Cedar Rapids' Neighborhood Transportation Service

This week, the Community Transportation Committee wants to inform you on a program with the same notion we have - transportation should never be a barrier to employment. Some communities simply do not have the density to support circuitous or traditional bus service and need scheduling flexibility. Cedar Rapids is one of those communities. As a result, in 1995, the Neighborhood Transportation Service (NTS) was created to provide better transportation options in the Wellington Heights neighborhood. NTS provider Kelzye Bedwell says, “As many jobs in Cedar Rapids moved further from the town center, individuals faced huge barriers in getting to and from work during second and third shift. Oftentimes cabs wouldn’t take riders in the neighborhood, so many individuals were left without options. A televised town hall brought to light the issues and sparked a collaboration between the Harambe House and United Way of East Central Iowa. Twenty-five years later NTS has expanded to serve all of Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha.”
​Last year, the program provided over 30,000 rides - something we know deserves to be celebrated! For $6 a ride, community members can book their ride in advance by using the NTS app, available on both the App Store and Google Play, or by calling the main office. Eventually, they hope to expand this service to all of Linn County, Iowa. The biggest benefit of this program is that it allows citizens to work second and third shift jobs and access necessary transportation. Bedwell says, “Many places in the nation, especially cities of our size, do not have evening transit available. I am so incredibly proud to be part of continuing to provide the option of night-time transportation and doing everything in my power to improve it.” She says one of the challenges they are often facing is tight funding because it limits their ability to expand service to new populations, but that they are actively seeking new partnerships to alleviate costs. As a nonprofit, working to expand affordable and accessible transportation in Johnson County, we are impressed with what Horizons has accomplished and would like to help work to make more programs like this available in Johnson County. Visit here for more information about the program: https://horizonsfamily.org/nts/

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