The continued successful provision of fixed-route and demand-responsive transit service on the iowa state university campus and throughout the city of ames has been the result of cooperation between the city of ames, the university administration, and the university students. These three groups have recognized the relationship betweenland use, parking, and transit. In 1981, when cy-ride was in its formative stage, they agreed to reduce available parking and increase available transit services. Although no master development plan spells out a formal policy of substituting transit service for parking, through innovative parking policies and aggressive (high-density) land use the transit service has become indispensable for the mobilityof ames citizens and especially iowa state university students. Thedevelopment of the transit service is traced from a political standpoint and the creation of innovative parking policies is emphasized as the operational key to a strong transit service. The strength of the cy-ride service is demonstrated by excellent operating statistics such as 36.5 Passengers per revenue-hour, 3.1 Passengers per revenue-mile, and 53 rides per capita per year. Aggressive land use and innovative parking policies are only partial factors in building a strong transit service; the actual management and approach to operations (which involves students) are the final links in a successful campus transit service. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1266, Urban public transportation research 1990.
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