IndyGo Hosts Another Transit Talk

IndyGo continues to seek public feedback on its transit upgrade through public presentations and Q&As.

Tuesday’s Transit Talk focused on the Blue Line, the replacement and update for IndyGo’s route 8. The route will span more than 20 miles from Indianapolis international Airport to Cumberland.

A few members of the public attended the noon talk and asked questions about safety, funding, traffic, and how IndyGo plans to better communicate with its users.

Indianapolis resident Kim Bush says she’s ridden the bus for over 40 years and that while her overall her experience with IndyGo is good, she doesn’t think IndyGo communicates well enough.

“You’re making changes but you’re not talking to us more about it,” she said. “You have these meetings but, well, there’s nobody here.”

Bush advocated for more signage and announcements in the street about route changes. Special Projects Coordinator Jerome Horne says that IndyGo is working to develop better public communication strategies.

“Right now we don’t really have a good way, if something happens, to let people know in real time that it’s happening,” Horne said.

IndyGo representatives invited the public to submit feedback about future bus station placement as well as lane configuration and airport transit. They also said IndyGo will work with IMPD to enforce bus lane exclusivity.

President of the domestic violence shelter The Julian Center, Catherine O’Connor also attended the talk with specific concerns about public education after the transit system upgrade.

O’Connor says IndyGo needs to educate the public “to make sure the people who are trying to get to us safely get to us safely, and for the larger community.”

Horne says IndyGo will also implement specific community education campaigns on the Transit Plan project.

“That’s the goal, to see if they’re going to make it better,” Bush says. “Because I’ll still be catching the bus for the next few years.”

The Blue Line is part of IndyGo’s larger Transit Plan, a push to make Indianapolis transit more rapid and frequent. The line’s construction is anticipated to begin in winter 2020 and open in 2022. Route improvements and the Red and Purple lines are also included in the plan.