IndyGo ‘bendy’ buses will return Monday

Bendy buses are back in Indy.

Starting Monday, city streets are set to see 60-foot-long “articulated” buses, which feature an accordion-like middle that allows flexibility when turning corners.

They’re 50 percent longer than your average bus, and they can hold up to 20 more passengers, according to an IndyGo statement.

There will be 17 such refurbished buses, covering two of IndyGo’s busiest routes — Route 39, which spans East 38th Street from North Meridian Street to North Mitthoefer Road, and Route 8, which runs from the airport through the Eastside to Washington Square Mall at 10202 E. Washington St.

“They will increase the passenger capacity on our busiest routes,” IndyGo CEO Mike Terry said in a statement.

Nearly 250,000 trips were taken on routes 39 and 8 during September, officials said. The routes have seen more passengers recently, too, after officials made a schedule tweak in February, so there would be buses every 15 minutes. Ridership on the routes has risen by “double-digit” percentages, officials said in a statement.

Articulated buses fold in a way that allows them to turn corners nimbly, covering roughly the same amount of space as the smaller, 40-footbuses, which are the IndyGo norm.

This isn’t a new technology, and indeed they were a city feature a few decades ago. But they were phased out in the 1990s.

The buses are more than 10 years old, and have a 10-year life expectancy. Refurbishing the buses cost the city $6.8 million, or $400,000 per bus.

Follow Star reporter Alex Campbell on twitter at twitter.com/alex_g_campbell. Call him at (317) 444-6311.