By Christy Campoll, Program Liaison
Last October, I shared my reflections on commuting to work via IndyGo. I rode the Route 10 bus to and from work almost every day for six months. Because it was an experience with mixed results – and because I’m what’s known as a “transit user with a choice” – last month I made the choice to start driving to work again. That led me to realize that I have other choices as well.
Of course, my decision to drive each day came with ramifications. Making the trek in my large, gas-guzzling pick-up truck meant re-introducing myself to the cost of gas, the stress of downtown driving and the guilt that comes with adding emissions to our air. The benefit? I got another hour each day to care for family, home and self.
You see, after a few months on the bus it dawned on me that my six-mile one-way commute consumed a lot of time. I’d leave the house at 7 AM, walk to the bus stop, ride the bus, walk from the bus stop to my office and be in chair at 7:50 AM. The way home was less predictable. Thanks to rush hour traffic, my bus routinely was 5-10 minutes late, and 20-minute delays weren’t unusual. This brought my evening commute time to a full hour.
Compare that to my door-to-door, 20- or 25-minute commute by car and you see that I can save an hour per day by driving. That’s priceless, especially for a working parent.
Granted, it’s not all been great. Since I started driving again, I’ve locked my keys in the truck three times – once forcing my husband to drive in from his east-side office, and twice forcing me to get dirty and embarrassed crawling under the truck to find the magnetic key box on its underside. (I now keep one spare in my purse and one in my desk drawer.) One day, after unknowingly parking in a private lot, I returned to find my car on a tow truck (cost: a $100 drop fee). And then there’s the car I bumped while squeezing into a tight parking space. Fortunately, the car’s owner was able to buff out the damage.
OK: I probably get into these situations more than the average commuter, but all drivers have problems once in a while. (At least I was still on the bus during the worst of pothole season.)
These experiences prompted another choice: two wheels rather than four. I tried bicycling to work and found it to be quicker and more enjoyable than I anticipated. Ninety percent of my ride is on roads with bike lanes and little traffic. As a YMCA member, I can shower at the Athenaeum before heading into the office. The garage under my office building provides secure bicycle parking, out of the elements. The 13-mile round trip provides a solid workout, eliminating the need to squeeze workouts into my busy life.
I also learned that, if I commute by bike three times per week, I become eligible for the Emergency Ride Home benefit offered by Central Indiana Commuter Services. Carpoolers, vanpoolers, transit riders and those who walk to work are also eligible for this benefit. That makes me wonder if I could find someone to carpool with on the days I do not bike, further decreasing the cost of my decision to trade in my bus pass for a parking permit.
The bottom line? My choices aren’t limited to bus or car … I have plenty of options. How about you? Have you tried different modes of commuting and compared the costs and benefits of each? How did you choose your present mode of commuting? Share your story by leaving a comment.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Transit and the 2011 Indiana General Assembly: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Early in the 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly, we were thrown a curve ball: the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee inserted a $10 million cut to the state Public Mass Transportation Fund in the biennial state budget bill. Central Indiana transit advocates had been focused on the future of transit, monitoring the potential of the legislature to enable local referenda on creating dedicated revenue to finance transit system improvements such as the plans laid out in Indy Connect. We didn’t expect any action concerning the present. The prevailing attitude about the current state of affairs is that policymakers can’t make it much worse in our state, whose transit systems lag far behind peer systems in other states, both in funding and level of service.
The Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF) is was a fixed source of sales tax revenue for all of the transit systems in the state – from rural demand-responsive programs to small city programs to IndyGo. A total of 66 transit agencies divide the .67% portion of Indiana’s sales tax allocated to the PMTF. The proposed cut in the House budget bill would have reduced the PMTF to .551% of the sales tax. The 17.8% cut would have impacted transit agency budgets to the point of service cuts and layoffs. IndyGo was facing a direct loss of $2 million. What’s more, transit agencies use their PMTF money to cover the local match required for receiving federal grants. Therefore, IndyGo would have lost up to $8 million more in federal funds – a severe blow to its budget of about $55 million per year. Take a look at IndyGo’s system map and imagine one out of five of those routes gone. Thousands would lose access to their jobs, medical appointments and other necessities. This is what a transit funding cut looks like.
After two months of anxiety and pleading, Indiana’s transit advocates breathed a sigh of relief when the final version of the biennial budget bill passed with 2012 transit funding levels intact (the good). 2013 funding was frozen at 2012 levels (the bad), which was disappointing, but less of crisis. Then, our relief took a nose dive when we learned about the ugly: that the 30-year-old guaranteed source of dedicated sales tax revenue known as the Public Mass Transportation Fund was eliminated. Instead, transit funding has been relegated to one of thousands of line items in the state’s general fund, which change from year to year. It will now be up to INDOT to decide every two years whether they want to allocate some part of its agency-wide allocation to public transportation.
The elimination of the PMTF funding mechanism will set the tone for General Assembly’s Joint Study Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Assessment and Solutions, a newly enacted committee of legislators who will do the following during the interim periods between sessions(IC 2-5-28.5):
(1) Assess the condition of Indiana's transportation infrastructure in both the public and private sectors.
(2) In connection with the Indiana department of transportation and other interested parties, project Indiana's transportation demands through 2035.
(3) Determine whether Indiana's existing transportation infrastructure is capable of meeting the transportation demands projected under subdivision (2).
(4) Establish appropriate roles and responsibilities for:
(A) the state and county and municipal governments; and
(B) the private sector;
in meeting Indiana's projected transportation demands.
(5) Identify potential funding sources for both public and private transportation and infrastructure projects.
(6) Report its findings to the governor and, in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6, the general assembly.
This summer, transit advocates will be paying close attention to the activities of this committee. Will you join us? Interim Study Committee schedules and proceedings are announced at http://www.in.gov/legislative/index.htm (lower left side).
The Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF) is was a fixed source of sales tax revenue for all of the transit systems in the state – from rural demand-responsive programs to small city programs to IndyGo. A total of 66 transit agencies divide the .67% portion of Indiana’s sales tax allocated to the PMTF. The proposed cut in the House budget bill would have reduced the PMTF to .551% of the sales tax. The 17.8% cut would have impacted transit agency budgets to the point of service cuts and layoffs. IndyGo was facing a direct loss of $2 million. What’s more, transit agencies use their PMTF money to cover the local match required for receiving federal grants. Therefore, IndyGo would have lost up to $8 million more in federal funds – a severe blow to its budget of about $55 million per year. Take a look at IndyGo’s system map and imagine one out of five of those routes gone. Thousands would lose access to their jobs, medical appointments and other necessities. This is what a transit funding cut looks like.
After two months of anxiety and pleading, Indiana’s transit advocates breathed a sigh of relief when the final version of the biennial budget bill passed with 2012 transit funding levels intact (the good). 2013 funding was frozen at 2012 levels (the bad), which was disappointing, but less of crisis. Then, our relief took a nose dive when we learned about the ugly: that the 30-year-old guaranteed source of dedicated sales tax revenue known as the Public Mass Transportation Fund was eliminated. Instead, transit funding has been relegated to one of thousands of line items in the state’s general fund, which change from year to year. It will now be up to INDOT to decide every two years whether they want to allocate some part of its agency-wide allocation to public transportation.
The elimination of the PMTF funding mechanism will set the tone for General Assembly’s Joint Study Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Assessment and Solutions, a newly enacted committee of legislators who will do the following during the interim periods between sessions(IC 2-5-28.5):
(1) Assess the condition of Indiana's transportation infrastructure in both the public and private sectors.
(2) In connection with the Indiana department of transportation and other interested parties, project Indiana's transportation demands through 2035.
(3) Determine whether Indiana's existing transportation infrastructure is capable of meeting the transportation demands projected under subdivision (2).
(4) Establish appropriate roles and responsibilities for:
(A) the state and county and municipal governments; and
(B) the private sector;
in meeting Indiana's projected transportation demands.
(5) Identify potential funding sources for both public and private transportation and infrastructure projects.
(6) Report its findings to the governor and, in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6, the general assembly.
This summer, transit advocates will be paying close attention to the activities of this committee. Will you join us? Interim Study Committee schedules and proceedings are announced at http://www.in.gov/legislative/index.htm (lower left side).
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