Hawkeye Heaven (Iowa City, June 9-10, 2022)

In June of 2022 I had the pleasure of attending the Bus History Association's annual convention, which was based in Omaha, Nebraska and Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa City is served primarily by Iowa City Transit, which was founded in 1971 and was initially led by my dear friend, the late John Pappas. The concept of having large route numbers on the rear of the buses was his idea. We would later be treated to a garage tour, and ICT is a classy operation, reflecting the legacy of it's first General Manager. Also serving Iowa City is Coralville Transit, which mainly serves the northwest suburban town of Coralville, and Cambus, which was founded in 1972 and primarily provides service to the sprawling campus of the University of Iowa (The Hawkeyes are their mascot), which spans both banks of the Iowa River. On the morning of June 10th (a Thursday), our first photo stop of the day, we spent around 45 minutes at the main transfer point, located outside the University's Schaeffer Hall building on the corner of Clinton and Washington Streets. All 3 systems converge here so the activity was almost non-stop, impressive given that it was summertime. I can only imagine how it is when classes are in session! All 3 systems have fleets primarily composed of Gillig Low Floor diesels, with ICT also having a new fleet of four 2021 Proterra ZX5 electrics. There's occasional running commentary and jokes from myself and other BHA members as we were all on the corners. Enjoy!!