Bloomington Transit (BT) and IU Campus Bus (IUCB) are proceeding with the second of three phases of their joint Route Optimization Study by envisioning new ways to better provide mass transit in Bloomington. In partnership with Foursquare ITP, two alternative routing scenarios have been developed and will be presented later this month. BT and IUCB invite area residents—riders and non-riders alike—to examine and discuss the alternative scenarios in a series of upcoming public input sessions.
Since fall 2018, Foursquare ITP has been gathering ridership and local population data to identify potential areas of improvement. At the same time the firm has gathered input directly from residents through previous input sessions and a ridership survey, which garnered over 600 responses from both riders and non-riders. Foursquare ITP analyzed these along with trending transportation demands and input from local transportation professionals to create two distinct alternative route networks for both IUCB and BT.
“These route scenarios are based on models shown to be successful elsewhere,” says Zac Huneck, Planning & Special Projects Manager with BT. “However, every community has its own nuances that models cannot anticipate and data may not readily reveal. That’s why community input is so vital to the process.”
The alternative scenarios are intended to spark further community-wide discussion about enhancing mobility options through public transportation. Area residents are encouraged to join in the upcoming input sessions to share their input. Foursquare ITP will use feedback from the sessions to hone their final recommendations, to be presented this summer.
Public meeting details:
Monday, March 25
Indiana Memorial Union, Maple Room
- 12:00p-1:30p—Presentation and discussion
Downtown Transit Center, Conference Room
- 7:00p-8:30p—Presentation and discussion
