It was a cold October day and we invited 30 friends to show up at our off-Mass Ave office for an excursion. We named the date and the time, with a somewhat gentle nudge that this wasn’t an occasion to be fashionably late. With little more detail provided, they trusted us. Ok, we also promised them dinner, drinks and to have them back before 9 p.m.
We had an idea, conviction and a well-laid plan to take our friends to dinner using public transit.
And it rained. The kind of all-day torrential downpour on a cold October day that chills one to the bone, and would make many of us call off plans and eat soup for dinner. But everyone showed up. We made our way across the construction-laden Mass/College Ave intersection to the #17 bus stop where we huddled beneath several shared umbrellas and awaited our bus.
Since that first ride, we hosted seven more. Word spread quickly and the spots filled up each month. Sometimes the weather was perfect, and other times it wasn’t. Sometimes we arrived to find a bus stop relocated and the sidewalk to get to it closed for construction. Other times, all was as it should be. Regardless, once on the bus we were sitting or standing shoulder to shoulder with people on their everyday commute to work, home, the pharmacy or grocery store. Those shared experiences brought human life to years of disinvestment in our public transportation network, and what it’s meant for this city we love.
Those shared experiences brought human life to years of disinvestment in our public transportation network, and what it’s meant for this city we love.
There are a multitude of ways in which we give to and build up our community with our time, talent and treasure. Our civic participation is also critical. This year, we are voting for more than the person who will take seat in the Oval Office this January. Across the country, $200 billion in public transportation funding will be decided through local referendums. In Indianapolis, the Marion County Transit Plan requests a 0.25% personal income tax to fund a city-wide system expansion. For someone earning the median income of $40,000 this equates to about $100, or $8 broken down by month. As my friend Jeremy pointed out, that’s a couple of ParkIndy meter charges. Meanwhile, the average household in Indy spends $12,000 annually in transportation costs and households in “transit rich” neighborhoods save $6,000.
The Marion County Transit Plan will bring 70% more service to our city, shorter wait times and easier transfers, expanded hours of service seven days a week, and a network of bus rapid transit lines. The greatest increase of service will be felt by our neighbors who rely on it the most. By 2021, 42% of low income households will have access to frequent service, compared to 13% today. And for households in poverty, 51% of these residents will have access to frequent service, compared to only 16% today. I think it’s also important to point out, the people in our city who can least afford any changes to their monthly expenses, those on fixed incomes such as social security, will not pay for these improvements.
Perhaps you won’t use it. I’m betting you might. And I’m absolutely positive that someone you rely on is relying on IndyGo.
This year, vote yes for transit. We’ll be a stronger city and community of neighbors.
And if you’re able and so inclined, consider volunteering for part of all of Election Day as a Transit Drives Indy volunteer.
Access + Frequency Defined
Access means the number of residents who have a 1/4 mile or less walk to a bus stop. At average walking speed, that’s about 5 minutes.
Frequency describes how often a bus arrives to a stop. Most IndyGo routes today run with a 30-60 minute freqency, with this plan most of them will run every 15 minutes. This is the standard at which transit studies find people decide a bus is always coming and they don’t have to plan their lives around the bus schedule.
Marion County Ballot Question
“Shall Marion County have the ability to impose a county economic development income tax rate, not to exceed a rate of 0.25%, to pay for improving or establishing public transportation service in the county through a public transportation project that will create a connected network of buses and rapid transit lines; increase service frequency; extend operational hours; and implement three new rapid transit lines?”
*Statistics cited are pulled from the Marion County Transit Plan
