Let's all tell the truth. The reason we have this system is not because it's a good idea, but because this is what IndyGo can get money for from the federal Department of Transportation.
If our goal was to help people with transit needs based on the money we have, we wouldn't be building more fixed-route mass transit. We just don't have the density. Instead, we've be spending more on paratransit, on subsiziding peer-to-peer rideshare programs, on housing vouchers so people can live closer to work and not need transit, and more.
But there isn't the money for that in one place, so we've built and will continue to expand a BRT system that is barely used by anyone.
It does seem that the prime motivation is that BRTs attract federal money. The argument is often advanced that BRTs spur economic development, but the evidence I've seen for that proposition isn't compelling.
As to people who need help with their transportation (or food or housing), my preference if we wanted to help them more than we already do would be just to give them money and allow them to decide how best to spend it.
Let's all tell the truth. The reason we have this system is not because it's a good idea, but because this is what IndyGo can get money for from the federal Department of Transportation.
If our goal was to help people with transit needs based on the money we have, we wouldn't be building more fixed-route mass transit. We just don't have the density. Instead, we've be spending more on paratransit, on subsiziding peer-to-peer rideshare programs, on housing vouchers so people can live closer to work and not need transit, and more.
But there isn't the money for that in one place, so we've built and will continue to expand a BRT system that is barely used by anyone.
It does seem that the prime motivation is that BRTs attract federal money. The argument is often advanced that BRTs spur economic development, but the evidence I've seen for that proposition isn't compelling.
As to people who need help with their transportation (or food or housing), my preference if we wanted to help them more than we already do would be just to give them money and allow them to decide how best to spend it.