Hoosiers are getting a taste of what their commute could look like in the near future, as the American Public Transit Association holds its Bus and Paratransit Conference in the Circle City.
The convention showcases the latest technology in bus public transportation.
Fox 59 News took at look at one all-electric bus, which uses new technology to charge itself while pausing at bus tops. The company, Proterra, and its founder claim that it can run all day long and hardly makes a sound, when compared to traditional diesel-fueled buses.
“I call the bus ‘Casper,’ because standing on the street curb you just see this white cloud go by and you don’t hear anything,” said founder Dale Hill.
IndyGo representatives are attending the conference and are in the process of upgrading its bus fleet.
IndyGo President and CEO Michael Terry spoke with Fox59 News as well, saying how he would like to see all-electric buses and compressed natural gas buses used in Indianapolis, in the long run.
Terry would also like to see the regional transit system, which failed to make it out of the General Assembly in 2013, to be passed.
“For a new regional governance, for a new local form of funding and to allow for a referendum: those were the three things in the bill,” Terry said. “It’s an economic generator. It’s about getting people to jobs, getting people to education, getting people to health care. It’s part of our economic fabric.”
Despite the recent legislative set-backs, IndyGo is continuing to expand.
Terry said the public transit system received an additional $6 million from the City-County Council this year. IndyGo is also adding a new route, the 86th Street crosstown route.
