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Resident asks Oskaloosa, University Park to revisit bus schedules and services for unhoused residents
Summary
A University Park resident asked the Oskaloosa City Council to address weekday bus schedules, unequal fares across short distances, limited routes to senior meal sites and access to showers and overnight shelter options for unhoused residents.
OSKALOOSA, Iowa — A resident from nearby University Park urged Oskaloosa city leaders on Aug. 4 to work with neighboring jurisdictions and transit providers to make local bus service more usable for workers and people experiencing homelessness.
Amberlyn Barber told the council the current transit schedules “start after most people are supposed to be at work,” do not run every day and do not serve parts of University Park. Barber also said fares vary by short distance (she described a $2 fare on one side of a street and $4 on the other) and that changes to senior meals pickup locations have cut off a previously useful transit connection: “The senior meals used to pick up, I believe, at the Grant School. Well now senior meals are at Saint Paul and they don't — there's no way to get there through the bus.”
Barber also raised concerns about limited public shower access for unhoused people, saying the fairgrounds currently offers a $5 option but is not served by local transit. She asked whether the YMCA could resume providing showers and whether the YMCA could consider opening the gym overnight to provide a neutral, climate-controlled location during extreme weather.
A member of the public added that Iowa Legal Aid runs a bus-simulation exercise for elected officials to illustrate transit access challenges for people who must rely on the system to get to work.
Council members asked follow-up questions and encouraged Barber to continue coordinating with neighboring governments and transit operators. No formal council action on transit or shelter services is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.
