Another year, another round of budget shortfalls. The same old story for IndyGo, Indianapolis’ municipal transit provider. For the 2012 fiscal year, the short fall is expected to be $6.4 million short. At the core of the issue is existing funding sources drying up vs rising costs to do business mostly in the form of …
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m tired of talking long-term. For transit plans, it basically seems to be a code word for “probably never.”  So it was quite a pleasant surprise that IndyGo can actually implement some system enhancements in the next 3 years without a need for improving their funding situation. …
As a citizen of Indianapolis and a major supporter of mass transit, it should come as no surprise that I am always thinking about how we can pull off a successful light rail system. When I think about the key components that would create the best first step, there are many things to consider. First …
 When does perception become reality? When a preconceived notion trumps all logic and becomes the first thought associated with a specific topic. Why is it then, that “light rail” seems to be the favored quarter when it comes to alternative transportation modes?  Last week, I tackled the first half of why we perceive light rail to be …
As I have posted about before, the Indianapolis MPO is in charge of transportation planning in our region. Their governing region extends into other counties around the region. A federally mandated charge of theirs, is to keep a long range plan on hand that fiscally constrains our region’s transportation expansion over a 20 to 25 …
Last week, I profiled 22nd Street and how the surrounding neighborhood is poised to benefit from the controversial NE Corridor line in Indianapolis planned in the Indyconnect proposal. This week, I will focus on the neighborhood roughly centered at 71st Street & Binford Blvd; the second area in my series of nodes along the line that fall within …
Last night I had the opportunity to finally attend one of the Indyconnect Round 2 meetings. It was a little different from the Round 1 meetings, in that it was more of a community meeting where one could sign up to stand and comment or ask questions. I was near the end of the roughly …
Since the unveiling of Indyconnect’s long term proposal on Monday November 8th, those of us who were advocating AND EXPECTING light rail transit, are left to pick up the pieces. What we had been hoping for was light rail transit that would be implimented along Washington Street. Traditionally, light rail has been a GREAT motivator …
In what could be considered some of the most positive Indianapolis related transportation news, today IndyGO released some news that they will be purchasing 22 new buses; and 11 of them will be of the hybrid variety. “In January, IndyGo plans to welcome 22 new 40-foot, low-floor buses into its fleet. Of those 22 buses, …
For those of you who don’t participate in this city’s mass transit, know this: it is very possible to have positive, successful experiences commuting by city bus. And to be honest, for me, depending on mass transit instead of my pickup truck has improved the quality of my life.