FAQs
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Who can ride HIRTA?
HIRTA is open to anyone for any reason. HIRTA is committed to ensuring no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of its transit services on the basis of race, age, disability, religion, color, sex or national origin, as protected by Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Services are open to the general public, including persons with disabilities, as required by the American's with Disability Act.
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How do I schedule a ride?
You can schedule your ride by doing one of the following:
- Call us at 1 (877) 686-0029
- Email us at erides@ridehirta.com
- Use the HIRTA On Demand app
Click here to download on the Apple App Store.
Click here to download on the Google Play Store.
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How do I pay for my trip?
You can pay the appropriate fare by a number of different ways:
- Exact change when boarding the bus
- You can load a balance onto your account so that future fares are deducted automatically
- You can pay directly in the HIRTA On Demand App
- HIRTA Bucks. HIRTA Bucks will no longer be sold as of July 1, 2024. Existing HIRTA Bucks can still be redeemed. For a safer option, you can load a balance or pay directly in the HIRTA On Demand App.
- Checks mailed or given to your driver.
Checks made payable to:
HIRTA
2824 104th St
Urbandale, Iowa 50322
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How much extra time should I plan for?
The driver may arrive 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later than your scheduled time. Please be ready at the beginning of this 20-minute window to avoid missing your ride.
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Is there any age limit?
Children under the age of 3 must be accompanied by an adult.
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Do I have to pay for my caregiver?
Caregivers ride for free while escorting their person, however, we do need to know if a caregiver will be riding to make sure we have proper seating available.
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What if I don't know how long an appointment will take?
For times like this, we will schedule your trip on a will-call basis. This means you can call us when your appointment is done and we will send a driver to pick you up.
Want to know who to contact?
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I want to schedule, change or cancel a ride.
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I want someone to talk me through HIRTA.
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I have a billing or other money issue.
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I have a compliment or complaint about HIRTA.
For a compliment, please email us by clicking here!
For a complaint, click here to email HIRTA's executive director.
Please visit our policy page for information on how to file a complaint if you believe there has been a policy violation, discrimination or major issue.
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I'm interested in outreach or media inquiries.
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I have a business question.
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I want to buy a bus.
Please visit our business info page or contact our Business Manager, Brooke. Email her by clicking here.
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I'm interested in volunteering or in need of assistance.
Want to know more about operations?
Find out below!
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Safety
From leadership to operations, safety is the number one goal of every HIRTA employee.
We practice a culture of safety and emphasize that in our hiring process. This includes, employee selection, orientation, training, education, and management support.
Our drivers and other staff are expected to look out for the safety of all of those we transport each day. That same protection is given to those who depend on each of us to do our jobs without shortcuts that can cause injuries. Safety is continually stressed and reinforced throughout our day-to-day operations, in our employee reviews, and at team meetings.
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Governance
HIRTA is governed by a 7-member board. Every Janaury, one member of each of our 7 counties Board of Supervisors is appointed for a one-year term.
Click here to visit our board page.
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Funding
HIRTA is funded by Federal, State and County sources, some cities, specific program funds, some United Ways, passenger fares, and advertising revenue.
To see a breakdown, click here.
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Ridership
HIRTA provided 99,536 rides from 12/1/2022 through 12/1/2023. We provided 53,321 hours of service and had 2,641 active riders.
Rides requested broken down by county:
Boone: 13,299
Dallas: 10,389
Jasper: 17,358
Madison: 16,059
Marion: 6,582
Story: 45,996
Warren: 13,744
Other (multiple locations): 17,868
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Fleet
Our fleet includes more than 80 vehicles including light-duty buses, mini-vans, 2 MV-1's and 9 passenger conversion vans.
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Economic Development
HIRTA plays a notable role in economic development and the strength of each community within our 7-county region and into the Des Moines metro. HIRTA continuously evaluates ways to improve how we serve our riders and their communities.