DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved awarding $1.6 million in federal funding to five bus services that serve smaller Iowa cities.

Awards were made to Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines, the city of Fort Dodge (DART), Sioux City Transit, and Burlington Trailways, which got the bulk of the money.

Burlington Trailways received a total of $1.1 million, some of which will be used to retrofit three older buses with three-point seatbelts, plus add electrical outlets for computers and other devices, meeting one of the top requests of riders, said a commission spokesman.

"In a recent survey the public has said, besides safety, their number one wish when using bus service is for convenience," said spokesman Ryan Ward.

Burlington Trailways also received money for depot renovations in Cedar Rapids and for a new bus.

The survey also showed a need for more information and that was part of an award to Jefferson Lines so it can put real-time monitors in 10 of its depots, making it possible for passengers to know when buses will arrive and leave.

"They may purchase a ticket and are told they are going to catch a bus at 10 a.m., but there is no real-time information to tell them when the bus is actually going to arrive," Ward said.

The Mason City airports "Iowa Travel Information Center" won an award of just over $20,000 to continue operating.

"Its a center that not only provides information on intercity buses but also public transit service in Iowa, so a person could call and say I need go get from say Mason City to Des Moines and they could give them information on transportation," Ward explained.

Travelers also could purchase tickets for the bus through the center and find out information for other public transit systems.

Under the state-federal funding program, private bus lines have to pay a 50-50 match for safety and convenience improvements. They pay 20 percent of the capital improvements, like depot renovations.

The federal government pays 83 percent if the bus lines are making upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The money has to be used to improve inter-city bus service for cities that are less than 50,000 in population.