Oskaloosa Rides Hits Record Riders

A view from inside the “Oskaloosa Rides” bus as it makes its way past the Oskaloosa Elementary School area. (file photo)

This winter’s cold temperatures may have been hard to bear, but it’s had at least one positive result: more people are riding Oskaloosa’s bus service, Oskaloosa Rides.

“We’ve seen our numbers skyrocket this winter,” said Amy Langdon, director of Untied Way of Mahaska County and community coordinator for Oskaloosa Rides.

“Last summer, we averaged about 10 riders a day. Over the past 3 months, it’s been about 30 riders a day.”

Then last Friday, the still-growing service hit a milestone – 84 riders, a huge increase over its previous record of 58 riders in November.

“We’re not sure if it’s just the colder weather, or if word is just getting out that this service is available to the community,” said Langdon.

Oskaloosa Rides, a fixed-route bus service that completes a one-hour loop around Oskaloosa, started last June in hopes of increasing access to healthcare, retail and social services for those without a car.

Langdon said she’s excited to see the growth of Oskaloosa Rides.

“We know it isn’t going to happen overnight, but we were confident that we had neighbors who were struggling to get where they needed to go and that this service could be a great benefit to them.”

So what’s next for Oskaloosa Rides? More service days? More routes?

“We’re not quite at that point yet,” Langdon said, laughing. “It takes a lot of usage to sustain public transportation. Let’s see what happens when we’re seeing 84 riders every day.”

Oskaloosa Rides runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A one-way ticket is $1.

For more information, call United Way of Mahaska County at 641.673.6043 or visit the Oskaloosa Rides Facebook page.