Mass transit can enhance quality of life, unite Indy
The feature below, written by Ann Murtlow, was featured in The Indianapolis Star on Sunday, February 21.
For those without reliable transportation, the daily routine can be a struggle – long stretches of waiting, walking, and worrying about whether they’ll make it on time to work, school or the doctor’s office. And when winter drives temperatures below freezing, every minute spent huddling around the bus stop or trudging along the street becomes a dangerous ordeal.
At United Way of Central Indiana, we focus on four strategic priorities – income, education, health, and basic needs (a foundation for stability) to improve the lives of local families. Our lack of modern mass transit is a substantial barrier to self-sufficiency for many in our community.
Marion County’s bus system has been underfunded and neglected for decades. Like the city it serves, IndyGo is a hard-working organization, providing the best service possible within its budget. But this year, we have a unique opportunity to invest in transit that delivers real mobility and economic momentum. We deserve a system that works for those who need it, and appeals to those who would choose it as an option.
Earlier this month, IndyGo released a five-year Marion County Transit Plan that improves service across Indianapolis; the plan triples the population and doubles employment within walking distance of high-frequency bus routes, adds three new rapid transit lines and expands daily service hours with a seven-day-a-week schedule. It aims for faster travel, shorter wait times, and convenient connections between people, employers, neighborhoods and civic attractions that just don’t exist today.
Transit service that reflects the reality of how people live and work empowers those who depend on it. By helping people reach jobs and school, transit is a catalyst for raising incomes and earning potential. IndyGo’s plan would put 200,000 more jobs within a half-mile of frequent, all-day bus service – eight of every ten jobs in the city overall would be connected by the expanded system in 2021.
These positions would finally be within a realistic commute of more urban job-seekers, families living in poverty, people with disabilities and households without a car – all gain a dramatic improvement in transit service as well. Longer hours of operation also serve the growing number of jobs outside the traditional ‘9 to 5’ schedule: Restaurant, hotel and retail workers often work evenings and weekends – a 2015 Economic Policy Institute report estimates that nearly 20% of U.S. employees have unstable hours.
And as families work towards bigger dreams and opportunities for their children, it’s also worth noting that the rapid transit and frequent bus service envisioned by the plan put roughly half of Marion County’s below-poverty households within minutes of IUPUI and Ivy Tech, along with private institutions like Butler and UIndy. Removing barriers to higher education puts higher income career choices and a better quality of life within reach.
Greater mobility also pays off in access to healthcare and other daily necessities; for a city ranked among the nation’s worst in “food deserts,” a system that creates easier trips to the grocery can be a big step forward in health and well-being.
At United Way, we promote self-sufficiency; improving our transit system isn’t just a challenge for IndyGo, it’s a job for all of us. Learn about the proposed improvements in your area and speak out: Ask our City-County Councillors to put the transit referendum on the ballot this fall, so we can support this plan at the polls.
We urge our volunteers and supporters to “Live United.” Transit can open a wider world of employment and education to more of our neighbors, attract new residents and revitalize neighborhoods, raise our standard of living and quality of life. Mass transit can help unite our community, if we raise our voices in unison to make it a priority.
Ann D. Murtlow
President and CEO
United Way of Central Indiana.