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IndyGo Red Line
Northbound IndyGo BYD battery electric bus at Statehouse Station
Overview
System IndyGo Rapid
OperatorIndianapolis Public Transportation Corporation
GarageIndyGo Headquarters
1501 W. Washington Street
Vehicle BYD K11 (60-foot articulated battery-powered electric transit bus)
StatusOperational
Began serviceSeptember 1, 2019
Route
Route type Bus rapid transit
Locale Indianapolis, Indiana
Start66th Street & College Avenue station, north of Broad Ripple
Via Julia M. Carson Transit Center in Downtown Indianapolis
End University station (Campus Drive & Shelby Street)
Stations28
Service
Ridership1,013,324 (2020)
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The Red Line of IndyGo is a bus rapid transit line serving parts of central, northern, and southern Indianapolis. The first phase of this transit route entered service on September 1, 2019, and was originally free for the first month; the free service was extended to the second and third months due to problems with the fare collection system. [1] The Red Line links Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis via Downtown Indianapolis. [2]

History

A Red Line station under construction in Fountain Square in July 2019.

On May 31, 2018, IndyGo began construction of the Red Line, the city's first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. The first phase of the system opened on September 1, 2019, after about 15 months of construction and testing. The $96.3 million project included a $75 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. [3] Two additional BRT lines (Purple Line and Blue Line) are presently planned, along with proposed extensions on both ends of the Red Line. [4] The Red Line has been assigned IndyGo Route #90.

Features of the Red Line include level boarding, dedicated bus lanes, and doors on both sides.

The Red Line serves Marion County with eventual service extensions planned to County Line Road/Madison Avenue at the southern boundary with Johnson County and a still undetermined alignment to the northern boundary with Hamilton County. A Johnson County extension to Smith Valley Road in Greenwood has been approved with early design work funded. A Hamilton County extension to Grand Park in Westfield has been proposed with early design work funded. [5]

At introduction, every second BRT vehicle continued along the then proposed route of the Red Line beyond the completed BRT stations as "Route 90 - Red Line Local." This local line stopped at traditional bus stops to continue service to the northern and southern boundaries of Marion County. Due to traffic issues and low ridership, IndyGo discontinued this service. [6] Since then, northbound service terminates at the 66th/College station and southbound service terminates at the University (Campus/Shelby) station. Dedicated local routes now provide supplementary service with Route 901 traveling as far north as 91st Street and Route 902 traveling as far south as County Line Road. [7]

Due to Red Line buses failing to meet contractually obligated mileage ranges, bus manufacturer BYD paid for them to be retrofitted with inductive charging plates. These plates enable inductive charging of the buses en route to reduce service disruption. One inductive charging station was installed near the 66th/College station, another was planned near Madison Ave/County Line Rd, and a third planned near Ivy Tech Community College – Lawrence Campus. [8]

Station listing

There are at present 28 stations on the Red Line. All stations are served by all Red Line vehicles, but every other bus continues on beyond the last station to the county line as Route 90 - Red Line Local. Those that do not continue on to execute the turnaround procedure from the station as detailed in the Red Line operations manual.

Station [9] Type Opened Notes
66th/College Curbside (NB only) September 1, 2019 North terminus of Phase 1; wireless vehicle charging site;
NB vehicles terminating use protected signal at 66th Street
to make U-turn to SB College via Old College Avenue
Broad Ripple
(Broad Ripple/College)
Center Island September 1, 2019 south of Broad Ripple Avenue
Kessler/College Center Island September 1, 2019 south of Kessler Boulevard East Drive
54th/College Center Island September 1, 2019 at Bungalow Court, north of 54th Street
52nd/College Center Island September 1, 2019 mid-block, south of 54th Street
46th/College Center Island September 1, 2019 south of 46th Street
42nd/College Center Island September 1, 2019 north of 42nd Street
Park/38th Median Station September 1, 2019 at Park Avenue; Purple Line will share
38th/Meridian Center Island September 1, 2019 south of 38th Street; Purple Line will share
34th/Meridian Center Island September 1, 2019 north of 34th Street; Purple Line will share
30th/ Museum
(30th/Meridian)
Center Island September 1, 2019 north of 30th Street; Purple Line will share
Fall Creek/ Ivy Tech
(Fall Creek/Meridian)
Center Island September 1, 2019 north of Fall Creek Parkway, North Drive;
Purple Line will share
22nd/Meridian Center Island September 1, 2019 south of 22nd Street; Purple Line will share
18th/Meridian Center Island September 1, 2019 north of 18th Street; Purple Line will share
IU Health Methodist Hospital
(18th/Capitol)
Center Island September 1, 2019 south of 18th Street; Purple Line will share
14th/Capitol Center Island September 1, 2019 north of 14th Street; Purple Line will share
9th/Capitol Center Island September 1, 2019 south of 9th Street at Arch Street; Purple Line will share
Vermont/Capitol Center Island September 1, 2019 north of Vermont Street; Purple Line will share
Statehouse
(Washington/Capitol)
Center Island September 1, 2019 south of Court Street, north of Washington Street; Purple Line will share
Julia M. Carson Transit Center Transit Center Bay September 1, 2019 NB Bay "G"; SB Bay "L"
New Jersey/Virginia Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 southeast of New Jersey Street
Fletcher Place
(Merrill/Virginia)
Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 northwest of Merrill Street
Fountain Square
(Woodlawn/Virginia)
Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 northwest of Woodlawn Avenue
Pleasant Run
(Pleasant Run/Shelby)
Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 between Pleasant Run Parkway, South Drive and Iowa Street
Raymond/Shelby Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 north of Raymond Street (NB); south of Raymond (SB)
Garfield Park
(Southern/Shelby)
Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 north of Southern Avenue (SB); south of Southern (NB)
Troy/Shelby Curbside (NB, SB) September 1, 2019 north of Troy Avenue (NB); south of Troy (SB)
University (Campus/Shelby) Center Island September 1, 2019 South terminus of Phase 1; SB vehicles terminating
discharge passengers, then use Shelby, Mills, Madison,
and Hanna to return to NB Shelby.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Indygo's Red Line will now be free through the end of November".
  2. ^ "Project Overview:Construction:Red Line Acceleration". IndyGoRed.com. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Briggs, James (May 4, 2018). "Indianapolis Red Line project gets $75 million despite Trump's opposition". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Red Line – Detailed Information", IndyGo, retrieved January 6, 2023
  5. ^ Ibid.
  6. ^ Hwang, Kellie. "Why the Red Line extension no longer goes to 96th Street". Indianapolis Star.
  7. ^ "Routes 901, 90, and 902 Map Effective October 9, 2022", IndyGo, retrieved January 6, 2023
  8. ^ "IndyGo Implements Inductive Charging Along the Red Line to Charge Buses En Route", IndyGo, retrieved January 6, 2023
  9. ^ "Red Line Detailed Plans". August 6, 2019.

External links