New bus consolidation study also lacking, Northwest Indiana RBA members say

By Keith Benman, Times of Northwest Indiana
keith.benman@nwi.com

MERRILLVILLE | Members of the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority say a $170,000 draft report on consolidating bus systems in Lake County has some of the same shortcomings critics found in a previous report costing $625,000.

The new draft report lacks specifics on new consolidated routes, does not address demand-response service, and cuts out suburban communities when it come to representation, according to Corey Surrett, an RBA member representing Griffith, Highland and Munster.

"I think the draft needs a lot more work before we could even put it in front of you," Surrett told the RBA board at its regular meeting Monday at Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville.

State Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, called for a new report on consolidating regional bus services along with an audit of RBA books last year. In response, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority told the RBA to hire consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff to do a new study.

A report done three years ago for the RBA by consultant TranSystems was criticized by Dobis and others as lacking in several important respects.

The new draft study by Parsons Brinckerhoff does not provide for any means of funding the consolidated system other than what is in place now, said outgoing RBA President Dennis Rittenmeyer.

Surrett said the RBA will ask that more detail be added to the report in a meeting with Parsons Brinckerhoff representatives next week.

Meanwhile, one of the RBA's largest projects is delivering mixed results, according to ridership numbers released at Monday's meeting. Three regional Gary Public Transportation Corp. routes subsidized by the RBA at a cost of approximately $135,000 per month have seen an overall 6.2 percent drop in ridership in the past eight months.

One route, the Tri-City going from Gary's Metro Center to the Dan Rabin Transit Plaza in Hammond, has seen a 55 percent increase in ridership, with 6,050 riders on that route in March, according to GPTC figures.

But ridership on the U.S. 30 Connector in Merrillville and Hobart has dropped 21 percent and ridership on the Broadway Express has dropped about 15.8 percent.

That compares to a 16.4 percent drop in ridership overall for GPTC during the same eight-month period.

GPTC General Manager Daryl Lampkins said most U.S. mass transit systems are seeing ridership declines because of the recession. Buses on GPTC local routes in the city also have been plagued by breakdowns and the cash-strapped agency is planning deep cuts in service.

"Jobs have declined," Lampkins noted. "There are no jobs to go to."