Northwest Indiana RBA gets into bus business on Monday

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

The Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority's first venture into fixed-route bus service kicks off Monday with additional bus service on three Gary Public Transportation Corp. routes.

The RBA is putting up $1.5 million to fund the routes, which will result in reduced wait times for riders and a dose of fiscal relief for the transit service.

"It's an attempt to improve service where people need it the most," said RBA Project Director Kenneth Dallmeyer. "They are routes that are pretty well used now, and they will be really well used once this gets going."

Broadway Express buses are scheduled to leave Gary's Metro Center every 30 minutes on weekdays as compared to every 40 minutes now. The Tri-City Connection will run every hour as compared to every two hours now.

The Broadway Express runs through Gary and Merrillville to the Government Center in Crown Point. The Tri-City Connection runs through Gary and East Chicago to the Dan Rabin Transit Plaza in Hammond.

U.S. 30 Circulator buses will not increase in frequency. But wait times when connecting from the Broadway Express to the Circulator should be greatly reduced because of the increased frequency of buses on the north-south route, Dallmeyer said.

Also, the transfer point between the two bus routes will be shifted to Century Plaza. Currently, riders transferring must walk a dusty service road to get from one to the other.

The increased Broadway frequency will end with the 7:10 p.m. bus from the Metro Center, at which time runs will be made every hour.

The RBA's move has evoked some controversy, with some seeing it as a bailout of the Gary transit service, which has financial difficulties and will face more as state-mandated tax caps kick in.

More than a year ago, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority extended a two-year, $6.5 million grant to the RBA to establish regional bus routes, express routes to Chicago and a regional call center.

On Wednesday night, Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority Director Tim Sanders said his organization will be carefully monitoring the expanded Gary service. He said RDA members want to see the funds spent efficiently.

The buses on three regional Gary routes will carry both the current Gary transit moniker and one for EasyGo, the brand name selected by the RBA. The buses will be operated by Gary transit drivers and maintained by the transportation corporation.