| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Locale | Iowa City, IA |
| Service area | University of Iowa |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Daily ridership | [Over 4,000,000 rides per year] |
| Fuel type | [Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel] |
| Web site | uiowa.edu/~cambus/ |
Cambus is a public transport bus system, primarily serving the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, IA. The service is intended to provide transportation for students, faculty, and staff around the main campus, University of Iowa Research Park, residence halls, and commuter parking lots. Cambus is a no fare service open to the general public. Cambus provides approximately 4,000,000 rides per year.
The service is operated by the Department of Parking and Transportation for the University of Iowa with funding from the Parking & Transportation Department, a UI Student fee, and the Federal Transportation Administration.
Cambus was originally founded by University of Iowa students and has been in operation since 1972. The University of Iowa campus is divided into east and west halves by the Iowa River. Most Liberal Arts and Sciences classes take place on the east side of the river; thus the purpose of the new bus service was to facilitate easier transportation between the west-side dormitories and the east-side classrooms. At first there was no name for this service, so the founding students created a contest open to all U of I students to select one. "Cambus" was the name eventually chosen after Cambuskenneth, and the winner (whose name has been lost to history) was awarded a free pizza.
The first Cambus buses were used school buses, repainted by Cambus employees. There were three different bus routes; Red Route, Blue Route, and the Interdorm Shuttle. Cambus also acquired a trailer, which was used as their main office; this was located in the Hancher Auditorium parking lot.
Currently, Cambus employs approximately 170 employees. There are only six non-student employees who work specifically for Cambus: the Cambus Coordinator, the Maintenance Supervisor, and four full-time mechanics. All other employees, including drivers, dispatchers, trainers, student mechanics, and departmental supervisors, are students currently enrolled at the University of Iowa.
Cambus also has two different buildings on the University of Iowa campus. The main office is located on Evashevski Drive, behind Kinnick Stadium. It is slated to be replaced with a new West Campus Transit Center in 2012. The Cambus Maintenance Facility, often called "The Barn" by employees, is located on South Madison Street south of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center.
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Cambus currently has seventeen (17) routes in service.
During Academic service (the Spring and Fall semesters), all routes run on weekdays with extremely limited service on the weekends. During Summer and Interim service a limited service runs without any weekend service. Route maps and schedules are available on the Cambus website and in pamphlets available on the buses. Cambus time is set by the Master Clock at the US Navel Observatory (http://www.time.gov)
During academic service the earliest route begins at 4:30 am and the last route ended at 1:02 am (2:12 am on Friday and Saturday nights for SafeRide)
Cambus also provides special service for University-affiliated groups, including shuttle service for most Hawkeye football games (to/from downtown, Hancher, and the Hawkeye Commuter Lot), men's Hawkeye basketball games (to/from Hancher), and other events on campus.
To improve safety, encourage eco-friendly practices, and create a more efficient service, Cambus adopted Bongo in Spring 2010. Bongo is a GPS-based, real-time passenger information system that allows riders to find current bus locations as well as predictions for upcoming bus arrivals.
Bongo utilizes GPS technology and computer modeling to track vehicles on their routes and predict arrival times. Each vehicle is equipped with a GPS tracking system that reports latitude and longitude via satellite every 15 seconds.
Using the 4-digit stop number located at a particular stop, passengers can either text, call or go to www.ebongo.org to find all current arrival predictions for that stop.
In addition to finding current predictions, passengers can also create alerts to be sent to their mobile phones or to pop-up on their computer. More information about this is available at www.ebongo.org/alerts.
Bongo is powered by NextBus, a transit information system based in Emeryville, California.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Cambus provides paratransit service called the Bionic Bus for University staff, faculty, and students. There are up to 3 paratransit buses in service during normal academic service (fewer run on weekends and during interim service). The service is demand-response curb-to-curb and serves much of Iowa City and Coralville. Student drivers are specially trained for Bionic Bus. Unlike Iowa City Transit and Coralville Transit, the paratransit service is handled in-house and not contracted to Johnson County SEATS.
The Cambus fleet has changed tremendously over the years with addition of new buses and retirement of old ones. The current fleet consists of 33 actively used buses:
All buses are outfitted with wheelchair lifts or ramps to assist those with disabilities.