Transportation

 

Highways & Interstates
Near the crossroads of the nation, where I-35 and I-80 intersect, Ames is centrally located to all points north, south, east, and west.  Interstate road systems place Ames less than a day's drive from Omaha, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Sioux Falls, Chicago, and St. Louis.  Des Moines, Iowa's capitol city, is only 40 minutes away.

Distance from Ames	Hours	Miles
Des Moines, IA	36 min	34
Omaha, NE	2 hrs 36 min	169
Minneapolis, MN	3 hrs 15 min	214
Kansas City, MO	3 hrs 26 min	277
Sioux Falls, SD	4 hrs 26 min	299
Chicago, IL	5 hrs 39 min	357
St. Louis, MO	6 hrs 21 min	395
Source: Google Maps, 2008

Air
The Ames Municipal Airport is designed to serve corporate fleets and small private aircraft with a runway that is 5,700 feet long by 100 feet wide .  The Ames Municipal airport provides services including aviation fuel sales, parking and hangars (for transient aircraft), flight instruction, hangar and aircraft rental, and more (Ames Municipal Airport, 2008).

Only 45 minutes away from Ames, the Des Moines International Airport offers services for commercial and charter transportation by airlines that include Allegiant, American Eagle, Comair (Delta), Continental Express, Midwest, Northwest, Skyway, United, and US Airways.  Service to 17 non-stop destinations is provided daily to Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and Washington D.C.

With over 1.98 million people using the Des Moines International Airport in 2007, the airport provides services for business and leisure travelers, as well as cargo handling, totaling over 108,000 air operations per year.
(Des Moines International Airport, 2008)

Rail
Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad, has main lines that run across Iowa from east to west and north to south, with over 1,400 miles of track.  The east/west corridor provides a direct route from Chicago to the West Coast.  The north/south "spine line" connects the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St.Paul to Des Moines and Kansas City. (Union Pacific, 2008)

Truck
Several local and area truck lines serve Ames.  United Parcel Service and Federal Express have terminals in Ames.

Mass Transit
CyRide provides the Ames community with one of the best transportation systems in the nation.  The city-wide bus system transports nearly 4.2 million people on its 66 buses and offers reliable and inexpensive transportation.