EDITORIAL: IndyGo must solve problems quickly to make Red Line buses timely

If you read IBJ editorials regularly, you know we have consistently supported construction of the Red Line and other important improvements to IndyGo’s bus system. We backed the referendum to raise taxes to pay for the changes and IndyGo’s plans for the $96.3 million bus rapid transit route.

And in August, we cheered the Sept. 1 opening of the 13.1-mile Red Line, predicting that it would provide lower-income residents a better way to get to work and help encourage those who drive cars to give mass transit a chance.

But that optimism came with a warning: “It’s up to IndyGo to offer a level of service that lives up to the careful planning that got us here.” Now, one month in, IBJ wants to reiterate the need for strong execution.

The Red Line has so far proven fairly popular, averaging some 7,000 riders a day. But there have been frustrations—especially in the consistency and timeliness of the buses’ arrivals and departures. And there’s nothing more important.

No matter how well-planned the route is, how nice the stations are or how much people want to try transit, the Red Line will not succeed if riders can’t depend on a bus to show up when they need to get on and drop them at a destination when they need to get off.

During weekdays, Red Line buses are supposed to stop at stations every 10 minutes. In the evenings and on weekends, the stops are every 15 minutes. But some riders have reported waiting 30 minutes or more for a bus to show up.

The culprit is at least in part the struggle to maintain enough drivers to staff the buses. To make the system work as of Sept. 1, IndyGo projected it would need 408 drivers to cover all shifts and provide a cushion for when drivers go on vacation or call in sick. But today, even with a class of 17 drivers graduating on Sept. 19, it has only about 400 on staff.

Without enough drivers, IndyGo can’t keep enough buses on the routes to meet the schedule.

IndyGo is working quickly to fix the problem. It has some 80 drivers in training, with 31 set to graduate next month. That’s important because IndyGo officials are also adding more buses on the Red Line route and in a few other places to try to ensure that buses arrive on time.

There are other tweaks in the works as well. For example, IndyGo is working with the city to make adjustments in the way the buses trigger some traffic signals, again in an effort to make the Red Line more efficient and timely.

Due in part to the service problems (and to payment technology that’s not ready), IndyGo has postponed charging fares on the Red Line until Nov. 10. That was a good move.

Now it’s up to IndyGo to get things right as quickly as possible so the Red Line can fulfill its promise of a more connected Indianapolis.•

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