1. Final Report of the
Central Indiana Transit Task Force
Adopted November 29, 2011
In February 2010, the Central Indiana Transit Task Force released a regional
transportation plan for public consideration that described a proposed regional
transportation system and suggested a financing mechanism and governance structure for
that system.
An extensive period of public input ensued (known as “Indy Connect”) and additional
economic analysis was completed over the past 18 months. Based on that feedback and
analysis, the Task Force has revised its plan and presents a final plan to the public and
elected officials for their consideration.
Critical Community Needs To Be Addressed
The Task Force plan would address several critical community issues:
Mobility – Enhanced and expanded transit service would provide meaningful access
to jobs, medical care, and education for transit-dependent residents.
Regional Core Vitality – A robust transit system would spur growth,
redevelopment and re-investment in urban neighborhoods, creating a more vibrant
regional core that is critical to the vitality of the region as a whole.
Competitiveness – Modern transit options would help the region compete for top
employers and talented workers against communities like Charlotte and
Minneapolis that offer extensive transit systems.
Congestion – Strategic transit investments would reduce growing traffic congestion
in the region that hurts productivity, impedes local commerce, and drains hundreds
of millions of dollars from our economy.
Environment – A technologically-advanced transit system featuring vehicles such
as hybrid electric buses and electric light rail would reduce carbon emissions,
improve central Indiana’s subpar air quality, and promote the growth of our
emerging clean tech sector.
Proposed Transit System
While the Task Force plan provides for a long term, multi-county transportation vision, the
Task Force believes that the backbone of the system should be built first in Marion and
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2. Hamilton Counties, with further expansion into surrounding counties as appropriate. The
initial ten-year build out would include the following:
• Doubling the amount of local bus service in Marion County and adding local bus
service in Hamilton County (fully implemented by 2020).
• Creating express bus service between the two counties beginning in 2014.
• Launching Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service in four Rapid Transit Corridors with full
build-out by 2017 and 2020.
• Building a rail line from Union Station to Noblesville by 2021, with multiple stops in
Indianapolis and Hamilton Counties.
At the same time, the transit authority would determine the feasibility of:
(1) Extending the transit system into the contiguous counties and the appropriate
timetable for doing so; and
(2) Building light rail service in one or more of the rapid transit corridors, including
rail service from downtown to the airport.
Financing the System
The proposed transit system has been designed to be cost-effective and provides
significant and measurable economic benefits relative to its cost.
However, existing revenues from local, state and federal sources funds are not sufficient to
build and operate this system, and a new source of dedicated funding would be needed.
Having reviewed the full range of funding alternatives, the Task Force believes that a local
income tax increase of 0.3% in both Marion and Hamilton Counties would provide the most
feasible dedicated local funding source to support a new transit system.
The Task Force also believes that the following principles must be followed in determining
the financing of the system:
A new dedicated local tax should not be established until first approved by the
voters through a referendum in each participating county.
Each county should decide for itself when to opt in to the system and put the
question to voters.
Only those counties that are directly served by the transit system should fund the
system. Under this plan, Marion and Hamilton Counties should be the first two
counties in the system, with other counties joining in later years.
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3. Each participating county would fund its share of the transit system costs in an
amount proportionate to the benefits that its residents receive.
Public-private partnerships should be pursued wherever possible, both to identify
additional revenue sources and to achieve greater cost efficiencies.
Business and employment opportunities created by the construction and operation
of the system should benefit the entire community, so relevant minority owned
business, women owned business, and other disadvantaged business contracting
goals should not only be met, but exceeded.
Governing the System
The Task Force plan includes the following guidelines for the establishment of a single,
regional transit organization to govern the system:
The organization should have the authority and capacity to design, finance, build,
operate and maintain the system.
The organization should have an appointed board whose members should be
experienced business and community leaders.
The board’s decision making process should reflect the participating counties’
relative financial contributions to the system but should ensure that the interests of
all counties are equitably represented.
The organization should be able to leverage federal funds as well as private
investment.
Recommended Next Steps
For more than a decade, the question of building a regional transit system in central
Indiana has been studied and discussed at length, with multiple studies conducted over the
years. The Task Force believes that the time is right to present this issue to the public, and
in particular, to allow the public to have the opportunity to vote by referendum on whether
it is willing to invest in an expanded transit system through a dedicated local tax.
The Task Force encourages elected officials, both in the Indiana General Assembly and at
the local level, to take all necessary steps to allow this issue to be presented to the voters.
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