Tuesday, June 14, 2011

IndyGo to Offer Free Rides June 16

IndyGo, which runs the bus system in Indianapolis, will be participating in "Dump the Pump Day" on June 16. IndyGo will be offering all of their routes without charging riders for the day, with the exception of the Green Line route which goes between downtown Indianapolis and the Indianapolis International Airport.

While I was still attending IUPUI, I was given a IndyGo pass as part of some deal the university struck with IndyGo. While I sometimes rode it to get around downtown, I used it a lot a couple years ago when I was between cars. I experienced the best and the worst of IndyGo that way.

The best? It is really easy to get around downtown Indianapolis, especially during traditional business hours. Even without a schedule, the routes are pretty instinctive and buses are constantly coming and going.

But it's when you try going outside of downtown Indianapolis that it becomes a bit more complicated. At the time, I was living in Broad Ripple. As you get later in the day, buses only came once an hour in either direction. So if you missed a bus, it'd be another hour before you could catch another.

Once, when I was trying to catch a bus to the Glendale area, the bus stop seemed to basically be in the middle of someone's yard! Most of the bus stops I used didn't have any type of bench or covered area to wait in.

Of course, IndyGo's main problems are the service it provides outside of downtown. In my current residence within Pike Township, the closest IndyGo bus stop is a bit over two miles away. That's not too bad for someone who has a bike, like myself, but I don't think a two mile walk would be all that great for the elderly or disabled.

So start planning out your routes now. And if you have one, dust off your bike! Save a day's worth of gas for Friday, and try this IndyGo thing out. Who knows, if ridership increases, maybe some decent funds will be given to them to get some new routes going.

You can read the full press release, along with links to routes and phone numbers, here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please see the Indy Student Blog Policies page for the full policy on blog comments. Verification of comments by typing in a random word is required to prevent spam. Due to recent blog inactivity, comments are now pre-screened to prevent spam advertisement.