Big, mostly yellow, and always free
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Come winter, you’ll be thankful for the UI Cambus system, which will take you where you want to go on campus — for free.
Cambus is the university’s transit service run by mostly students, said Janelle Beswick, Cambus dispatch, service, and information supervisor.
The service runs almost every day of the year, getting people to class or to work on the days they’re just too tired to walk downtown.
Navigating the routes
The most popular services for students are Red and Blue — the two routes that circle campus in opposite directions — and Hawkeye-Interdorm, which travels to every dorm as well as the Hawkeye lot and Hawkeye Apartments.
And here’s a trick to remember which route goes in which direction: If you’re standing on the Pentacrest, you can think “Red to Rienow, Blue to Burge.”
Routes vary; some start at 4:30 a.m., and some run as late as 1 a.m.
The Cambus is only meant for on-campus transportation, so it does not travel to the outer neighborhoods, Beswick said. One route does travel to the old Menards building — the current Studio Arts Building — and another travels to the Oakdale Campus.
Cambus also operates a late-night SafeRide Bus service on Friday and Saturday from midnight to 2:30 a.m., making limited stops.
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A bit of advice
You may be a little confused at first by the myriad routes, but upperclassmen have some advice.
“You just have to make sure you know where the bus you get on is going,” UI student Andrea Stroink said. “I got on the wrong bus one time, and I ended up missing one of my classes.”
It’s easy to avoid that situation, though — take a day to ride the buses around before classes start.
Also, make sure you get to the stop a couple minutes early. Cambuses generally won’t leave a stop until at least the time at which they are scheduled to pull away.
You’ll also find buses to be considerably more crowded in the winter, and you may have to deal with delays if driving conditions are tricky — so build that into your schedule, many say, and be comfortable with standing-room-only buses.
“I’ve been really late to a few classes because the routes were running behind during the winter,” UI student Jordan Montgomery said.
In these instances, feel free to call the Cambus office to check on the status of the buses, Beswick said.
Cambus Routes
Which big yellow-and-black bus do I take?
For route information and maps on the web: www.uiowa.edu/~cambus
Call for more information: 335-8633
And also: Look for printed schedules in the dorms, inside the buses, and at every stop
Apply: Be a student driver. Download the application at the above website.
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