The Jule

Last updated

The Jule logo.png
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The Jule fixed route buses
Foundedearly 1970s
Headquarters950 Elm St.
Locale Dubuque, Iowa
Service area Dubuque County
Service type bus service, paratransit
AllianceDelaware, Dubuque, & Jackson County Regional Transit Authority
Routes11
Hubs3 (Dubuque Intermodal Transportation Center & 2 transfer points)
Fleet28
Daily ridership319,697 (2021)
Fuel type Clean diesel
DirectorRyan Knuckey [1]
Website Official Site

The Jule, formerly known as KeyLine Transit, is the operator of mass transit in 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 were both named after Julien Dubuque. [2]

Contents

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. [3]

Overview

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. [4]

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. The Jule currently[ when? ] has around 100 employees.

In 2018, The Jule's operations center moved to a new $6.2 million facility in Dubuque. [5]

Routes

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

Transfer stations

Bus fleet

In 2011, The Jule renewed its fleet with new vehicles for fixed route and paratransit service, including buses from Gillig and ElDorado National, paratransit vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and seasonal tourist trolley buses aimed at visitors. As of 2023, its year-round fixed-route fleet consisted of 18 Gillig Low Floor buses. [11] [12]

Fixed route ridership

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 had replaced the 2000 census numbers to calculate per capita statistics. [13]

RidershipChangeRidership per capita
2011346,881Increase2.svg4.61%5.11
2013377,504n/a5.57
2014409,144Increase2.svg8.38%6.03
2015479,185Increase2.svg17.12%7.07
2016486,691Increase2.svg1.57%7.18
2017455,959Decrease2.svg6.31%6.72
2018445,817Decrease2.svg2.22%6.57
2019421,693Decrease2.svg5.41%6.22
2020333,244Decrease2.svg20.97%4.91
2021319,697Decrease2.svg4.07%4.71

See also

References

  1. "Public Transportation Services | Department of Transportation". iowadot.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  2. "Two Iowa transit systems honored for excellence" (Press release). Iowa DOT. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  3. "Iowa Office of Public Transit: The Jule Organizational Structure" . Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  4. "The Jule Transit Routes" . Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  5. Wong, Allison. "Dubuque's Jule buses move to new operations center". KCRG-TV9. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  6. "The Jule System Overhaul" . Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  7. "Gray Line Routes" . Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  8. "Green Line Routes" . Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  9. "Orange Line Routes" . Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  10. "Red Line Routes" . Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  11. "PTMS Ranking – Transit Portal". Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  12. Carros, Adam (December 18, 2020). "Dubuque to unveil new buses in 2021". KCRG-TV9. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  13. "The National Transit Database (NTD)" . Retrieved June 30, 2022.