Carmel workers hop on bus for ride to office

By SARAH MICHALOS, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer

More than 100 people from Carmel left their cars behind and boarded IndyGo commuter buses each morning this week.

IndyGo launched its commuter express route Monday, which takes people on a 40-minute ride from Meijer on Carmel Drive to six stops in downtown Indianapolis and back.

The service attracted 107 people the first day, which increased to 121 on Wednesday, vice president of business development Mike Terry said.

A route from Franklin or Greenwood into Indianapolis is being considered by IndyGo planners, Terry said.

IndyGo has enough funds for three express routes after they received a $4.5 million Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality federal grant. The grant pays for 80 percent of the service, and IndyGo has to find other agencies to pay the rest.

Carmel and Fishers, the first two cities chosen for express routes, each agreed to pick up the 20 percent for their routes, Terry said. But the cost for the cities may not be much because all money collected from fares is taken off the city's bill.

Fishers hasn't had to pay anything since the express route started in October because they've had so many passengers, Terry said. On Monday, 249 passengers took the bus downtown, he said.

A one-way ticket costs $2, Terry said.

"Only $4 a day is small when you consider a person's cost to fill up their gas tank or what it costs for parking passes," he said.

For now, buses run Monday through Friday. Carmel's service will be assessed in about a year and a half, Terry said. Other funding options will be looked at if the service is popular enough to be continued after the federal grant runs out, he said.