Editor says city bus is his choice

Seth Johnson / Facebook

A frequent IndyGo rider who has to take the bus because of a vision problem says a car would be more convenient sometimes, but that even if he could drive, he would still pick public transit.

Seth Johnson lives in Fountain Square and rides to his job as an editor at Nuvo Newsweekly and Nuvo.net at 38^th and Meridian. He walks half an hour to downtown from his home in good weather, but takes the bus there as well and to appointments in Broad Ripple and elsewhere around town. If scheduling is a problem, he gets a ride with friends or takes a cab, but most of the time his ride is an IndyGo bus.

Johnson is part of a larger trend in which Americans are driving less and looking to transit alternatives, according to a 2014 study from the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group.

“Young Americans have experienced the greatest changes: driving less; taking transit, biking and walking more; and seeking out places to live in cities and walkable communities where driving is an option, not a necessity.” 

Not everybody’s there yet, especially in a sprawling metro area where driving is often more convenient and investment in public transit has lagged in comparison with other cities.

Johnson is 27 and says people his age in Fountain Square often find their cars more convenient.

“I have very few friends my age who ride the bus,” he said. “They think it’s not fast enough for them, and they would rather get somewhere when they need to get there, so they use their cars.”

Johnson understands what they mean but says that may change as IndyGo, fueled with new tax support and “bus rapid transit” routes, ramps up service by 70 percent.  He’s written about the plans for Nuvo.

IndyGo’s drivers are a big part of the reason he likes the service.

“They’ve been great. A lot of them know I’m visually impaired and they look out for me,” he said. “They’ll tell me if there’s some construction on the sidewalk.”

He sometimes takes the 28 up Illinois Street to get to Nuvo.

“That works with my schedule and I know those drivers well. It’s cool how much they look out for their riders.”

One of his friends drives Bus 14, connecting Downtown to Fountain Square, and then south to Emerson and Thompson.

“He’s always been great. He’ll even recognize if I’m not all the way at the stop, and he’ll wait because he knows I’m trying to get to the bus.”

Johnson was left visually impaired at age 5 after a brain tumor damaged his optic nerve. As a result he can’t drive, but has gotten used to public transit.

“Even if I did have a car I would still use a bus if I was going someplace near a stop,” he said. “The service is definitely getting better.”

He’s optimistic that IndyGo will pick up more riders as a new grid system makes it more convenient. He was impressed by the results of a 2016 county referendum in which nearly 60 percent of voters supported a 0.25 percent transit tax. The City-County Council then gave its approval, which meant a funding increase of about $54 million annually for the bus service.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve just never seen the city get behind IndyGo like this before. People said, ‘Yes, we really need this funded.’”

He said even those who don’t ride could tell the service was important as a benefit for the entire community.

“People see the city is progressing, and they know for that to keep happening, transit has to be part of it. We know that if Indianapolis wants to be respected, we need this.”


- John Strauss, jcs1122@yahoo.com