Bloomington Transit’s reduced summer schedule is now in effect. BT is also launching a new bus line and expanded services campaign to improve access to the community.
About 80 percent of its total ridership comes from Indiana University students, faculty or staff. Ridership decreases during the summer when many students leave.
Shelley Strimaitis, BT planning and special projects manager, said Bloomington Transit recorded about 300,000 rides a month last fall, but only about 100,000 a month last June and July. Downtown routes are largely unaffected, but bus lines to campus come less often, from every 15 to 20 minutes to 30 to 45 minutes. Apartment complexes that pay the city about $100 an hour to provide bus service to campus, such as for Routes 12 and 14, don’t run at all during the summer.
“12 and 14 have chosen to just pay for operation during the school season, because so many of their residents don't reside there over the summer or don't need to go to the school over the summer,” she said.
Route 7 Henderson Express/Walnut Express, as well as the Night Owl service, are not operating during the summer. The last day of the reduced summer schedule is Saturday, Aug. 22.
New bus line launches June 1
Bloomington Transit is launching a new bus line, Route 16, which will combine Route 13 and Route 3 West, which serviced the Park 48 area, Cook Medical and Ivy Tech. The change was approved at BT’s board meeting last week.
Strimaitis said Route 13 didn’t have sufficient ridership to keep it and was the lowest-ridden route in the network; in April, 1,082 total passengers rode the Route 13 bus. Campus Shuttle 6 saw the highest number of passengers with over 74,000. And Route 3 West had on-time performance issues; instead of taking 60 minutes to complete the route, it would often take 70 to 80 minutes.
“We talked with a bunch of drivers and like passengers about what's the best solution here, and we just came up with a combined route that kind of hits those west side shopping areas, retail areas, residential areas, and also hits the Park 48 and Ivy Tech area,” Strimaitis said.
Route 16 will run seven days a week, providing longer service hours than Route 13, which ran Monday through Friday.
To promote the change, all fares will be free June 1-7 for Passenger Appreciation Week. Normally, bus rides are $1 each and microtransit rides are $2 each regardless of distance traveled within city limits.
Also launching June 1 is Bloomington Transit for Everyone, an expansion of microtransit services. Using the BLink app, people can find the fastest way to get to their destination, whether that be via bus or a BLink-branded vehicle.
“If you're more than a few minutes walk from a bus stop, it's going to give you micro transit options, so it'll be a vehicle, a Blink-branded vehicle with one of our drivers will show up and take you to and from your destination,” Strimaitis said. “And then, if by chance all of our drivers are busy at the moment, if we have like a higher capacity and we're not able to offer a ride, then the system will offer you an Uber or Lyft at a subsidized rate.”
