With that said, it is heartwarming to see the best of people coming out throughout the state of Iowa, and most notably throughout HIRTA’s seven-county region.  

HIRTA, as an agency, was able to pivot quickly for the safety of our customers and staff. We are still in the midst of this virus, and have all our office employees working remotely, and all of our offices closed to the public. The office staff was quick to adjust to a new work from home environment, and never complained or lost focus on the importance of our customers. 

A shout-out to our HIRTA Board of Directors, for their support and understanding of quick decisions, flexibility and Zoom meetings!  

For those who are dependent on transit services, we made the decision early to continue operating. We knew we needed to get Personal Protective Equipment for our drivers to keep them safe, which we did as quickly as possible. Then a team of dedicated drivers stepped up, faced the unknown dangers of this virus and have continued to work, transporting people through every change and challenge. 

These amazing employees are the true HEROES and HIRTA leadership is proud and thankful for each and every one of them. We have given them each special HIRTA HERO shirt’s and every bus they drive has a HIRTA’s HERO Sits Here sign. 

We also had some amazing volunteers provide home-made masks early on, and then we received a large supply of masks from the Federal Transit Administration, as a nation-wide effort to ensure all Transit Systems were masked and ready to keep services moving. We had agencies, such as Aging Resources of Central Iowa and United Way of Story County step up with funding to allow us to provide Assurance calls, deliver meals and purchase individually wrapped masks for those riders who don’t have one. 

Lastly, HIRTA has some of the best customers, riders, passengers, and partners anywhere. Whether you were able to continue to ride or not, we have felt supported and continue to receive messages of thanks! It is important to us that you know we are doing everything in our power to provide safe service so you stay well and healthy. Thank you for continuing to have confidence in us. 

We are still in unknown territory, with no immediate light at the end of the tunnel however, we are thankful we have been able to find a way to live with this pandemic and can provide safety measures to greatly reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 while using HIRTA. 

We have never seen a pandemic of this magnitude and we clearly have a long way to go. However, I believe we’re going to continue to see the best of people, as we work together!