By Rod Rose, The Lebanon Reporter
Lebanon - There's more interest in mass transit for Boone County than planners had expected.
About 22 persons attended a forum sponsored by the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority Thursday night at the Lebanon Public Library.
The CIRTA held a forum in Zionsville on May 20.
Gasoline prices nearing $4 a gallon, and diesel prices en route to $5 per gallon, aren't the only reasons to develop affordable public transportation linking the Indianapolis metropolitan region, CIRTA executive director Ehren T. Bingaman said.
"This is the beginning of a conversation; there will be more planning and detail," he said.
He asked the audience to contact local and state officials and urge support for dedicated funding for mass transit systems.
Mass transit is second only to health care as the top concern for central Indiana businesses, according to a 2007 study by Inside Indiana Business and Ice Miller, Bingaman said.
There's more to the business benefits than bringing workers to their jobs and sending them back home, Bingaman said. Being "a well-connected community" will give central Indiana an edge in attracting new businesses.
Transit lines also create new opportunities for commercial and residential development, he said.
Mass transit provides alternatives to private vehicles; gives persons who cannot drive for physical or other reasons transportation options and "delivers the independence that is the American Way," Bingaman said.
"If you don't have a choice in how you get around your region, that's not choice," he said.
Study after study has confirmed there is a need for a combination of transit systems, whether organizing carpools; diesel- or electric-powered light rail; automated systems, such as the monorails in Las Vegas and Tampa, Fla., and the privately owned line connecting Methodist and Riley hospitals in Indianapolis; high-speed buses or traditional trains.
The problem is paying for those systems, Bingaman said. "That is a major step we have yet to make," Bingaman said.
When the current U.S. highway system was being built, gasoline and land were cheap, he said. Now they aren't, and "we have to starting thinking about options," he said.
"A regional express bus service from Fishers and Carmel "is doing exactly what we had hoped," said Mike Terry, vice president of development for IndyGo.
A federal grant is paying 80 percent of the $1.5 million for the three-year test, Bingaman said. IndyGo is funded with a Marion County property tax levy; the money can only be spent in Marion County. Because the bus service also serves Hamilton County, IndyGo made arrangements with Fishers and Carmel to pay part of the 20 percent local matching grant.
Transit systems are infrastructure, the same as streets and utility lines, Terry said.
"You have to have a bus transit model to support a rapid transit mode," Terry said. "It's important for us as a community to say it is important to support the growth of a transit system."
The Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce most cites Charlotte, Denver and St. Louis in comparing municipal features, attractions, terms of population, services and amenities.
In the other three cities, "riding the bus is a viable choice for most folks," Bingaman said. Riders there who miss a bus may wait about 15 minutes. In Indianapolis, the next bus might not come by for a half-hour or more. "It's not a viable choice if, when we miss our ride, we have to wait around an hour," Bingaman said.
The CIRTA is one of the "implementing bodies" that will plan routes, with input from IndyGo, rural and suburban on-demand transportation systems like that offered through Boone County Senior Services, and trail systems that can bring walkers and bicycle riders to spots where they can catch a bus, train or light rail ride.
"There are some people who will ride their bike a long way to get to work," Bingaman said. Having convenient locations for walkers also boosts transit use, he said.
Jonathan Hause, Lebanon, asked whether the CSX rail line in Lebanon couldn't be used for transit.
He also asked about the Sbahn system in Germany, designed to return electric-powered trolleys to city streets.
A private group in Indianapolis is investigating that possibility, Bingaman said.