CyRide


CyRide is a partnership between Iowa State University, the , and Ames, Iowa. CyRide provides public transportation to the community throughout the city of Ames. The word CyRide is a portmanteau of two words: Cy and the word ride. In January 2012, CyRide was recognized "as the nation’s small urban transit system with the highest number of rides per capita" at 106 rides per capita.

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.
On July 4, 1892, the rail line, named the dinkey departed from its barn on the east end of 5th street, for its first trip to the Iowa State University campus. The dinkey ran on 30 lb/yd rail; that is small compared to the 136 lb/yd 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. 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.

Routes

Fares

;Iowa State Students
Undergraduate students of Iowa State University are able to ride CyRide without paying the normal fare by presenting the bus driver with their Iowa State identification card. This is necessary on all bus routes except the 21 Cardinal, 23 Orange and 25 Gold Routes which always allow passengers to travel without charge. Iowa State University charges a fee each semester to all undergraduate students for CyRide service. This student fee is paid to CyRide to subsidize the cost of operations.
;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 US$0.50 for a one way trip. Multiple tickets can be purchased at a time, if a ticket book is purchased in advance. Reduced fare ticket books come in a packet of 10 which cost US$5. 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 US$1.00. Full fare riders can also purchase multiple tickets in advance. Ticket books come in a packet of 10 which cost US$10. 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.

Additional Services

Moonlight Express

In 1984 Cyride started to operate a Friday and Saturday nights service called Moonlight Express which has been dubbed "the drunk bus" by students. 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 10:30 pm to 2:30 am the moonlight express will stop at any stop along a moonlight route.
In the time Moonlight Express has been running, there have been no drunk-driving fatalities in Ames during its hours of operation.

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 ¾ mile from any fixed Cyride route. A Dial-A-Ride rides need to be scheduled the day before to ensure a spot. In 2005 Dial-A-Ride was turned over to the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Authority which is operated out of the Heartland Senior Services site in the Ames area.

Equipment

CyRide currently operates a variety of different transit buses. Much of CyRide's fleet consists of 40 foot buses but there are six 62 foot articulated buses used in high-capacity service and several small buses used for lower-capacity services. The majority of CyRide's 40 foot bus fleet was manufactured by Gillig while the remaining 40 foot bus fleet was manufactured by Orion. CyRide maintained a few GM New Look 40 foot buses for training purposes but none currently remain on the active fleet list. The 62 foot articulated buses were manufactured by Nova Bus. Much of the current fleet can be referenced in the table below.
Bus NumberLengthManufacturerBus TypeModel YearNotes
105-11040'GilligAdvantage/LF2012
126-12840'GilligAdvantage/LF2010
180-18440'GilligAdvantage/LF2012
186-18940'GilligAdvantage/LF2008
418-42540'GilligAdvantage/LF HyBrid2010
429-43240'GilligAdvantage/LF HyBrid2010
501-50440'OrionOrion VII200607.501
660-66162'Nova BusLFS Artic2013
Various40'GilligPhantom2001700,762,763,778,785,789,792,793
949-95240'OrionOrion V200505.501
953-95840'OrionOrion V200005.501
1111-111640'GilligAdvantage/LF2015
1136-113840'GilligAdvantage/LF2018
6101-610462'Nova BusLFS Artic2016
7116-712440'GilligPhantom20027119 inactive
7130-713340'GilligPhantom2002
9070-907740'OrionOrion V200205.501

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 compensated for some other way
In 2009 CyRide was one of 42 applicants to receive a TIGER grant through the Federal Transit Administration. This allowed them to purchase 12 new Hybrid buses at a cost of $6 million. The new buses - dubbed 'Cybrids' - will get an estimated 6 mpg. The current fleet averages about 4.5 mpg fuel efficiency.

Awards