IndyGo's ridership hit a 23-year peak in 2014, soaring to 10.29M passenger trips with seven individual months hitting highs that had never been seen before.
"Growing ridership shows that there's a desire for more public transportation in Indianapolis," said Mike Terry, president/CEO of IndyGo. "2014 was a huge year for us, and 2015 will be even bigger with the grand opening of our Downtown Transit Center."
IndyGo announced the Downtown Transit Center project in early 2014 with an interactive exhibit that unveiled the designs and ground was broken on the project in September. The transit center will greatly enhance the passenger experience, offering real-time arrival information, indoor waiting areas and on-site customer services. The transit center will be fully operational by the end of this year.
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Late last year, IndyGo was awarded a $2M federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for the environmental and design work for the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Proposed as the first full electric BRT line in the nation, the 28-mile route would run from Hamilton County through Indianapolis to Greenwood in Johnson County.
IndyGo also made significant investments in bus stop amenities and infrastructure throughout the city in 2014, installing more than 4,000 square feet of sidewalks and concrete pads for benches and shelters in collaboration with the Department of Public Works. More than 70 amenities including shelters, benches and trash cans were also distributed throughout the IndyGo service area.
Additionally, 2014 brought several awards to IndyGo for the June Dump the Pump campaign, public engagement exhibit and outreach campaign for the Downtown Transit Center, ROSE Award Lifetime Achievement to Professional Coach Operator Sam Garrison, excellence in financial planning and high marks from the TSA for security preparedness.
Looking forward, 2015 will bring the transit experience in Indianapolis up another notch with the launch of a new website, real-time arrival information and the Downtown Transit Center.
