Jeff Burton and Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana Staff Writers
HAMMOND | The beleaguered Hammond Transit System will become the first in the region to be managed and operated by the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority.
In a special session Monday night, Hammond City Council members voted 6-3 to transfer administration of the system to the regional agency, infusing it with $900,000 in casino-generated revenues for each of the next two years. Just three hours before the Hammond council convened, the RBA's board of directors voted 13-0 to commence negotiations with the city.
"This is, I think, the last opportunity we have in Northwest Indiana to bring the area together and start to regionalize transit," RBA interim President Stephen Adik said.
Speaking to City Council members, Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said without a transfer to the RBA, buses in his city would stop running.
"We have no other plan," he said.
Some council members though, questioned whether the plan is worth $1.8 million.
"For years I've seen buses with no people on them, and it seems like a waste of money," At-large Councilwoman JoAnn Matonovich said, questioning how the RBA, with a lack of a track record, will improve service.
The transfer will take effect Jan. 1.
RBA Director Tim Brown said with just three months to get a plan together, the current proposal looks a lot like what Hammond Transit is currently operating. He said the RBA will begin looking for an operator for the system and start looking at routes that will take residents to places in Hammond they want to go and outside the city limits.
Raymond Fletcher, a Hammond resident who uses public transportation, said he'd rather see the city improve the system it already has in place than transfer it to the RBA.
"What I see is Hammond being sold out, and it hurts me," Fletcher said.
Those sentiments were echoed by Teresa Torres, director of the disability rights group Everybody Counts Inc. She said McDermott and council members have been using "scare tactics" to push the plan through without public hearings.
"All I've heard is let's use Hammond as a guinea pig and see if it works," she said.
Everybody Counts and Hammond Transit previously agreed to terms of a consent decree giving the advocacy group input on ways to improve the system. The group said those terms haven't been met, and it plans to ask a judge to find the city in contempt later this week.
Council President Homero "Chico" Hinojosa, who along with Councilman Al Salinas sponsored the resolution, said with the transfer he sees services improving in the near future.
"With $900,000, we're going to have buses in the city of Hammond," Hinojosa said. "This will be the start to get regional busing going. Hopefully East Chicago will join in."