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| COVERAGE OF THE 2013 APTA BUS & PARATRANSIT CONFERENCE |
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| IndyConnect: Central Indiana’s Transit Planning Initiative |
Michael Terry, president and CEO, Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo), opened the Host Session at the APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference by sharing background on IndyGo, and then talked about Central Indiana’s long-range transit planning initiative in collaboration with several partners.
IndyGo’s bus system is currently not meeting the needs of the community, Terry admitted: “Pressure is on us to operate more efficiently. But there is no additional finding to grow.” Currently, IndyGo serves Marion County with a fleet of 155 buses. The fleet size, he noted, is half of peer cities.
“The demand is there,” said Terry. And it’s not just about those who ride. It’s also about “those who recognize that through access to jobs, positive economic results occur. We need to modernize to attract and to keep the brightest and the best.”
The IndyConnect Plan, he explained, is designed to connect people with people and take people to places around Central Indiana. It will provide improved public transit options—from local and express buses, to Bus Rapid Transit, to rail rapid transit lines. Ultimately, he said, it will connect people to jobs, healthcare, education, and recreation.
The plan will also increase Central Indiana’s competitiveness and economic development opportunities while improving job growth, quality of life of its citizens, neighborhood revitalization, and the environment, he said.
Anna Tyskiewicz, executive director, Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the process has included more than 250 public meetings and the collection of more than 10,000 public comments. In fact, she said, the American Planning Association’s Indiana Chapter honored IndyConnect as the Best Plan and Best Marketing Program in 2011.
Ehren Bingaman, executive director, Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority, talked about Phase 1 of the plan in Hamilton and Marion counties, which is expected in the next 10 years to double local bus service and create express bus service between counties, circulator service within communities, and five rapid transit lines.
Ron Gifford, executive vice president, public policy, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, said that while IndyGo may not be “the best system, it certainly is the most studied.”
Indiana legislators are currently considering House Bill 1011, which if passed would allow voters in each county to decide in a public referendum whether to make an investment in public transit in their communities.
“We have to change a culture, a mindset. Our biggest champions are our local elected officials,” Gifford added. “They see it as an investment in their communities. We need to be able to attract business, jobs, talent, and keep those jobs.”
The capital costs to build will be approximately $1.3 billion, with $950 million in construction and $350 million for new vehicles.
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Panelists in the May 7 Host Forum, from left: IndyGo President and CEO Michael Terry; Anna Tywkiewicz, Indianapolis MPO; Ehren Bingaman, Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority; and Ron Gifford, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. | |
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