The Purple Line will run along 38th Street, upgrading a traditional bus route that IndyGo says is among its most ridden and most profitable, and connecting downtown Indianapolis to Lawrence.
Earlier this month, the Democrat-controlled City-County Council voted 20-5 for new development standards that add residential and mixed-use districts to push bus usage, walkability and density county-wide.
When IndyGo’s goal of an all-electric bus fleet by 2035 hit a major obstacle, the agency detoured, ordering 27 hybrid buses that are powered with both electricity and diesel.
The IndyGo transit system will not have to pay millions of dollars for companies to relocate utility services to make way for new rapid bus lines. That’s because the state senator who proposed the requirement dropped it.
A Republican senator won initial approval this week for an amendment that would require IndyGo to pay public utilities to relocate utility services to make way for new transit lines, a move that Democrats say goes against standard practice.
Rep. Jim Pressel, who chairs the House Roads and Transportation Committee, will not schedule the measure for a vote by Thursday’s deadline, his spokesman said Wednesday, effectively killing the bill, which has already passed the Senate.
IndyGo has long struggled to improve its Open Door service for riders with disabilities. It’s launching a series of public meetings this week to solicit ideas from the public.
Senate Bill 141 would withhold 10% of local income tax revenue from IndyGo until it meets a private fundraising threshold established in a 2014 law. It also would prevent IndyGo from moving forward with expansion projects, like the Blue and Purple lines, until it secures private funding.
Senate Bill 141, authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, would withhold 10% of local income tax revenue from IndyGo until it meets a private fundraising threshold established in a 2014 law.
Keystone Corp. would replace the former Chase Bank branch in the 6200 block of College Avenue with a five-story building adjacent to the garage, while adding two levels of apartments atop the parking structure.
If the Indianapolis Public Schools board approves the most drastic cuts, about 5,600 high school students and 4,000 elementary school students could lose district-provided transportation.
IndyGo has purchased one parcel and is working to purchase an adjacent one for its Open Door paratransit service, which is now housed on the city’s northeast side.
Under state law, the Indianapolis Public Transportation Foundation is supposed to raise about $6 million per year to supplement revenue generated by a Marion County transit tax. So far, it’s well behind the goal.
The east-side site, at 9503 E. 33rd St., will serve as an additional location for IndyGo, which has outgrown its current West Washington Street headquarters.
The transit system has raised just 1% or so of the private funding called for by a state law that helped fund a major expansion of the system.
IndyGo has been evaluating possible expansion sites around the city in recent months because it has run out of room at its West Washington Street headquarters.
IndyGo said the balancing program would not eliminate any routes. IndyGo had planned to make major route changes this year, but has postponed those changes until next year because of the pandemic.
IndyGo is on the hunt for additional space because its staff and bus fleet have grown in recent years, making its current headquarters on West Washington Street too small for its needs.
Though work on the Purple Line and Blue Line bus rapid transit lines will continue, transit system says some other planned route improvements are on hold.
The Indianapolis City-County Council’s Municipal Corporations Committee voted 7-2 Wednesday night to advance the proposal to the full council.
