Expanded bus service ready to launch

The first significant expansion of mass transit in Northwest Indiana in decades will kick off Monday when the Regional Bus Authority expands former Hammond Transit routes, including a new route from Munster to Crown Point.

The former Hammond Transit System was renamed Northwest Lake County Transit Services in January and has been running under the RBA's EasyGo moniker. That's when a contract between the city of Hammond and the RBA took effect, effectively resulting in an RBA takeover of Hammond Transit.

The service expansion in Northwest Indiana is coming at a time of cutbacks for mass transit systems across the nation.

"This is the only expansion of public transit going on in the region, and that includes Chicago," RBA Project Director Ken Dallmeyer said earlier this week.

The former Hammond Transit red route will now run from 109th Street in Chicago to Main Street on the south side of Munster via Calumet Avenue. The former green route also will run from 109th and will turn around when it reaches Main Street in Highland via Indianapolis Boulevard.

The new brown route to the Lake County Government Complex in Crown Point will start on Fisher Street in Munster on the north side of Community Hospital. Residents of Chicago, Hammond, and Munster's north side who want to catch that bus can take the red route and transfer.

The orange route and blue routes serving central Hammond also are being expanded.

The four former Hammond Transit routes will have service hours expanded to 14 hours a day. Saturday service will return. There also will be shorter wait times between buses, with most operating with a half hour between buses during morning hours and later afternoon and early evening hours on weekdays.

The consolidation of bus agencies and expansion of service are taking place for the first two years with the help of a $4.8 million grant from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

The city of Hammond is continuing to fund the system with $900,000 per year in casino money through the end of 2011. The RBA has projected the bus service will take in about $1.6 million annually in other income including fares, federal grants and state grants.

First Transit Inc. won the contract to provide bus services for Northwest Lake County Transit Services, and Triple-A Express is providing paratransit services.

The  selection of Triple-A Express is being challenged by the advocacy group Everybody Counts, which alleges the private transportation company's contracted services with the RBA do not conform with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.