Will new transit center improve IndyGo?

• Public hearings on proposed route changes on March 17 and March 24.
• Transit Center will have 19 bus bays and arrival screens.

I’ve frozen my toes, soaked my shirt and had my delicate locks tussled in merciless winds while waiting for IndyGo buses.

I’ve counted cars, memorized license plates, touched my toes and done jumping jacks. Tweeted, face-booked, talked to strangers and ignored friends.

And all I really wanted was to get on the bus.

It’s all any passenger wants — to get on the bus at the time it’s supposed to be there.

IndyGo officials know that, too, and it’s a primary reason they are building a $20 million transit center downtown.

But can a shiny new building make the buses run on time?

And, most importantly, will it all add up to more riders on the cash-starved bus service?

IndyGo officials acknowledge that the depot won’t be a magic cure, but say it’s necessary to improve service systemwide and draw new passengers.

How can a building do that? Even a nice one with a cozy seating area, digital arrival screens and 19 bus bays?

Because, indirectly, it could improve two core functions of the bus service that riders care most about — timeliness and frequency.

It would do it by funneling several buses in a straight line to a central location — Alabama and Washington streets — and eliminating the slow circle they now do around downtown.

That maddening “downtown loop” can add 20 minutes or more to each route which, in turn, means the buses can’t make as many trips up and down the line.

When the transit center rises at the end of 2015, the buses will do quick turn-arounds at the station and get back on their routes. The time saved could be the equivalent of adding one bus to each route.

That’s important to an agency that can’t really afford to run more buses and must find creative ways to increase speed.

To increase frequency even more, IndyGo wants to direct several buses to fewer big streets as they get close to Dwntown. The move would reduce wait times considerably, to seven minutes in some cases, because customers can hop any of those buses.

It’s good news for some passengers but bad news for others, who will have to walk farther to catch their buses.

The 28 specific route change proposals can be found here.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Terry said the goal of the revamp is to encourage people to catch the bus spontaneously. If they know a bus will come in minutes, they’ll be more likely to take it.

But teaching Hoosiers when and where to take the bus is not as easy as one might assume. And, frankly, it’s not that easy to learn.

Put it this way: training as an airport traffic controller would help you, as would experience as a treasurer hunter.

You can’t just walk out to a main street heading downtown and hope to catch a bus right away, as you can in many cities with better systems. Because of budget constraints, IndyGo has to be selective about what streets are covered and the hours and frequency of service.

Except for three routes, all the buses run either every 30 minutes or every hour. And you can’t rely on the signs at the bus stops to tell you what’s going on. They contain the route number and a telephone number. They don’t tell you when the bus comes or where it is going or when it stops and starts.

That means planning, as you would for a commuter rail line or even a flight.

For that, you need to go online to the IndyGo website, review the route system map, find the bus closest to your house or office, look at the schedule and calculate when it will pass your street. If you need to catch two buses, it’s twice as confusing.

Terry said IndyGo’s mobile on-time updates will eliminate much of the reliance on such planning. But there are many bus riders, poor or elderly, who don’t have smart phones or tablets.

Another shortcoming of the system is the hours of operation. Even on the busiest routes the last bus leaves downtown at about 9:30 p.m. That sharply restricts its use at night by those would like to go Downtown for a movie or dinner.

Terry said the department needs to make its No. priority be getting commuters to work in the morning and home in the evening. And he believes increasing routes during Pacers or Indians night games wouldn‘t be cost effective.

I learned that the hard way last spring when I took the bus to a 7 p.m. Pacers playoff game. The game was over about 9:15 and by the time I got to the bus stop at Washington and Delaware streets the bus had gone, so I had to take a cab home for $20, nearly as much as a beer at the game.

It left a very bad taste in my mouth. But I was on the bus again in the morning.

And it was on time.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418 and follow on Twirtter @john_tuohy.

IndyGo will hold two public meetings on proposed route changes.

March 19: Central Library, 3 to 7 p.m.

March 24: North United Methodist Church (3808 N. Meridian): 5 to 8 p.m.