Iowa City Transit will be waiving bus fares for the duration of COVID-19 emergency, the agency announced in a written statement on Thursday. ICT is also asking riders to enter and exit the buses by the rear door, in order to help facilitate social distancing.
“Riders with mobility devices or mobility issues can still board through the front door by simply knocking on the front entrance,” ICT said. The agency is also “strongly encourag[ing] the public to limit travel on buses to essential trips only.”
ICT said it is enhancing its normal nightly cleaning of buses and is supplying all drivers with spray bottles of disinfectant, Nitrate gloves and paper towels, so they can clean common surfaces as needed.
Cedar Rapids Transit dropped its bus fares earlier this week. CRT is asking riders to maintain a distance of six feet from other passengers and has added a restriction of 10 passengers per bus. There is hand sanitizer on all the buses and riders are asked to use the bus for “essential trips only.”
The announcement that ICT is temporarily eliminating bus fares, comes one day after Mayor Bruce Teague signed a proclamation declaring a state of civil emergency in Iowa City.
