Cyride

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Cyride

Pictured is bus #975 (left) and #980 (right) #975 is a 2002 Orion Bus Industries V bus #980 is a 1988 Orion Bus Industries I bus
Founded	1976
Headquarters	1700 6th Street Ames, IA 50014
Locale	Ames
Service area	Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University
Service type	Intracity bus service
Routes	12
Fleet	66
Operator	City of Ames Iowa State University
Web site	Official Website

CyRide is a partnership between Iowa State University and Ames, Iowa. Cyride provides public transportation to the community throughout the city of Ames. The word CyRide is a combination of the two words; Cyclone (which is the mascot of the Iowa State Cyclones) and the word ride.

Contents 1 History 2 Routes 3 Fares 4 Additional Services 4.1 Moonlight express 4.2 Dial-A-Ride 5 Future 6 Awards 7 References

[edit] History

From the 1860s until the early 1890 college students were taxied to and from campus by a horse drawn carriage that was operated by brothers, Nichols and Maxwell Livery. The town committee published a report on November 1, 1890 stating that there would be a benefit to create a railroad to replace the current system. ^[1]

On July 4 1892, the rail line, named the dinkey (given by the size of the engine) departed from its barn on the east end of 5th street, for its first 2-mile (3.2 km) trip to the Iowa State University campus.^[2] The dinkey ran on 30 lb/yd (15 kg/m) rail that is small compared to the 136 lb/yd (67 kg/m) rail that is used today. The dinkey had three passenger cars that were often at maximum capacity because of the growing population of the city.

In 1929, the dinkey was replaced by a bus system that transported passengers to and from the Iowa State University.^[3] In 1976 all operating buses were combined and CyRide was started as a city department. In 1981 Bob Bourne was the director of CyRide. He brought CyRide from a 12 bus, 3 route system to a 65 bus, 11 route system in his 25 years of employment at CyRide.^[4]

[edit] Routes

Route Number	Route	Starting Terminal	Ending Terminal	Major Streets traveled
1	Red West [5]	North Grand Mall	Ames Middle School	Mortensen Road, Lincoln Way, Duff Avenue
1	Red East [6]	Ames Middle School	North Grand Mall	Mortensen Road, Lincoln Way, Duff Avenue
2	Green West [7]	North Grand Mall	Ontario St. & California Ave.	Ontario St., Hyland Ave, 6th Street, Grand Avenue
2	Green East [8]	Ontario St. & California Ave.	North Grand Mall	Ontario St., Hyland Ave, 6th Street, Grand Avenue
3	Blue South [9]	North Grand Mall	South Duff & 5th Street	South 4th Steet, Beach Aveanue, Stange Road, 24th Street
3	Blue North [10]	Birch River Apartments	North Grand Mall	South 4th Steet, Beach Aveanue, Stange Road, 24th Street
4	Gray [11]	South East 16th St. & South Dayton	Kildee Hall	Highway 30, South East 16th, Wallace Road
5	Yellow [12]	City Hall	Viola Mea & Ken Maril Rd.	South Duff, Lincoln Way
6	Brown South [13]	North Grand Mall	ISU Research Park	University Blvd, Mortensen Parkway, Welch Aveanue Stange Road, Bloomington Road
6	Brown North [14]	ISU Research Park	North Grand Mall	University Blvd, Mortensen Parkway, Welch Aveanue Stange Road, Bloomington Road
6A	Towers Shuttle [15]	Storm St.	Osborn Dr.	Welch Ave.
7	Purple [16]	Mortensen Rd.	Osborn Dr.	South Dakota, Lincoln Way, Union Dr.
21	Cardnal [17]	Frederiksen Court	Union Drive	Stange Road, Osborn Drive, Union Drive
22	Gold [18]	Ash Ave. & Sunset Dr.	Spedding Hall	Pammel Drive, Lynn Avenue, Wallace Road
23	Orange [19]	Veterinary Medicine Building	Osborn Dr.	Wallace Road, Osborn Dr. South East 16th St.
	Billy Sunday [20]	Billy Sunday Road	Osborn Dr.	South Duff, Lincoln Way, Osborne Drive.

[edit] Fares

Iowa State Students

Students of Iowa State University are able to ride Cyride free of charge by presenting the bus driver with their Iowa State identification card. This is necessary on all bus routes except the Orange Route which always allows passengers to travel without charge.

Reduced Fare Riders

To qualify for reduced fare, you must be a student in grades K-12, a senior citizen, or a person with a disability. The reduced Fare is .50 US Dollar for a one way trip. Multiple tickets can be purchased at a time if a ticket book is purchased in advance. Ticket books come in a packet of 10 which cost 5 US Dollars. Ticket books can be bought at local grocery stores, Ames city hall, and Cyride headquarters.

Full Fare Riders

Full Fare Riders covers everyone else who is riding. The regular fare is 1.00 US Dollar. Full fare riders can also purchase multiple tickets in advance. Ticket books come in a packet of 10 which cost 10 dollars. Ticket books can also be bought at local grocery stores, Ames city hall, and Cyride headquarters.

Children Under Five

Children under the age of five are free with an accompanying adult. There may be no more than three children per adult.

[edit] Additional Services

[edit] Moonlight express

In 1984 Cyride started to operate a on Friday and Saturday nights service called Moonlight Express which has been dubbed “the drunk bus” by students..^[21] This system was put into service to allow students to socialize with their friends while offering a safe alternative to driving while impaired. Between the hours of 10:00 pm to 3:30am the moonlight express will stop at any stop along the normal fixed route.

[edit] Dial-A-Ride

Dial-A-Ride is a door to door service that caters mostly to elderly and disabled persons. This service take people within a ¾ mile from any fixed Cyride route. A Dial-A-Ride rides need to be scheduled the day before to insure a secure spot. In 2005 Dial-A-Ride was turned over to the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Authority (HIRTA) which is operated out of the Heartland Senior Services site in the Ames area.

[edit] Future

CyRide is considering bringing a "fare-free" system to all Ames residents. CyRide currently receives 270,000 dollars from paid fares that will have to be compenstated for some other way^[22]

[edit] Awards

• 2002 APTA Gold Safety Award Finalist
• 1999 APTA Neil E. Goldschmidt Silver Safety Award Finalist
• 1997 APTA Neil E. Goldschmidt Silver Safety Award Winner
• 1996 APTA AdWheels Award Winner
• 1995 APTA Neil E. Goldschmidt Silver Safety Award Winner
• 1993 APTA Neil E. Goldschmidt Silver Safety Award Finalist
• 1992 Public Risk Management Administration Achievement Award
• 1991 APTA Neil E. Goldschmidt Silver Safety Award Finalist
• 1989 UMTA Outstanding Public Service Award
• 1989 UMTA Administrator's Award^[23]
• 1983 All America City Award
• 15 State Bus Roadeo Winners (as of June 2006)
• 2nd place in the 35' bus division at the 2004 APTA International Bus Roadeo
• 5th place in the 35' bus division at the 2007 APTA International Bus Roadeo

[edit] References