On RAGBRAI day in Mason City, public transit will be free, with some necessary changes

MASON CITY – Mason City Public Transit looks forward to welcoming the thousands of RAGBRAI riders and visitors to our community on Wednesday, July 23.

In order to accommodate these transportation needs and help reduce the anticipated parking congestion and traffic in the downtown area, Mason City Public Transit will not run regular schedules or routes. Major changes are:

• The Central Park transfer point has been moved one block east to the parking lot on the northwest corner of 1st St. NE and N. Delaware Ave. directly behind Brick Furniture;

• Buses will run from 10:00 a.m. on July 23rd to 12:30 a.m. on July 24th. There will be four routes that day with buses operating every 10 to 15 minutes during the peak periods of 4:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.;

• No routes will be running south of Highway 122;

• No money will be collected, rides will be offered on a free-will donation basis. Passengers with monthly passes do not need to show them;

• The Orange Route will travel Hwy. 122 west and stop at the K-Mart parking lot and the All-Seasons building at the event center;

• The Blue Route will stop at Hoover Elementary School and West Park;

• The Red Route will stop at East Park on N. Carolina, the Aquatic Center, the East Park Gazebo on N. Kentucky, in front of Prairie Playground and the main entrance to East Park on E. State St.

• The Green Route will stop at John Adams Middle School main entrance and at the Muse Norris Softball Complex and the stops along E. State St.

As with our normal transit routes, there are designated stops but passengers will also be picked up at intersections along the routes, with the exception of Hwy 122, due to safety reasons.