BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com

Gary Public Transportation Corp. ridership increased 14 percent in October, a jump officials attribute mainly to more buses on regional routes running to communities outside Gary.

"I think we are tapping into a demand that wasn't being met by the service we had out there," said David Wright, GPTC director of planning and marketing.

In July, the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority approved a contract under which GPTC is paid $1.5 million per year for providing increased service to East Chicago, Hammond, Merrillville, Hobart and Crown Point.

The additional service on regional routes started in mid-September. Fares collected are returned to the RBA.

The RBA at its regular meeting Wednesday night approved paying GPTC an additional $16,840 per month for the next four months for the expanded service.

GPTC found it needed 10 more trips than originally contemplated to make for timely connections between buses in the Broadway corridor, Wright said. It also had difficulty scheduling drivers for full eight-hour shifts, which is required under its union contract with drivers.

RBA Vice President Stephen Adik said he wanted any funding for GPTC's regional routes tied to performance. Adik was successful in adding an amendment to require GPTC to meet performance standards to receive the increased monthly payment.

GPTC General Manager Daryl Lampkins explained delays experienced in one week in October were due to a large number of bus breakdowns. He said newer buses have now been put on those routes.

Ridership on GPTC's 13 routes increased by approximately 12,000 in October, Wright said.

The three routes getting RBA funding are the South Broadway Express, the U.S. 30 Circulator; and the Tri-City Connection.

Ridership on the Tri-City, which now runs every hour as compared to every two hours before, increased by 2,000 riders, Wright said. That route runs from Gary's Adam Benjamin Metro Center to the Dan Rabin Transit Center in Hammond.

Broadway ridership, including both express and local runs, increased by 1,500, Wright said. The Broadway Express runs from the Metro Center to Merrillville and Crown Point. It also connects with the U.S. 30 Circulator route, which runs in Merrillville and Hobart.

The time between Broadway Express buses was cut to 30 minutes from the previous 45 minutes.