MLK Transportation Center serves public need

"That's their mode of transportation to be able to travel from city to city," said Miller, Airport/transit fleet director for the city.

The city's $11.6 million Martin Luther King Jr. Transportation Center - a multimodal or combined ground transportation center, opened in February 2003.

Miller said the city's goal was to coordinate transportation for members of the public who don't have the ability or financial means to drive or fly.

"If you don't have a car or you can't drive somewhere else in the country, even inside Sioux City, if you're dependent on buses for your transportation the key ingredient is that it's not just a bus ride around Sioux City," Miller said. "You can also connect and get anywhere else in the country."

Miller explained that you could travel to Omaha via Jefferson Lines, connect with the Omaha Metropolitan Transit and then go to Council Bluffs, Iowa.

When the transportation center opened, Jefferson Lines and Greyhound both ran buses through Sioux City traveling daily to Omaha and Minneapolis.

In August 2004, Greyhound pulled out of Sioux City.

Today, Jefferson Lines is the city's sole provider of bus transportation with routes to Omaha and Sioux Falls.

Miller said Jefferson Lines has an agreement with the city and rents space at the transportation center.

According to Miller, there are no plans for expansion to the building or services at this time.

Miller said the transportation center provides sufficient space to handle all of the city and coach buses that come in and out of the transportation center. The four-level parking ramp, he said, is able to accommodate travelers, visitors, shoppers and employees of nearby businesses.

The transportation center also offers a spacious lobby for travelers to wait indoors for their buses, retail space, and skywalk accessibility to the Orpheum Theatre, Frances Building and access to all of the buildings in the skywalk system.