North Liberty to Launch Transportation Assistance Program

When Latina Roberts and her sons moved to North Liberty this summer, she immediately realized keeping her fridge stocked was going to be hard. She didn’t live far from groceries, but getting there was difficult, since her inherited sickle cell anemia meant it wasn’t walking distance for her.

And walking home with a week’s worth of groceries wasn’t feasible.

It wasn’t every trip — there are services to help her get to medical appointments in Iowa City, for example — but there weren’t public options for the various small-but-necessary trips around town.

“Those small things matter when you don’t have transportation,” she said.

This fall, the City of North Liberty is launching its new Transportation Assistance Program to help residents like Latina.

For $1 per ride, qualified North Liberty residents can call a Yellow Cab of Iowa City taxi to travel for groceries, get to the bank, visit a doctor, connect to a bus or certain other essential quality-of-life trips scheduled Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. or Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Residents can be eligible for this program because they don’t have access to vehicle, face financial difficulty or are permanently or temporarily disabled. To use the program, residents apply, provide proof they qualify and then receive a card allowing them to use the program.

Initial registration drives will be held:

• Monday, Nov. 18, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the North Liberty Library, 520 W. Cherry St.
• Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the North Liberty Community Pantry, 89 N. Jones Blvd.
• Thursday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the North Liberty Living Center, 410 Ashley Court
• Friday, Nov. 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Jefferson Point, 45 E Jefferson St.
• Monday, Nov. 25, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the North Liberty Library, 520. W Cherry St.
• Tuesday, Nov. 26, 3 to 6 p.m. at the North Liberty Community Pantry, 89 N. Jones Blvd.

After the initial drives, applicants can complete an online application and make an appointment for an office visit to complete verification. More information about this program and other transportation options is available at northlibertyiowa.org/transit.