Indy Star Article Confirms IndyGo Ridership Up due to Gas Prices

Gas prices fueling surge in bus use
Some routes so full that people are turned away
By Christine Wonchristine.won@indystar.com

Indianapolis commuters have parked their cars and turned to buses in surging numbers this spring as gas prices soared past $4 a gallon.
April saw about 160,000 more one-way rides on IndyGo, the city's bus system, than in April 2007 -- a 24 percent increase.
New express lines running from Fishers and Carmel are often so full that people are turned away, and IndyGo officials are considering looking for more spaces to handle all the cars parked at the suburban stops.
Talk to the office workers, students and others who have become mass transit believers, and they'll point to one powerfully persuasive number.
"$4.19," said Katy Gentry, 26, Fishers, who has been taking the express bus to work at Bose McKinney & Evans in Downtown Indianapolis. "That's the reason."
Commuters across the country are embracing mass transit in numbers unseen for 50 years. According to the American Public Transportation Association, people rode the bus 30.4 million times more in the first quarter of 2008 than in 2007. In freeway-mad Los Angeles, commuter rail ridership set a record last week, and the California Department of Transportation reported a dip in freeway traffic.
The surge in interest offers some hope for IndyGo, a beleaguered system that in the past four years has had to cut jobs, trim routes and increase fares as it struggled with a tight budget and generally declining ridership since 2000.
But IndyGo officials say they can't afford to expand service any further. The system has a 15-year plan that includes adding routes and buses, but at this point, there is no way to pay for it.
"Ridership continues to go up," said IndyGo spokeswoman Ronnetta Spalding, "but there are not enough resources to meet those demands."
Spreading the word
Emily Hancock is one person who has done more than her share to boost ridership. She's persuaded about 15 of her colleagues from the Family and Social Services Administration to start taking the bus.
"I got one person to switch right on," said Hancock, 54, who lives on the Northside and has been taking the bus into Downtown Indianapolis every day for about three years. "But it wasn't until the gas price crunch that people started listening to me."
She uses the bus to attend meetings out of the office and has no regrets about embracing mass transit.
"Now I take the bus everywhere."
The system has 29 routes in Marion County and added the two regional express routes in the past year. A basic fare is $1.50, and the ride in from Fishers or Carmel costs $2 each way.
Those who make the switch say saving money is just the start of the benefits.
"There's no wear and tear on your car, or you, either," said Jim Osborn, 55, Fishers, who takes the express every day to work at M&I Bank. "I just sit back and relax and (don't) worry about having to fight the traffic."
David McConaha, 32, Carmel, takes the Carmel Express to Downtown three times a week. He drives the other two days, when it is his turn to pick up his 3-year-old son from day care.
"It's great because as a research analyst, I have a lot of material to read," McConaha said. "So I take advantage of the free time on the bus."
The suburban commute may take 10 or 15 minutes longer by bus than car, but riders say they don't mind.
Jacqui Gardner, 30, Carmel, is a mom of three children ages 4 to 8, so she enjoys what she calls precious "me-time" on the almost hourlong commute. She even saves time getting ready by doing makeup on the bus. Gardner started taking the bus the day the Carmel Express launched in March.
Her biggest worry was being stuck Downtown if an emergency came up, but IndyGo has help for those cases.
Its Central Indiana Commuter Services offers a free ride home to carpoolers and transit riders who unexpectedly encounter a problem during the day, such as an illness, personal emergency or the need to work unexpected overtime.
Wanting more
In the six months since it launched, the Fishers route has seen ridership almost triple, from 3,400 in October to 9,400 in April. The Carmel Express also almost tripled from 2,700 to 7,100 in one month after its launch in March.
Commuters report the express buses are so popular that sometimes not everyone can get on in the mornings. Then folks might end up driving anyway.
In the evenings, buses may skip stops when they're full, leaving riders to wait half an hour for the next bus. Some commuters walk to one of the first pickup spots rather than risk being left behind by a full bus.
Steve Gelwicks, 49, Fishers, waited one evening last week at the third stop, then found out the bus was full. He wasn't going to take that risk twice.
"I walked six blocks from the third stop, on Pennsylvania and South, to the first stop, on Pennsylvania and Ohio," said Gelwicks.
The popularity has caught others by surprise, too.
Tammy Sander, 34, missed the Carmel Express the first morning she tried to take it because the bus was full five minutes before it was scheduled to leave.
"I didn't know it was this popular. I could not believe how many people were in the parking lot," Sander said.
"Carmel is a wealthy city, so I didn't think they'd be affected by the gas prices, but we all are -- we make that drive every day. It doesn't matter what your economic income is -- it's about the impact on your wallet at the end of the week."