GUEST COMMENTARY: Valparaiso is going places with public transportation

On my way to City Hall, I drove in behind one of our city's V-Line buses. It made me smile because our city has traveled many miles in the public transportation lane, and I'm delighted to see how far it's taken us.

Valparaiso offers two public transportation services: the V-Line, our intracity bus service, and the ChicaGo Dash, a daily express bus to Chicago. When we dreamed of these services, we had no idea how many lives we'd affect along the way, such as Christy, who uses V-Line to get to her new job in Valparaiso, or Jocelyn, who appreciates the disabled-accessible bus to get to appointments and shopping. Or Rick, who hops the Dash daily to get to his job in the Loop. Still others use the V-Line to connect to the South Shore Line station in Chesterton to take rail service to Chicago.

These daily success stories are what we had in mind when we envisioned our bus services. The V-Line intracity bus began in 2007 with less than 7,000 riders. Last year, a little more than 72,000 riders boarded the V-Line. In 2009, when we launched the ChicaGo Dash express to Chicago, we served a little more than 1,000 riders a month. This year we have more than 4,000 riders board the Dash monthly. Both services are cost-efficient and sustainable for the long term.

Beyond the conveniences to our community, the bus services have added value to Valparaiso. First, the ChicaGo Dash attracts 90 to 100 people to our downtown station daily, adding to the vitality of our downtown. Then there are environmental benefits to sharing rides. The Dash recently won the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence for converting commuters from single-occupancy vehicles to a shared bus that reduces traffic and improves air quality. We all win with cleaner air and a more streamlined commute.

Finally, our transportation services promote employment development. Connecting Valpo workers with good-paying and diversified jobs in our city and in Chicago makes good economic sense. And as gas prices rise, these workers appreciate the economy and convenience of bus service even more.

We're grateful to have received financial support from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Regional Development Authority for ChicaGo Dash, as well as our own Redevelopment Commission. NIRPC also has helped to fund our V-Line service.

So you see why driving behind the bus made me smile — because it makes so many others smile each day. I encourage other communities to investigate public transportation — to save commuters time and gas, to preserve the environment, and to connect residents with jobs, neighbors and opportunities. The road ahead looks good for transit services in Valparaiso.

Jon Costas is mayor of Valparaiso. The opinion in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.