By SARAH MICHALOS, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Johnson County commuters could zoom to work in Indianapolis on a sleek monorail, passenger train or, more likely, a bus.
Nearly 10 modes of public transportation were discussed at a public forum in Greenwood organized by the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority.
The forum was conducted to gather input from residents, executive director Ehren Bingaman said. The 16 members of the authority's board will consider the comments when they form plans for mass transit in central Indiana this summer and fall, he said.
About five of the nearly 25 people who came to the forum Tuesday offered suggestions on what kind of transportation would be best for residents.
Having small buses pick up people in their neighborhoods and then take them to a centrally located bus stop was Center Grove area resident Alan Schmidt's idea.
He suggested the small buses feed into a bigger system of full-size buses that would travel to and from Indianapolis.
A bus system is the most realistic option for Johnson County even though people may view it negatively, Bingaman said.
"People think, 'You want me to ride a bus? That's inferior, or that's for poor people,'" he said. "No, that's how we treat it, as a system of last resort."
A bus system would be the most cost-effective for the county, since already there is a pickup bus service in place, Bingaman said.
Access Johnson County, the county transit system, has regular routes but also takes reservations to pick people up at home and take them to work, appointments or wherever they want to go.
Even with an existing service, any form of public transportation is expensive, Bingaman said. His agency is working with legislators to get federal funds for public transportation.
Fares pay about 20 percent of what it costs to run a transportation system, he said, and one city has turned to shoppers for help.
In Charlotte, N.C., everyone pays an extra .5 percent sales tax. The city earns about $2 million per year from the tax, all of which goes toward its rail system, Bingaman said.
Any tax would have to go through the legislature, authority board and Greenwood City Council member Ron Deer said.
Members of two focus groups formed by the authority were asked if they would pay an extra tax, Bingaman said. Nine out of 10 members said they would, as long as they knew up front that the money would go to mass transportation and nothing else, he said.
Still, a decision and action on mass transportation in the state is years away, Bingaman said. What might be focused on first is getting people around in downtown Indianapolis.
Michael Cheerva of Greenwood suggested starting with a rail line that would shuttle people between the airport and downtown.
Cheerva, who is an attorney with an office downtown, also recommended revamping streetcars in the city's historical district. He remembers when the city had a free streetcar route called the blue line, but it was eliminated because of a lack of riders.
The authority conducted two forums in Hendricks County about two weeks ago and has two planned for next week in Madison County.