Iowa City’s Transit Ridership is up 18% Thanks to Free Buses

Since Iowa City eliminated transit fares in August 2023, the city has seen an 18 percent growth in bus ridership since 2019, reports Cara Buckley in The New York Times. The city also registered 1.8 million fewer miles driven, amounting to an estimated 24,000 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Thanks to the streamlined boarding process, on-time arrivals have also increased by 13 percent. 

The City Council voted to begin the two-year fare-free pilot using Covid-19 relief funds. “Darian Nagle-Gamm, the city’s transportation director, said that the unknowns in federal and state funding, along with proposed property-tax changes, meant that the city would most likely have to review the program every year. But there was eagerness for fare-free buses to stay, she said.”