, school, bus depot, airport or favorite shopping center.”

Ridership had been dropping in recent years, and Elthon said a goal is to build that back up.

“It’s going to get really busy when school starts. We’ll be taking a lot of children to school and preschoolers from day care. We’ve also taken on the Foster Grandparent Program — that’s also been incorporated into this now and it won’t be a stand-alone. So I’ll be transporting, as of right now, 16 Foster Grandparents as well,” she said.

Elthon said if they can grow ridership they might look at regional service, and there is a possibility of adding a fourth bus under the current contract if the number of riders can justify it.

She said the transit service has hired five full-time drivers and three substitute drivers, and will continue to hire substitutes to have available as needed.