Currently not employed, but the time and expense to travel via automobile from one side of the metro area (Hendricks to Hancock or Johnson to Madison) is a deterrent to taking jobs not "near" home. I've enjoyed using systems in Japan, Washington DC, Boston, Paris and Madrid. I would like to see a transit system in place similar to those in larger cities. A subway style system may not be cost/construction feasible, but an elevated or surface rail with multiple lines and stations would be the best. A hub and spoke system is probably cheaper, but would increase travel time if going from one outying area to another, thus lessening the likelyhood of use (a twenty minute car commute turning into 90 minutes on the train/metro). The system should incorporate more crossing lines and/or a loop similar to I-465.
My commute seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I commute from the Eagle Creek Area to downtown. Average time for my commute is twenty-five to thirty minutes. Without traffic it would be fifteen minutes. I think that new construction in northern Hendricks and Boone Counties have added to the amount of traffic.
I have considered trying Indy Go, but the nearest stop is more than a mile from my home. I would be much more inclined to take a light rail train or something similar. I would also be more inclined to take the bus if route identifiers and schedules were posted at each stop. I have ridden public transportation in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago, and all of these cities have features that made me more confident and comfortable taking public transportation.
Luckily I can avoid getting on I-465 so my commute is not too bad. When I used to drive between Fisher and the east side, my commute was long and dangerous. I realize that Indianapolis has a big love affair with the automobile, but you can only build so many roads. Plus Indiana does not have a good track record for maintaining these roads.
I would like to see an elevated train system established for the entire metro area and beyond. With over a million people located in the cetral part of Indiana, two Big Ten universities within 60 miles of the capital, and 4 major US cities within 300, there should be a demand to connect these cities and people with a cheap and efficient mass transit system.
I commend your efforts of improvement by implementing the ICE Bus transit from Fishers/Carmel. I took advantage of ICE while I was house sitting in Fishers and actually hated to go back home to Plainfield and back to driving myself to work and resuming the monetary stress of gas and parking and the hassle of driving & walking downtown. I would be a supportive consumer of the ICE bus transit from Plainfield/Avon Area.
My commute is only about 15 minutes, but I would love to see a light rail or some sort of rail system in place throughout Indianapolis and surrounding areas. I have been to many cities in the US and one thing that makes them stand apart are the rail systems in place, especially with transportation from the airport to downtown. If there was a rail system to bring people into downtown, I believe it will help bring more business to Indianapolis and hopefully help out with the headache of traffic downtown after big events.
Also, it would be great to have roads that are more friendly to people riding bikes to work. The conditions and width of roads, even smaller streets, are not conducive to safety when biking. I would love to bike to work, but there are no safe roads. Maybe some bike lanes on major roads like Meridian, Michigan, or Keystone would promote bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation.
My driving commute is about 30 miles (45 minutes) from north Anderson to Fort Ben in Lawrence. The entire commute runs parallel to the CSX line. I'm interested in sharing the freight line with CSX and/or adding bus lines that have several stops (not just a Fishers/Carmel to Lilly service-people do work other places than Lilly) and dedicated lanes for the bus lines.
Studying transportation geography at Arizona State now, but the Brownsburg to downtown took about 40 minutes during peak traffic hours in 2006. The entire region would greatly benefit from light rail in many facets, and definately should make the investment (seeing as federal funding probably would pickup a substantial portion of the tab).
I'm a disabled person that just moved into the Indianapolis area for an internship. A substantial part of my internship has involved researching mass transit in Indy. I became interested in the topic as a result of the horribly unreliable para-transit service known as Indygo Open Door.
I live 15mins. away from my internship site by car but all my trips to and from work are at least an hour however I have had trips on Open door last up 3.5 hours. Pick-ups are late 17% of the time on this service. This may seem insignificant but if 17% of the ridership is arriving late to work the economic impact on our lives is great!I have road beside many a distraught passenger because they were afraid they would be fired that day due to habitual tardiness at no fault of their own.
For the disabled and elderly living in Indy there are few other options. The para-transit is overwhelmed due to lack of funding and lack of options. The transportation need for the disabled and elderly in the city is desperate. Our economic, social and physical well being (making it to doctors appointments on-time)is dramatically impacted by the currant levels of service provided. The only solution is more funding and a comprehensive transit plan that would use the bus system as a feeder system for rapid transit.
I respectfully ask CIRTA to please keep the disabled and elderly of the city in mind while designing your game plan. Our independence is in your hands.. and please hurry!
I commute from the east side to downtown five days a week and have had to change my hours just so I don't have to deal with the traffic. Parking is a whole other story, not to mention road construction everywhere.
Let's get a rapid rail system in the south east qudrant. Maybe expand from south johnson county to downtown indy. My wife spends at least 5-6 hours a week driving plus the $40.00 aweek in gas, not to mention the $110.00 a month parking in downtown. Get someting that can make the round trip every hour from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Bus is out and slow.
Unfortunately, I live on the only side of town not even being talked about for ICE service. The far east side is in need of some alternatives. Not only are gas prices affecting everyone, but every single road I have to use to get into downtown is closed or under heavy construction! Oh how I'd enjoy not having to deal with that! I tried to ride the bus from Meijer into downtown. Most of the ride was fine until the last 20 mins. The bus became so crowded and stopped every block. Plus, the bus to return home was 15 mins late in the afternoon. A commuter express bus would solve this.
I (albeit selfishly) wish they'd finish the entire segment of the Pennsylvania rail trail from downtown to connect wtih the Greenfield segment. I'm aware of the plans to do some parts, but I wish they'd focus the effort to do the whole trail. I think I'm part of a small group of people here, but I could easily (and would happily) ride the 12-13 miles to work by bike. Cheap. Efficient. AND a great workout.
I think almost any downtown-oriented system is going to have problems. Indy has spread out in each direction. Very few households have one or both adults working downtown. Many jobs are on the north and south sides. Having a system, be it bus or train, headed from the 'burbs into downtown will help some of us, but will not be useful to most.
I go in to work 1/2 hour early so I can leave 1/2 hour early to avoid some of the traffic. This earlier time is really hard because I have a small child and have to get him ready, so I have to get up really early. It has helped my commute time somewhat. I live about 19 miles from work and now it is 45 minutes one way instead of over an hour. The problem at most times is traffic volume and people not paying attention and going too slowly (i.e., talking on the phone while driving, putting on makeup while driving) or stopping to gawk at a car on the side of the road. Interstates are about as slow as city streets now. I'm REALLY, REALLY tired of the north side being given all of the commuter options. They've had the commuter bus for at least a year, and now they're going to get the light rail system. All the rest of the area residents are left to fend for themselves. I have always felt that city leaders consider the north side a little more important than all other sides, and this is a perfect example. One can argue that IndyGo is an option, but not if the buses don't come where you live (i.e., just outside Marion County) and you're required to make several transfers just to get to work. Indianapolis should take an example from Boston--sure, the streets are tough to navigate, but the public transportation system is top notch.
15 comments:
I don't commute much, but am interested to hear about what others are doing.
My commute is about 30 minutes on the IndyGo Bus. Route 3 or 10.
Currently not employed, but the time and expense to travel via automobile from one side of the metro area (Hendricks to Hancock or Johnson to Madison) is a deterrent to taking jobs not "near" home.
I've enjoyed using systems in Japan, Washington DC, Boston, Paris and Madrid. I would like to see a transit system in place similar to those in larger cities. A subway style system may not be cost/construction feasible, but an elevated or surface rail with multiple lines and stations would be the best. A hub and spoke system is probably cheaper, but would increase travel time if going from one outying area to another, thus lessening the likelyhood of use (a twenty minute car commute turning into 90 minutes on the train/metro). The system should incorporate more crossing lines and/or a loop similar to I-465.
My commute seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I commute from the Eagle Creek Area to downtown. Average time for my commute is twenty-five to thirty minutes. Without traffic it would be fifteen minutes. I think that new construction in northern Hendricks and Boone Counties have added to the amount of traffic.
I have considered trying Indy Go, but the nearest stop is more than a mile from my home. I would be much more inclined to take a light rail train or something similar. I would also be more inclined to take the bus if route identifiers and schedules were posted at each stop. I have ridden public transportation in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago, and all of these cities have features that made me more confident and comfortable taking public transportation.
Luckily I can avoid getting on I-465 so my commute is not too bad. When I used to drive between Fisher and the east side, my commute was long and dangerous. I realize that Indianapolis has a big love affair with the automobile, but you can only build so many roads. Plus Indiana does not have a good track record for maintaining these roads.
I would like to see an elevated train system established for the entire metro area and beyond. With over a million people located in the cetral part of Indiana, two Big Ten universities within 60 miles of the capital, and 4 major US cities within 300, there should be a demand to connect these cities and people with a cheap and efficient mass transit system.
I also would favor a rail system vs a bus system for travel between counties and downtown.
I commend your efforts of improvement by implementing the ICE Bus transit from Fishers/Carmel. I took advantage of ICE while I was house sitting in Fishers and actually hated to go back home to Plainfield and back to driving myself to work and resuming the monetary stress of gas and parking and the hassle of driving & walking downtown. I would be a supportive consumer of the ICE bus transit from Plainfield/Avon Area.
My commute is only about 15 minutes, but I would love to see a light rail or some sort of rail system in place throughout Indianapolis and surrounding areas. I have been to many cities in the US and one thing that makes them stand apart are the rail systems in place, especially with transportation from the airport to downtown. If there was a rail system to bring people into downtown, I believe it will help bring more business to Indianapolis and hopefully help out with the headache of traffic downtown after big events.
Also, it would be great to have roads that are more friendly to people riding bikes to work. The conditions and width of roads, even smaller streets, are not conducive to safety when biking. I would love to bike to work, but there are no safe roads. Maybe some bike lanes on major roads like Meridian, Michigan, or Keystone would promote bicycling as an alternative mode of transportation.
My driving commute is about 30 miles (45 minutes) from north Anderson to Fort Ben in Lawrence. The entire commute runs parallel to the CSX line. I'm interested in sharing the freight line with CSX and/or adding bus lines that have several stops (not just a Fishers/Carmel to Lilly service-people do work other places than Lilly) and dedicated lanes for the bus lines.
Studying transportation geography at Arizona State now, but the Brownsburg to downtown took about 40 minutes during peak traffic hours in 2006. The entire region would greatly benefit from light rail in many facets, and definately should make the investment (seeing as federal funding probably would pickup a substantial portion of the tab).
I'm a disabled person that just moved into the Indianapolis area for an internship. A substantial part of my internship has involved researching mass transit in Indy. I became interested in the topic as a result of the horribly unreliable para-transit service known as Indygo Open Door.
I live 15mins. away from my internship site by car but all my trips to and from work are at least an hour however I have had trips on Open door last up 3.5 hours. Pick-ups are late 17% of the time on this service. This may seem insignificant but if 17% of the ridership is arriving late to work the economic impact on our lives is great!I have road beside many a distraught passenger because they were afraid they would be fired that day due to habitual tardiness at no fault of their own.
For the disabled and elderly living in Indy there are few other options. The para-transit is overwhelmed due to lack of funding and lack of options. The transportation need for the disabled and elderly in the city is desperate. Our economic, social and physical well being (making it to doctors appointments on-time)is dramatically impacted by the currant levels of service provided. The only solution is more funding and a comprehensive transit plan that would use the bus system as a feeder system for rapid transit.
I respectfully ask CIRTA to please keep the disabled and elderly of the city in mind while designing your game plan. Our independence is in your hands.. and please hurry!
I commute from the east side to downtown five days a week and have had to change my hours just so I don't have to deal with the traffic. Parking is a whole other story, not to mention road construction everywhere.
Let's get a rapid rail system in the south east qudrant. Maybe expand from south johnson county to downtown indy. My wife spends at least 5-6 hours a week driving plus the $40.00 aweek in gas, not to mention the $110.00 a month parking in downtown. Get someting that can make the round trip every hour from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Bus is out and slow.
Unfortunately, I live on the only side of town not even being talked about for ICE service. The far east side is in need of some alternatives. Not only are gas prices affecting everyone, but every single road I have to use to get into downtown is closed or under heavy construction! Oh how I'd enjoy not having to deal with that!
I tried to ride the bus from Meijer into downtown. Most of the ride was fine until the last 20 mins. The bus became so crowded and stopped every block. Plus, the bus to return home was 15 mins late in the afternoon. A commuter express bus would solve this.
I (albeit selfishly) wish they'd finish the entire segment of the Pennsylvania rail trail from downtown to connect wtih the Greenfield segment. I'm aware of the plans to do some parts, but I wish they'd focus the effort to do the whole trail. I think I'm part of a small group of people here, but I could easily (and would happily) ride the 12-13 miles to work by bike. Cheap. Efficient. AND a great workout.
I think almost any downtown-oriented system is going to have problems. Indy has spread out in each direction. Very few households have one or both adults working downtown. Many jobs are on the north and south sides. Having a system, be it bus or train, headed from the 'burbs into downtown will help some of us, but will not be useful to most.
I go in to work 1/2 hour early so I can leave 1/2 hour early to avoid some of the traffic. This earlier time is really hard because I have a small child and have to get him ready, so I have to get up really early. It has helped my commute time somewhat. I live about 19 miles from work and now it is 45 minutes one way instead of over an hour. The problem at most times is traffic volume and people not paying attention and going too slowly (i.e., talking on the phone while driving, putting on makeup while driving) or stopping to gawk at a car on the side of the road. Interstates are about as slow as city streets now. I'm REALLY, REALLY tired of the north side being given all of the commuter options. They've had the commuter bus for at least a year, and now they're going to get the light rail system. All the rest of the area residents are left to fend for themselves. I have always felt that city leaders consider the north side a little more important than all other sides, and this is a perfect example. One can argue that IndyGo is an option, but not if the buses don't come where you live (i.e., just outside Marion County) and you're required to make several transfers just to get to work. Indianapolis should take an example from Boston--sure, the streets are tough to navigate, but the public transportation system is top notch.
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