Whether you use it or not, someone will

For most of the nearly 30 years I lived in Minneapolis-St. Paul, I drove everywhere. But when the Twin Cities developed light rail and other commuter options several years ago, I learned to love mass transit.

In recent years, I rode the bus or train to meetings or entertainment in the city—places it was inconvenient to park or get around.

There was a period when my wife, Debbie, and I both worked in downtown Minneapolis, and we took the bus every day. There’s just not a better way to do it. We could get work done during our commute, making phone calls and returning emails before arriving at the office. When you’re behind the wheel, that’s simply not productive time.

In June 2016, we moved to Indianapolis for Debbie’s job—she’s the new priest at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

Although admittedly, I haven’t had a chance to fully explore IndyGo’s service, my initial impression is that it’s not convenient to access from my home near Fort Harrison and it doesn’t go to my most likely destinations frequently enough.

I think these are things the Marion County Transit Plan will try to address. As Indianapolis grows outside the beltway, it’s time to figure out other ways to move people.

A well-designed transit system benefits the entire community, even if everyone doesn’t jump on board right away. Whether you use it or not, someone will. For every person on a bus, that’s one less car on the road. It just makes sense!