Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

THE CURRENT SITUATION: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Public transportation in our community is primarily provided by three bus services:
Bloomington Transit Corporation, Indiana University Bus System and Rural Transit.
Neither the city nor the county have any form of passenger rail connection to surrounding
communities.
Bloomington Transit and Indiana University Campus Bus System
Bloomington Transit (BT) operates nine routes within the corporate boundaries of the City
of Bloomington. The regular BT fare for non‐IU students is $1; monthly passes are
available at $30; and semi‐annual passes are $150. There are free transfers to other BT and
Rural Transit routes. Bloomington Transit operates two routes
on Sundays. Reduced service is offered on Saturdays. All fleet
buses are equipped with bike racks and wheelchair ramps or
lifts. Bloomington Transit also operates BT Access, a
transportation service for passengers with disabilities who
cannot use the "fixed route" bus system.
Between 2006 and 2008, BT ridership increased by 20 percent. 156 This increase resulted
partly from an increase in the IU student population and partly from an increase in gasoline
prices. The growth in ridership demonstrates that behavior in Bloomington tracks national
trends. According to the American Public Transportation Association, on average there
was an increase in bus use across the nation by 3.9 percent, “but in communities with a
population of less than 100,000, bus services saw an increase of 9.3 percent in 2008.” 157
Bloomington had the highest per capita ridership of any city in Indiana with over 40
passengers per capita using transit in 2008. 158
156 2,363,526 in 2006; 2,570,117 in 2007; 2,829,950 in 2008 (via Lew May, BT General Manager).
157 American Public Transportation Association, Transit News, March 9, 2009.
http://www.apta.com/media/releases/090309_ridership.cfm
158 In 2008, Bloomington Transit had 3 million riders. Bloomington has a population of approximately
70,000. Indiana Department of Transportation.
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