EDITORIAL: Prevent a bus service meltdown

A hearing in November on shutting down all Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority services is a warning that a buspocalypse is possible if a funding solution is not found soon. This should command the attention of all local officials throughout Lake County.

Already, the RBA has been holding hearings on shutting down routes and reducing service. But with funding running out, the RBA's demise is unfortunately very possible.

The two-year contracts for fixed-route and paratransit services expire June 30.

Shutting down the Hammond Brown Line at the end of September will slow the rate of expenditures at the RBA but not solve the problem. What the RBA needs -- what the people who rely on its services need -- is a permanent funding source.

The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority met its statutory obligation by providing startup money for the RBA. But the RDA's obligation is to kick-start projects such as regional bus service, or to help purchase capital equipment, but not to continue to fund operations.

That responsibility falls on Lake County officials and on the Indiana General Assembly. And neither group has been discussing this issue publicly.

Failing to provide this essential service to the people who need it most would be shameful. People who are too young to drive, or don't own a vehicle, or are incapable of driving for health or other reasons, need reliable transportation. That's what bus service is supposed to provide them.

Used efficiently, buses reduce the number of cars on the road and the amount of pollution in the air. Bus service is a benefit to society as well as to the riders.

The conversations on preventing the collapse of bus service in Northwest Indiana must begin now before any proposed solution is too late.