HIRTA News Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                           

TODAY’S DATE   March 6, 2019

CONTACT 1:  Brooke Ramsey, Business Development Manager 515-309-9282

CONTACT 2:  Julia Castillo, Executive Director 515-309-9281

CHANGES COMING to Public Transit in Dallas County 

 [Urbandale, IA] Effective April 1, 2019, HIRTA Public Transit in Dallas County will no longer be operated by HomeCare Services, Inc. of Dallas County.  HIRTA Public Transit will provide their own transit services throughout Dallas County.

• HIRTA wants to assure everyone that public transit service will continue in Dallas County, and will be provided with HIRTA vehicles.
• Starting March 18, to schedule trips needed on or after April 1, call HIRTA at 1-877-686-0029 or email your request to erides@ridehirta.com. All requests receive confirmations.
• HIRTA has a scheduling App, online payment option and a notification system
• Payment for trips will be due at the time of service or by using our online payment option. Drivers accept cash or checks.
• HIRTA supports local economy and we want to hire local drivers and create partnerships to keep local dollars in the communities we serve as often as possible.

The fares will change when HIRTA begins providing services directly. Our Regionwide FARE structure is $2.00 per trip within the cities of Adel, Perry and Waukee.  $4.00 per trip within Dallas County and $10 to Des Moines.  Our services are open to anyone for any reason. All vehicles are accessible and we do provide door to door services for anyone.

We encourage people to sign up for our RSS feed from our website www.hirtapublictransit.com and also to like and follow us on our Facebook or Twitter page @rideHIRTA.  This is where we post announcements, updates, inclement weather closings or restrictions and other information we want the public and our riders to know.

HIRTA staff is working with HomeCare Services Inc, of Dallas County staff to make this a seamless transition as possible. We are excited to serve those who currently ride HIRTA and also hope to open the door to those who are new to the Public Transit experience.  

Due to the extreme cold temperatures, HIRTA is canceling service on Wednesday, January 30th, 2019 in Boone, Jasper, Marion, Story and Warren Counties. Ames paratransit / Dial-A-Ride will still be open. Our office will be closed. Please stay safe.

Due to inclement weather and deteriorated road conditions, HIRTA will have in-town only service in Boone, Ames, Newton, Pella, Knoxville and Indianola. Our offices will open at 10AM. Be safe!

I want to welcome everyone to today’s hearing.  We will hear from our non-federal partners on some of the innovations they are using to improve our surface transportation system.

The FAST Act reauthorized federal surface transportation programs through fiscal year 2020.  Through these programs, our non-federal partners are investing in research, transportation technologies, and other innovations to meet the current and future needs of their communities.

For example, some communities have invested in intelligent transportation systems, others have experimented with autonomous and connected vehicles, and some have been partnering with the private sector to improve the quality of life for the general public.

The population and amount of freight moving through our Nation are projected to increase significantly in the coming decades.  Being innovative and utilizing transportation technologies where it makes sense to do so will help our surface transportation system move people and goods more safely and efficiently.

Innovative solutions and transportation technologies may be applied differently across our Nation.  It is vital that we share our best practices and lessons learned.

The leaders with us today will showcase some of those innovations and technologies that are currently being used on our highways and by our public transit systems.  Congress must continue to provide our non-federal partners with the flexibility to implement innovative solutions and to deploy transportation technologies that work best for them.  We look forward to hearing your testimony.

On September 5, 2018, Julia Castillo, Executive Director of the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) testified as a witness on behalf of Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) before the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the House of Representative Transportation and Infrastructure Committee regarding "innovation in surface transportation". 

Julia's testimony has been shared by KWBG, local news radio in Boone, IA. To see a copy of their article, please click here.

HIRTA thanks the Subcommittee and CTAA for the opportunity to testify and their interest in rural transportation.