Chicago express Loop bus service to start Oct. 6 from Valparaiso

BY PHIL WIELAND, Times of Northwest Indiana
pwieland@nwitimes.com

VALPARAISO | Express commuter bus service to Chicago's Loop is scheduled to start Oct. 6, but the city is looking for volunteers interested in a sneak preview of the new service.

The city's Board of Public Works and Safety is expected to act Thursday on several items related to the service, including the operating agreement with Free Enterprise System. Free Enterprise plans to start with two, 50-passenger buses providing the service, with the first leaving the station at Campbell Street and Lincolnway about 6 a.m.

Stuart Summers, executive director of the city's Redevelopment Commission, said a "soft start" is planned for Sept. 29 and 30. Volunteers can get a sample of the new service while the drivers are trained on the route and the stops. The service will operate as normal, so people will be able to ride into Chicago in the morning and return in the afternoon.

The board also will be asked to set the fare, which Summers said will be less than $10 each way with a monthly pass of about $375. Free Enterprise is working with a software vendor to set up an online reservation and ticketing system, and the board of works will be asked Thursday to approve setting up a credit card service with Moneris Solutions.

"When we get the credit card system up, customers can go to the Web site and print out a boarding pass to present on the bus," Summers said. "They can get a ticket on the bus, but they risk not having a seat available if they wait. We were told to expect a start-up bump of 20 percent more riders the first week as people try it before it settles down to a normal level."

The city will monitor the reservations and can add up to two more buses, if needed. Summers said surveys show a need for three buses, and the city hopes the service will grow to four buses. The buses will be equipped with wireless Internet service and satellite TV. Each bus will have three TVs tuned to the same channel, but they haven't decided which channel that will be.

Work also began on the parking lot behind the Franklin House that riders will use. Developer Jake Wagner is putting in drainage, running underground conduit for the electrical wiring for lighting and repaving the lot, Summers said. The work is under way, although the sale of the property to the commission isn't final yet.

Wagner will leave room for landscaping and a buffer between the lot and the railroad tracks, which the Redevelopment Commission will do. Summers said the commission plans to use the landscaping as an opportunity to hire minority or disadvantaged contractors as required by the grant from the Regional Development Authority to buy the land.

The sidewalk on Campbell from Lincolnway to the Franklin House will be replaced. The board of works also will be asked to adopt rules for passengers on the buses and hire Kim Ranegar to do marketing for the service.