Students led effort to launch campus transit system
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Written by: David McCartney

(Editor's note: The Old Gold series provides a look at University of Iowa history and tradition through images housed in University Archives, Department of Special Collections.)

UI student government hatched the idea, and pizza nurtured it. Today, 40 years later, Cambus is going strong, a student-operated transit service that provides nearly 4 million rides each year, according to its website.

Starting modestly on Jan. 24, 1972, with a rented six-bus fleet, Cambus grew to 18 buses in just two years. Today the fleet is fully accessible for use by passengers with disabilities. In addition to the scheduled bus routes, Cambus also offers the Bionic Bus, a specialized curb-to-curb service offered on demand to those who are eligible.

Necessity, as they say, is the parent of invention. Iowa City’s bus service wasn’t meeting the growing needs of commuting students, and the idea of a campus-oriented transit service was inspired by growing traffic congestion and tightening parking spaces. The introduction of Cambus also coincided with completion of several bicycle pathways through the campus in late 1971. University leaders hailed both as steps toward better student-administration relationships at a time of student unrest. “[It shows that] students can see eye-to-eye” with administrators on some issues, student body vice president Mike Vance said at the time.

Following the 2008 flood, Cambus assumed even greater importance, linking the campus with temporary classroom sites for the art and music programs whose facilities were damaged or destroyed by the high water. In January 2009, for example, Cambus added a new shuttle serving the School of Music south of Burlington Street at Clinton.

March 24, 1972, Daily Iowan headline announcing campus bus service
March 24, 1972, Daily Iowan headline announcing the new campus bus service. Image courtesy of the Department of Special Collections, UI Libraries.

Oh, about that pizza. The name “Cambus Shuttle” was the winning entry in a contest sponsored by the committee overseeing the new transit service. The winner, Rodney Speidel, a graduate student, won two free pizzas for submitting the winning name and design, according to the March 24, 1972, issue of The Daily Iowan. Some of the more colorful also-rans included: Winged Wheels, Whales on Wheels, Park and Take the Ark, Day Tripper, and Shuttle Bug. Old Gold supposes he could have lived with any of those brands but is pleased that Cambus won out.

And, um, make it pepperoni for Old Gold, please.