Valparaiso adds incentives to Chicago bus service

The announcement comes after the second Saturday of service for tourists and shoppers to Chicago, which had six reservations as of Friday, Stu Summers, executive director, said.

The city added the Saturday route to the new commuter express shuttle to Chicago after several people asked for it. The first week brought in just three riders, Summers said, but the numbers have already gone up not just for Saturday but for next Saturday, too, which had seven reservations as of Friday, he said.

The Saturday ridership is increasing along with weekly ridership. Summers said the bus service had 33 riders as of Monday, compared to 22 its first week of service at the beginning of October.

The city had to reach at least 27 riders to meet the requirements of a federal grant, but Summers has said the city is aiming for about 40 riders a day to make the service considered viable.

"We're getting there," Summers said.

Valparaiso has implemented several new extras, including allowing riders to buy a monthly pass at a discount. That service starts in December.

The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority has given money toward the project and is looking to see how successful it will be, although Chairman Leigh Morris said it was too early to tell. Morris said the group would probably evaluate the program at the end of the year. He did say, though, that he thought it was an accomplishment that the service had managed to grow ridership despite gas prices dropping by more than half in the past few weeks.

Summers said that the city does have an agreement with the company running the service that if gas costs go down, so will the city's fees. Valparaiso saved more than $600 in October because of the drop in prices, Summers said.

At the same time, though, Summers said, he's not sure how much of an effect the cheaper gas costs will have on ridership. One bright point is that the bus offers things like WiFi Internet and satellite television, which commuters can't get when driving.

"They are all very satisfied with the service," he said.