What color is this bus?

CyRide buses are predominantly red, white, and yellow. Nevertheless, CyRide passengers will speak of taking the "blue bus" or the "gold route." What do they mean?

According to legend, the explanation has its roots in the early days of Iowa State University, when it was known as the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Following that tradition, numeracy and literacy were not among the primary skills on the curriculum, so rather than using the usual numbers or written destination names, it became necessary to identify bus routes by distinctive colors that formed the background to the canvas destination blinds then in use. When these blinds were replaced by earlier dot matrix displays, which were all yellow, a suitably colored card was placed in the lower front windshield for several years, until phones finally became smart enough to know which bus was approaching anyway.