Institute for Transportation

About the research

Transportation plays a major role in everyday life for many people. Having reliable access to healthcare is no exception. It may be getting to doctor’s appointments, mental health visits, pharmacies, vaccinations and so much more. The Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) is the state-designated Regional Public Transit System in central Iowa (also known as Region 11), serving the counties of Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story and Warren.

The main goal of this work is to overcome the current challenges in central Iowa’s public transit system. Funding streams and community requests determine HIRTA’s service model, frequency, hours of operation, and staffing levels. Understanding funding levels and specific funding programs is essential to ensure financial viability. One key factor to successfully implementing this model is marketing and sharing information to targeted stakeholders.

Through this project, a Transit Taskforce will be developed to bring stakeholders together to address these matters. This will provide a diverse group of stakeholders an opportunity to work together to address complex issues and make unified recommendations, ultimately, providing recommendations to those who have the power to enact change and implement resources.

About the research

The Institute for Transportation, with its experience in analyzing and hosting large data sets, is working with the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HIRTA) to develop an app that will allow regional travelers who use the agency’s services to schedule and manage medical appointments and transportation services in one application.

For more information about the project, visit the Health Connector webpage.