Fed budget proposal includes $75M for Red Line rapid transit
A $75 million federal grant that would jump-start a bus rapid transit line in Indianapolis was hailed Tuesday by advocates as a critical step in making over Central Indiana's mass transit system, but several steps must be hammered out before the overall vision is realized.
"I can't see any other moments that will more directly affect the evolution of our city," said Michael McKillip, executive director of Midtown Indianapolis Inc., an organization that promotes economic development on the north side. "The Red Line will provide access to jobs, hospitals and groceries."
The grant, outlined Tuesday in President Barack Obama's proposed 2017 budget, would pay for construction of the first phase of the first route in the largest mass transit plan in the region's history. The Red Line would be a 37-mile route from Westfield to Greenwood in which electric buses would run frequently in dedicated lanes. The initial leg is 13.6 miles long, from 66th Street in Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis on the Southside, and would cost an estimated $96.3 million.
The next two phases to extend the Red Line also would require future federal funding.
Mike Terry, president and chief executive officer of IndyGo, which would operate the Red Line, said the grant request reflected the federal government's confidence that the system would work.
"This funding decision is a testament to the quality and importance of the Red Line project,” Terry said.
The Red Line is part of a larger bus rapid transit, or BRT plan, called Indy Connect. The plan calls for four high-speed bus routes across the city at an estimated cost of $800 million.
But if the Red Line is to build out to Westfield and Greenwood and the other lines are to be completed, voters in Marion, Johnson and Hamilton counties must approve an income tax hike in a ballot referendum of 0.25 percent, or one quarter per $100 of earned income. That is about $120 a year for someone earning $39,000 annually.
"It is not going to be easy," said Anna Gremling, executive director of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization. "It is going to take a lot of educating the public. This will be the first rapid bust transit project in the state."
Gremling said the Indy Chamber is pushing to have the referendum placed on the Marion County ballot in the November general election. Commissioners in Hamilton County could not be reached Tuesday to comment on whether the initiative would go on its ballot in the fall.
Andy Downs, an associate political science professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said getting voter approval could be a tough slog.
"Let's face it: Mass transit doesn't have broad support in Indiana," Downs said. "We like our cars."
On the other hand, Downs said supporters of tax hikes for school funding have succeeded recently, and that determination could translate to transportation ballot issues.
"Those are transferable skills," he said. "It may sound crass, but you have to treat it like a political campaign. And there are people out there who know how to do this."
He said citizens don't mind paying for something — as much — if they are told exactly what it is they are paying for. "That means they have to know exactly what they are getting," Downs said.
A referendum also by law would require corporate foundations to raise 10 percent of the operating costs of the system because many companies and chambers of commerce, despite supporting the idea of bus rapid transit, resisted a corporate tax increase to help fund it.
Local transportation planners have been working for more than a decade on a comprehensive mass transit plan for Central Indiana that at times included proposals for rail and light rail. The proponents, which include former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, said the bus system would reduce consumption of oil and production of greenhouse gases that lead to global warming, decrease traffic congestion and spur economic development along the line. In addition, it would give workers access to good-paying jobs Downtown and give employers access to qualified workers who don't have cars.
University of Indianapolis President Robert Manuel said the line will serve his students and the neighborhood around the school.
"Education is predicated on connecting students to the corporate community and nonprofits, and the Red Line will help us do that," Manuel said. He added that developers already have expressed interest in what businesses might best serve the route.
The Obama administration budget emphasizes transportation initiatives such as the Red Line and light rail. The Red Line is among $525 million allocated for BRT programs in the $98 billion federal transportation budget. There are now 39 light rail lines in 33 cities and 16 rapid bus systems nationwide, all of them relying on federal funds.
Cleveland, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Eugene, Ore.; Los Angeles; and Las Vegas are among cities with bus rapid transit.
Art Guzzetti, vice president of policy for the American Public Transportation Association, said BRTs have become increasingly popular in cities as a "relatively low-cost way to make infrastructure improvement to rapid transit."
And he said the public is more willing than ever to support tax hikes to build it.
"When they are asked if they are willing to pay for it, 70 percent of the time they say yes," he said.
The Red Line buses in Phase 1 would travel in their own lanes and make stops at raised platforms on College Avenue, Meridian Street, Capitol Street and Shelby Street. The buses would be faster than regular city buses because the stops would be fewer, tickets would be bought at the stations rather than fares paid on a bus, and boardings would occur on platforms of even height with the buses. The buses would run as often as 10 minutes apart and operate around the clock. The operating cost would be $6 million a year, and a one-way ticket would likely cost about $2.
IndyGo would provide $21 million in local matching funds for the Red Line's first phase by using dollars from the Downtown tax increment financing district, the Department of Public Works and an IndyGo reserve fund.
Some residents and businesses along the proposed Red Line route on the north side already have voiced opposition to it and have circulated a petition urging people to oppose the plan. They also have bought space on a billboard on College Avenue and 54th Street.
The opponents say the line will disrupt traffic and parking in the neighborhoods and divert traffic to side streets. They also say the mass transit system would be lightly used.
Holly Meyers, who lives at 57th Street and College, said she think the system isn't needed and is a waste of money.
"I think public transportation is great. But we already have it, and I don't think there is a big need for this," said Meyers, 47, who fears cars will detour past schools on 57th. "I think it would be less expensive to make the system we have more reliable. There are other things in the city we can spend money on, like police, roads and education."
But Garfield Park resident Tom Beck said he would use the Red Line all the time. Beck works Downtown and lives a couple of blocks away from the Shelby Street part of the route.
"I'd be more than happy to take it Downtown if I knew it was coming all the time. It would be ideal," said Beck, 53. "We have two family cars, and I'd happily become a one-car family."
The Red Line: What you need to know
The U.S. House and Senate will now consider their own budget resolutions. The entire federal budget needs to be completed by Oct. 1.
A spokesman for Mayor Joe Hogsett said he would work with the Indiana congressional delegation to make sure the grant remains in the budget through the negotiations.
Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter: @john_tuohy.
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