Mason City Transit

{{Short description|Provider of mass transportation in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa}}

{{Infobox Bus transit

| name = Mason City Transit

| logo =

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| headquarters = 10 First Street NW

| locale = Mason City, Iowa

| service_area = Cerro Gordo County, Iowa

| service_type = Bus service, paratransit

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| routes = 5

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| annual ridership= 175,041 (2019)

| website = [https://www.masoncity.net/pview.aspx?id=18070&catid=477 Official website]

}}

Mason City Transit is the primary provider of mass transportation in Mason City, Iowa with five routes serving the region. As of 2019, the system provided 175,041 rides over 21,002 annual vehicle revenue hours with 12 buses and 6 paratransit vehicles.{{cite web|url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/transit_agency_profile_doc/2019/7R01-70260.pdf|title= Mason City Transit Agency Profile|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

History

Public transit in the Mason City area began with streetcars in 1897, with the Mason City & Clear Lake Railroad Co. In 1936, the streetcars were replaced with bus service.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagorailfan.com/aatia1.html|title=Transit Systems in Iowa|access-date=June 21, 2023}} In March 2022, a transit bus was involved in a collision after a medical emergency.{{cite news|url=https://www.kglonews.com/three-injured-when-transit-bus-hits-vehicle-in-mason-city-grocery-store-parking-lot/|title=Three injured when transit bus hits vehicle in Mason City grocery store parking lot|date=March 14, 2022|newspaper=KGLO News|access-date=June 21, 2023}} Later that year, service was adjusted temporarily to accommodate RAGBRAI in Mason City.{{cite news|url=https://www.kimt.com/news/mason-city-transit-making-changes-for-ragbrai/article_1b6e2e18-0b6d-11ed-8704-c3a246e5873f.html|title=Mason City Transit making changes for RAGBRAI|date=July 24, 2022|author=Mike Bunge|newspaper=KIMT 3 News|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Service

Mason City Transit operates 5 weekday bus routes on a pulse system with all routes leaving the Central Park Transfer Facility on the hour and half hour. The Transfer Facility was constructed in 1994 and provides passengers with a waiting area and restrooms. Mason City uses a partial flag-stop system, with a few marked bus stop locations or shelters, while riders may flag down buses at other locations along the routes.{{cite web|url=https://www.masoncity.net/files/documents/MasonCityTransitStudy20211464035325101821PM.pdf|title=Mason City Transit Design Study|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Hours of operation for the system are Monday through Friday from 6:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. There is no service on Saturdays and Sundays. Regular fares are $0.50, except for children, who ride free.{{cite web|url=https://www.masoncity.net/files/documents/TransitBrochurewithRouteMap1398011155051223PM.pdf|title=Transit Brochure|access-date=June 21, 2023}}

Fixed Route Ridership

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response.{{cite web | title=The National Transit Database (NTD) | url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/transit-agency-profiles/city-mason-city | access-date=June 21, 2023}}

{{#invoke:Chart | bar chart

| group 1 = 211886:203711:209097:169054:166889:175041:149788:95275

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| group names = Annual ridership

| x legends =2014:2015:2016:2017:2018:2019:2020:2021

| colors = #{{rcr|Metra|SouthWest}}

}}

References

External links

{{official website}}

Category:Mason City, Iowa

Category:Bus transportation in Iowa

Category:Transit agencies in Iowa