IA: Transit system seeks $12 million grant for Sioux City, Le Mars expansion

Frigid temperatures this week helped make the case for Siouxland Regional Transit System's application for a $12 million federal grant to expand its facilities in order to house nearly all of its buses indoors.

SRTS hopes to expand its relatively new indoor bus facility in Sioux City from 15 to 35 stalls and build a new facility in Le Mars, Iowa, to house all seven buses currently based there.

With the additions, most of SRTS' 45 buses would be indoors.

When SRTS moved into the Sioux City facility along with Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council, or SIMPCO, at 6401 Gordon Drive just east of the city and along U.S. Highway 20 in September 2023, it marked the first time SRTS had indoor bus parking. However, the 15 stalls were half of what was called for in the original plans, which had to be scaled back when construction estimates came in too high.

As a result, half of SRTS' Sioux City fleet of 18-seat buses remains parked outside on building's west side.

"We want to finish what we started. If you're going to have that many buses parked outside, that's a problem," said Brian Pearson, facility director/transit director for SIMPCO, which manages SRTS, a separate entity that provides public transportation services to Woodbury, Plymouth, Monona, Ida and Cherokee counties in Iowa, Dakota County in Nebraska and southern Union County in South Dakota.

Another seven buses are parked outdoors at the Le Mars Police Department and two are kept in Cherokee, Iowa. Drivers take the remaining buses home with them.

On Friday, Pearson submitted SRTS' application for a $12 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. He'll know by the end of June if the application was successful.

"We've gotten a broad level of support from a tri-state presence," Pearson said of the array of letters of support he's gathered from county boards, chambers of commerce and congressional representatives.

Along with the added indoor parking space, plans for the Sioux City facility call for the addition of charging stations and electrical infrastructure to accommodate electric buses in the future. Office and conference space also would be added.

In Le Mars, SRTS hopes to build a facility with 16 stalls, providing room for growth should SRTS expand from the current seven buses currently stationed there. A site has yet to be chosen.

Parking the buses indoors provides a number of benefits, Pearson said.

Protecting buses from the elements, whether it's heat, cold, rain or snow, can reduce maintenance costs and prolong each vehicle's useful life, delaying the purchase of new buses, which have risen in price from $100,000 two years ago to $170,000. Manufacture and delivery of a new bus can take up to 36 months.

"When it's taking that long to get a bus and the cost, we've got to keep our buses inside so we can preserve our fleet," Pearson said.

Indoor parking also improves convenience and safety for drivers, who must inspect buses before and after each trip. It's easier to do that indoors instead of outside in icy or rainy conditions. Pearson said improved conditions could help recruit new drivers and alleviate the driver shortage SRTS is experiencing.

If SRTS receives the grant, Pearson said, construction of the Sioux City expansion could begin in June 2027 and finish by December 2028. Construction in Le Mars could start by December 2027 be completed by December 2028.

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