SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
June 21 was National "Dump the Pump" Day.
It encourages people to take public transportation and leave their cars in the garage. In Sioux City, public transit has been performing well, to the tune of 1 million rides given out in 2011.
"I use it every day," said Bianca Pantoja.
But that number could be even bigger.
In some big cities across the country, public transportation is the only way to go. Despite services that run six days a week, it's kind of an afterthought in Sioux City.
"It's practically outside my front door, maybe not even a half block," said Joseph Stowe of Sioux City.
But closeness doesn't always guarantee more riders will follow.
Now if you're anything like me, you probably know where your bus stop is, but beyond that there's a lot of questions that you might have, such as when does it run and how often does it run and how much does it cost?
Faith Limon remembers taking the bus a lot when she was younger. Now, she's going to get back into it, as her kids ride along this summer.
"If you learn how to ride the bus, you can ride it for free. You don't have to ask me or anyone else for a ride, you know, you can just go on your own," said Limon.
With one pass, kids can ride free every day throughout the summer until August 31. Kelsea Ruble usually takes advantage of that program during the summer months.
"Because you don't have to pay to go everywhere. You can just get on and go," she said.
Even when she gets a car next summer, she says the bus will still be the way to go a lot of the time.
"I probably wouldn't use it as much, but I would probably still use it," Ruble said. "Just because it's easier and I wouldn't have to pay for gas and all that stuff."
The Sioux City transit system's central hub is at 6th and Nebraska.
The ten fixed routes on the system can take you throughout Sioux City, North Sioux City, and South Sioux City.
Need a schedule? Here's the link.
