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The Jule

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The Jule fixed route buses
Foundedearly 1970s
Headquarters950 Elm St.
LocaleDubuque, Iowa
Service areaurban area
Service typebus service, paratransit
AllianceDelaware, Dubuque, & Jackson County Regional Transit Authority
Routes6 Day, 4 Weekend night, 1 Seasonal Trolly Route
Hubs3 (Dubuque Intermodal Transportation Center & 2 transfer points)
Fleet28
Daily ridership876
Fuel typeClean diesel
DirectorRyan Knuckey
WebsiteThe Jule

The Jule, formerly known as KeyLine Transit, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Dubuque, Iowa. The Jule offers transit bus routes throughout the city, trolley-replica transportation in Downtown Dubuque and the Port of Dubuque, and on-demand paratransit "MiniBus" service citywide. As of the 2011 rebranding, the transit system and city are now both named after Julien Dubuque. In FY 2010, the Jule recorded 371,000 rides.[1]

The Jule is a municipal department of the City of Dubuque that began service following the city's takeover of the Interstate Power and Light Company's bus lines in the early 1970s. Today, the Jule is operated by the City of Dubuque, and is supervised by a director who reports to the Dubuque City Manager, Michael Van Milligen, and acts on policy as given by the Dubuque City Council, on advice of the Dubuque Transit Trustee Board.[2]

Overview

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The Jule operates six Daytime bus lines: Gray, Green, Red, Medical Loop, as well as the North and South Shopping Circulators. The Jule also runs four Nightrider routes on Friday and Saturday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. All lines except the Orange run in a general pattern from downtown in the east to Kennedy Mall in the west, and then back downtown. These lines stop at all three major transfer stations: Downtown, Midtown, and the West Side. The Medical Loop runs from downtown and then north and south, stopping at no other transfer stations. The Jule operates Monday through Saturday citywide, with the earliest buses out at 6:15 a.m., and the latest out at 5:55 p.m.[3]

During the summer months, The Jule operates a trolley shuttle between the Downtown Transfer Station (West 9th & Main Streets) and the Port of Dubuque, with stops at the major tourist attractions in the area, including: Diamond Jo Casino, Grand Harbor Resort & Waterpark, Grand River Center, National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

In addition to fixed-route buses, The Jule provides on-demand paratransit service through its "MiniBuses." These shuttles generally transport elderly and handicapped passengers from their homes to medical clinics, and other specific destinations. The service is available by appointment only. Jule currently has around 100 employees.

In 2018, The Jule's operations center moved to a new $6.2 million facility in Dubuque.[4]

Bus fleet

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In 2011, The Jule updated its 28 bus fleet with new clean diesel buses: four 35 feet (11 m) Heavy Duty Gillig Low Floor for Fixed Route Service, 12 30' Medium Duty ElDorado Aero Elite on International Durastar chassis for Fixed Route Service, 11 24' light duty Glaval Titan II on GMC Savanna Chassis for Paratransit, one light duty for Freightliner Sprinter for Paratransit, and two Trolleys for season fixed route trolley Service. As of 2023, The Jule consists of 18 Gillig Low Floor buses ranging from 29 feet (8.8 m) to 35 feet (11 m) for fixed-route service:[5][6]

Fleet number(s) Photo Year Manufacturer Model Engine Notes
2500-2504 2022 Gillig Low Floor 29' Cummins L9
2680-2683 2011 Low Floor 35' Cummins ISL9
2690-2691 2002 Detroit Diesel Series 40
  • Originally Park City Transit buses, purchased in 2017.
  • Contingency fleet.
2692-2694 Low Floor 29'
  • Originally Middletown Transit System buses, purchased in 2017.
2695-2698 2020 Cummins L9

Bus routes

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Transfer stations

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Lines

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The Jule operates 6 daytime bus lines and 4 weekend Nightrider lines which run throughout Dubuque. Beginning in January 2014, these existing routes will be abandoned in favor of a new hub and spoke model with express routes between the 3 transfer hubs.[7]

  • (E): Designates crosstown routes which run east from Kennedy Mall to downtown.
  • (W): Designates crosstown routes which run west from downtown to Kennedy mall.
  • (N/S), (E/W): Designates non-crosstown (destination) routes which run from a transfer station to one destination & back.
  • GRAY LINE:
    • Downtown (E):
    Runs east from Kennedy Mall to downtown via: John F. Kennedy Rd., Kaufmann Ave., Carter Rd., Asbury Rd., University Ave., N. Grandview Ave., W. Locust St., Main St.
    • Kennedy Mall (W):
    Runs west from downtown to Kennedy Mall via: Iowa St., Clarke Dr., N. Grandview Ave., University Ave., Asbury Rd., Carter Rd., Kaufmann Ave., John F. Kennedy Rd.
    • Point (N/S):
    Runs north/south from downtown to the Point & back via: Elm St., Rhomberg Ave. Also runs on E. 16th St., Kerper Blvd. at select times.[8]
  • GREEN LINE:
    • 32nd Street (N/S):
    Runs north/south from downtown to 32nd St. & back via: Jackson St., Central Ave.
    • Asbury Plaza (N/S):
    Runs north/south from Kennedy Mall to Asbury Plaza & back via: Pennsylvania Ave., NW Arterial, Asbury Rd., John F. Kennedy Rd., Hillcrest Rd., Chaney Rd., Pennsylvania Ave. Also runs on Rosemont St., Hillcrest Rd. at select times.
    • Downtown (E):
    Runs east from Kennedy Mall to downtown via: Dodge St., University Ave., Loras Blvd., Main St.
    • Kennedy Mall (W):
    Runs west from downtown to Kennedy Mall via: Iowa St., Loras Blvd., N. Grandview Ave., Dodge St.[9]
  • Medical Loop:
    • Greyhound Park (E/W):
    Runs east/west from downtown to Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino & back via: Kerper Blvd., E. 16th St.
    • Mt. Carmel (N/S):
    Runs south from downtown to Mt. Carmel & back via: Iowa St., Bluff St., Dodge St., Rush St., Cleveland Ave., Mt. Loretta Ave., S. Grandview Ave., Hwy. 151/61, Locust St.[10]
  • RED LINE:
    • Downtown (E):
    Runs east from Kennedy Mall to downtown via: John F. Kennedy Rd., Hillcrest Rd., Chaney Rd., Pennsylvania Ave., University Ave., Hill St.
    • Kennedy Mall (W):
    Runs west from downtown to Kennedy Mall via: Hill St., University Ave., Pennsylvania Ave., Chaney Rd., Hillcrest Rd., John F. Kennedy Rd.
    • Linwood (N/S):
    Runs north/south from downtown to Linwood & back via: White St., E. 22nd St., Windsor Ave., Jackson St.
    • Wal-Mart (E/W):
    Runs east/west from Kennedy Mall to Wal-Mart & back via: John F. Kennedy Rd., Pennsylvania Ave., NW Arterial, Dodge St. Also runs on Radford Rd., Chavanelle Rd. at select times.[11]
  • TROLLEY (E/W):
    Runs east/west from downtown to the Port of Dubuque & back via: Bluff St., E. 3rd St., Bell St., Main St. (Summer months only).

Fixed route ridership

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The ridership and service statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response. Per capita statistics are based on the Dubuque urbanized area as reported in NTD data. Starting in 2011, 2010 census numbers replace the 2000 census numbers to calculate per capita statistics.[12]

Ridership Change Ridership per capita
2002 242,264 n/a 3.71
2003 242,685 Increase00.17% 3.72
2004 248,998 Increase02.6% 3.82
2006 233,611 n/a 3.58
2007 207,116 Decrease011.34% 3.17
2008 269,337 Increase030.04% 4.13
2009 293,216 Decrease08.87% 4.49
2010 331,601 Increase013.09% 5.08
2011 346,881 Increase04.61% 5.11
2013 377,504 n/a 5.57
2014 409,144 Increase08.38% 6.03
2015 479,185 Increase017.12% 7.07
2016 486,691 Increase01.57% 7.18
2017 455,959 Decrease06.31% 6.72
2018 445,817 Decrease02.22% 6.57
2019 421,693 Decrease05.41% 6.22
2020 333,244 Decrease020.97% 4.91
2021 319,697 Decrease04.07% 4.71
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  • 2011 Gillig Low Floor 35'
    2011 Gillig Low Floor 35'
  • 2020 Gillig Low Floor 29'
    2020 Gillig Low Floor 29'
  • 2002 Gillig Low Floor 29'
    2002 Gillig Low Floor 29'
  • 2011 International medium duty Bus (retired)
    2011 International medium duty Bus (retired)
  • GMC safari light duty bus
    GMC safari light duty bus
  • Sprinter mini-bus
    Sprinter mini-bus
  • Trolley
    Trolley

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Two Iowa transit systems honored for excellence" (Press release). Iowa DOT. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Iowa Office of Public Transit: The Jule Organizational Structure". Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  3. ^ "The Jule Transit Routes". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  4. ^ Wong, Allison. "Dubuque's Jule buses move to new operations center". KCRG-TV9. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "PTMS Ranking - Transit Portal". secure.iowadot.gov.
  6. ^ Carros, Adam. "Dubuque to unveil new buses in 2021". KCRG-TV9. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "The Jule System Overhaul". Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  8. ^ "Gray Line Routes". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  9. ^ "Green Line Routes". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  10. ^ "Orange Line Routes". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  11. ^ "Red Line Routes". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  12. ^ "The National Transit Database (NTD)". Retrieved June 30, 2022.
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