Cambus
Cambus is a public transport bus system, primarily serving the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. 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 4,500,000 rides per year.
 | |
| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Locale | Iowa City, IA |
| Service area | University of Iowa |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Daily ridership | Over 4,500,000 rides per year |
| Fuel type | Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel |
| Website | |
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 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, Larry Page, 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.
Cambus employs approximately 170 employees. There are only six non-student employees who work specifically for Cambus: the Cambus Manager, 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, north Kinnick Stadium, called the West Campus Transportation Center. Cambus moved operations to this newer building, shared with the Parking & Transportation department, on November 16, 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.
In October, 2018, Cambus routes and schedules were integrated with Google Maps.[1]
Routes and hours of operation
Cambus has eighteen routes in service.
During Academic service (the Spring and Fall semesters), all routes run on weekdays with 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 Naval Observatory (https://web.archive.org/web/20180522031726/https://www.time.gov/)
During academic service the earliest route begins at 4:30 am and the last route ends 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.
Route list
- Blue Route
- East Campus Shuttle
- Hawk Lot/Hospital
- AM/PM Hawkeye Express
- Hawkeye-Hospital
- Hawkeye-Interdorm
- Hospital Finkbine/Arena
- AM/PM Hospital via Hancher
- Mayflower Shuttle*
- Interdorm*
- Research Park
- Pentacrest/Night Pentacrest
- Red Route
- Hospital-VA Loop
Recently discontinued routes include:
- Music/Theatre Shuttle
- Studio Arts Shuttle
- ABW/Studio Arts
- Melrose Van
- routes marked with an asterisk run only during Spring/Fall semesters
Bongo (Bus On the Go)
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 uses 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. Passengers can also download the "Bongo" app from the iPhone store, or Google Play store for Android.
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.
Bionic Bus
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.
Fleet
The Cambus fleet has changed tremendously over the years with addition of new buses and retirement of old ones. The current fleet consists of 36 actively used buses:
- Five Orion Bus Industries paratransit buses (Buses 8, 9, 10, 12, 13). Buses 12 and 13 are used for Bionic Bus service. The other Orions have since been retired.
- One Opus Optima 30-foot low-floor bus (Bus 11) used exclusively for East Campus Shuttle.
- Five 1997 Gillig Phantom 40-foot buses (Buses 83 and 85) used for general service. All have been retired as of 2019 due to the addition of buses 120-122.
- Twelve 2008 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor buses (Buses 94-105) used for general service.
- Three 2009 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor buses (106-108) used for general service.
- Eight 2011 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor buses (Buses 109-116) used for general service.
- Two 2013 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor buses (Buses 117-118) used for general service.
- One 2018 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor bus (Bus 119) used for general service.
- Three 2019 Gillig 40-foot Low-Floor buses (Buses 120-122) used for general service.
- Three 2013 Gillig 30-foot Low-Floor buses (Buses 14-16) used for general service and Bionic Bus.
- One Mobility Ventures MV-1 used for support purposes.
- One Ford F-250 pickup truck (with snowplow) used for support purposes.
Buses that have been retired, or will retire soon include:
- Seven 1989 Gillig Phantom 40-foot buses (Buses 64-78).
- Five 1989 Gillig Phantom 35-foot buses (Buses 89-93). These are often referred to as the "Madisons" because they were bought from Madison (Wisconsin) transit.
- The Orion buses 8-10 were expected to retire in Fall 2013.
- All 1997 Gillig Phantom 40-foot buses.
All buses are outfitted with wheelchair lifts or ramps to assist those with disabilities.
References
- "CAMBUS routes and schedules integrated into Google Maps | Parking and Transportation". transportation.uiowa.edu.