DeKalb city approves annual $5.3M transit contract with NIU for bus services

DeKALB – The city of DeKalb recently approved an annual $5.3 million contract with Northern Illinois University for shared transit services throughout DeKalb, with NIU expected to pay about $2 million for its portion.

The intergovernmental agreement is part of a yearly budgeted contract for the two entities, city officials said during a recent DeKalb City Council meeting. City and Huskie line buses provide fixed route transit and paratransit services through Transdev, city documents show.

“We go through this once a year,” City Manager Bill Nicklas said at a Feb. 27 council meeting. “Once an anticipated cost of our transit services to serve students at Northern is established, we come to you and ask for your authorization. Basically, we’re going to receive 40% of that, with one exception.”

The DeKalb City Council voted unanimously to approve the 2023 annual service contract with NIU.

Under the contract, NIU pays for 40% of the city’s transit services. One southside route is discounted, however, due to more of its riders being city residents instead of students, Nicklas said. NIU is expected to pay 20% for Route 19, which runs on the south side.

“We have one route, Route 19, where the ridership consists primarily of permanent residents of DeKalb, but some students will travel this to get down to the newer job centers on the southwest side,” Nicklas said. “For this reason, NIU provides a 20% local match, but on every other part of the transit system it’s 40%.”

Route 19 operates in the city’s south side and includes stops at Park 88 and Gurler Road, where some of the city’s largest manufacturers reside, including Meta DeKalb Data Center, Ferrara Candy Company, the Amazon distribution center, Panduit, 3M and the Target distribution center, among others.

“We have one route, Route 19, where the ridership consists primarily of permanent residents of DeKalb, but some students, who will travel this to get down to the newer job centers on the southwest side.”

—  DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas

According to the contract, the total cost for annual transit services throughout DeKalb is $5.3 million. NIU’s total contribution is $2,066,768, documents show. The city’s transit funds come primarily through state and federal funding, funneled through the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration.

DeKalb and NIU first approved an integrated transit service contract in 2018, which first went into effect in fiscal year 2019.