Indiana Gov. Mike Pence recently signed legislation authorizing tax officials in six counties in ­central Indiana to seek voter permission to raise income taxes to fund public transit.

“We applaud the leadership demonstrated by Indianapolis Mayor Greg ­Ballard and by the state legislature on the issue of local transit funding,” said Mike Terry, president and chief executive officer of IndyGo, the state’s largest public transportation system.

The bill, which passed with support from a broad coalition of local officials, business leaders, and environmental groups, would allow eligible counties or townships to assess up to .25 percent income tax to pay for public transportation projects after voter approval.

Passage of the law comes after several years of intensive and coordinated outreach centered on central Indiana’s long-range transportation plan, branded as Indy Connect. The award-winning planning process has gathered input from the public since 2010 at hundreds of meetings around the Indianapolis metro area. Most recent iterations of the comprehensive transportation vision call for doubling the local bus service, establishing five rapid transit lines, and continuing to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure.