The availability of transit options will emerge as the single most important issue for Indianapolis in the years to come.
From the subways of Seoul, South Korea to the bus system in Portland, Oregon, every relevant city in the world features a network of transit options. Healthy transit systems are the lifeblood of a metropolis. Which begs the question: how healthy is transit in Indianapolis? We may take pride in abundance of cultural districts, both emergent and established, but how are these places connected? If we choose to continue to neglect how people move around in our city, can we continue to claim the title of "Crossroads of America" in good faith?
Indianapolis has a history of transit innovation that is worth celebrating. Union Station, one of the first centralized train stations in the world, saw over 200 passenger trains a day by the year 1900. In the early 20th century, one could ride from burgeoning Downtown Indy to sleepy Broad Ripple using one of the most advanced streetcar systems in the world. By 1950, Indianapolis sported a fully-functional bus system.
And yet, the current state of transit in Indianapolis betrays our roots. Indianapolis is now the 12th largest city in America, but ranks 99th in terms of regional transit funding. IndyGo, the primary transit provider to the metro area, lacks the resources to be a viable alternative to driving a car. In 2004, the cost of commuting in Indiana nearly doubled, placing a strain on how we live, work and travel.
Without transit alternatives, these realities paint a grim future for citizens of Indianapolis.
In the fall of 2008, seven seniors in the Visual Communication program enrolled at IUPUI formed Passenger, an initiative to explore transit options for Central Indiana. Passenger brought together the perspectives of people from all walks of life—city planners, administrators, designers and citizens—to better understand the transit problem and draft a plan for a solution.
Through this process of research and discussion, Passenger identified the main problem facing transit in Indianapolis: dialogue between citizens and lawmakers on the issue is scarce, and information about transit in Indianapolis is cryptic and hard to come by.
If we choose to continue to neglect how people move around in our city, can we continue to claim the title of ‘Crossroads of America’ in good faith?
Out of the Passenger project rose Fix Indy Transit, a campaign designed to encourage the transit dialogue in Indianapolis and make this information available to all. Fix Indy Transit combines an innovative, grassroots awareness campaign with a clear, easy to use online repository of transit facts. Using this interface, citizens can easily contact lawmakers and share vital transit information with their community.
This campaign is outlined in a comprehensive plan developed for the Indiana Citizen's Alliance for Transit, complete with price estimates. The only missing element is funding.
The availability of transit options will emerge as the single most important issue for Indianapolis in the years to come. Thus, investing in transit awareness is essential to collectively improving our city. To cultivate commerce and the arts alike, it becomes clear that we can no longer ignore our crumbling transit infrastructure. For the sake of our citizens and the global image of Indianapolis, it is time to take a proactive stance on transit.
contact: Cody Fague, codyfague@gmail.com // http://passengerproject.blogspot.com
