Indianapolis Bus Ridership Gaining After Investment

Indianapolis ponied up for more bus trips and now they're seeing more bus riders. The system added 500 more weekday bus trips along existing routes. "The city of Indianapolis is learning that beefed-up transit service quickly translates to more riders — with local transit agency, IndyGo, reporting this week that ridership was up 3.4 percent this August compared to the previous year," Angie Schmitt reports for Streetsblog USA. A .25% Marion County income tax hike funded the transit expansion.

IndyGo is by no means finished expanding transit in the growing city. They have plans for a bus redesign to make bus lines more direct and simple to understand, and significant service expansions. Officials hope this will spur further ridership growth, but say the initial improvement is a positive sign, especially with transit and bus ridership down around the country.