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I hope the city takes a good hard look at what it takes to pull off a flawless hosting of an event like this, and realizes that it absolutely failed on the transportation side of this equation.
Indy didn't "fail" on the transportation side. There were some special event buses and plenty of parking in the area. IUPUI charged $25 both weekends, and that included a shuttle ride with the exception of the day of the game. One person wrote somewhere (can't remember, maybe Nuvo) about riding a bus from Broad Ripple to downtown. Not sure how much it cost, if any. Money is an issue, even though it seems the city wanted to spend as many millions as possible. I've heard that K-12 can't ride Indy Go because of some federal law due to IndyGo getting federal funds. It is possible that the buses can't be used in the manner in which folks think they should be used.
Indy is an automobile centered city, and they did great on the transportation side. Yes, they could have done more, but I have to believe, and somewhat hope, that the spending side was at least thought of, and it would have taken lots of money to beef up IndyGo to some magical 15 minute wait time at each stop. Also, not sure if IndyGo even has the buses to pull such a time schedule off.
Indy didn't "fail" on the transportation side. There were some special event buses and plenty of parking in the area. IUPUI charged $25 both weekends, and that included a shuttle ride with the exception of the day of the game. One person wrote somewhere (can't remember, maybe Nuvo) about riding a bus from Broad Ripple to downtown. Not sure how much it cost, if any. Money is an issue, even though it seems the city wanted to spend as many millions as possible. I've heard that K-12 can't ride Indy Go because of some federal law due to IndyGo getting federal funds. It is possible that the buses can't be used in the manner in which folks think they should be used.
Indy is an automobile centered city, and they did great on the transportation side. Yes, they could have done more, but I have to believe, and somewhat hope, that the spending side was at least thought of, and it would have taken lots of money to beef up IndyGo to some magical 15 minute wait time at each stop. Also, not sure if IndyGo even has the buses to pull such a time schedule off.
IndyGo was actually free city wide with the exception of the Green Line. The problem was they were full the entire time and drivers kept having to pass people up due to lack of room.
IndyGo was actually free city wide with the exception of the Green Line. The problem was they were full the entire time and drivers kept having to pass people up due to lack of room.
Absolutely not true. I rode the #14 five hours before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday and the bus NEVER had to pass up riders. I was riding it, as were others from out of town, on the way to the Super Bowl. Everything ran smooth.
Absolutely not true. I rode the #14 five hours before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday and the bus NEVER had to pass up riders. I was riding it, as were others from out of town, on the way to the Super Bowl. Everything ran smooth.
There were countless news reports and video of buses passing people up at full capacity.
There were countless news reports and video of buses passing people up at full capacity.
Sources? All the media around here have their links good for months. Where are the sources of this for WRTV, WTHR, WISH, WIBC, WXIN, Indy Star?
Urban Indy blog was the only source I read where there was an issue, and it seemed to be minimal at that. It also isn't that big of deal, because more likely than not, you have free combined with costly parking downtown, of course the system is going to be taxed. I don't consider it a failure. There are limitations with every system. Had parking at IUPUI been $5, plenty of those people likely would have drove downtown. Jacking parking five times that rate for what is likely the closest parking around really causes people to pause. They heard "Free bus" and decided to give it a try, and some of this likely had to do with the whole mass transit bill in the news. So that is only one report I saw, where are the "countless news reports?" I would like to read them.
(1)Indy didn't "fail" on the transportation side. (2) There were some special event buses and plenty of parking in the area. IUPUI charged $25 both weekends, and that included a shuttle ride with the exception of the day of the game. One person wrote somewhere (can't remember, maybe Nuvo) about riding a bus from Broad Ripple to downtown. Not sure how much it cost, if any. Money is an issue, even though it seems the city wanted to spend as many millions as possible. I've heard that K-12 can't ride Indy Go because of some federal law due to IndyGo getting federal funds. It is possible that the buses can't be used in the manner in which folks think they should be used.
(3)Indy is an automobile centered city, and they did great on the transportation side. Yes, they could have done more, but I have to believe, and somewhat hope, that the spending side was at least thought of, (4) and it would have taken lots of money to beef up IndyGo to some magical 15 minute wait time at each stop. (5) Also, not sure if IndyGo even has the buses to pull such a time schedule off.
1. I guess you're right on that. How can you fail if you don't even try? Indy didn't even try to present an efficient and user friendly transportation system for the biggest sporting event in America. Not one ounce of effort other than, "Hey!!! It's free to ride the bus!".
2. I saw those. Apparently I wasn't "special" enough to ride them... sooooo... It did me, and any other person who relied on the bus to make it downtown, absolutely no good. And if the "Special" busses were available for me to use, there certainly wasn't any information telling me such. No one was directing over flow riders to the special area where the "SPecial" busses were. Besides that, would the "Special" busses even have dropped me off anywhere near where I parked my car, or would it have gone to a predetermined destination not on the regular bus route? It does me no good to take a "Special" bus out to some spot on the Westside by 465 when my car is parked just West of Belmont.
3. They did great on the transportation side? So when the Super Bowl is in New **cough, cough, Jersey** York, will their transportation effort be held as the second coming of Christ himself? Because if Indy did "great", I would hate to see what "okay" or "bad" would look like.
And I think a lot hasn't been said about this public transportation debacle because the people that write the news didn't have to deal with getting anywhere. Once they were downtown in their hotels, everything was there, and they didn't need to go to Broad Ripple, Castleton, Greenwood, etc. They saw the traffic downtown, and processed it as:
1. This is downtown, things already happen here on a daily basis, and now the Super Bowl is here, all in downtown.
2. Of course there are going to be a ton of people out and about, and of course there are going to be an un-Godly amount of cars on the streets.
3. I can get to where I need to go, even with the massive crowds, in about 15 minutes, tops.
*If* the Super Bowl activities were not all downtown within a square mile, all the positive reviews of the city would have been knocked down quite a few pegs, or just put on the back burner until the thrashing of "the time to get places" was complete. Ever read "The Sports Guy" from ESPN? If you haven't, look him up and read his account of the Super Bowl in Jacksonville. Or Houston.
Indy very well could have been another Jacksonville, or Houston. Driving at least 15 minutes to get everywhere, or more, (not to mention the added volume an event like the Super Bowl brings) doesn't usually give people the most pleasant and, "Hey! This is an awesome place to be right now" vibe.
**IF** the Super Bowl comes back to the city and *if* the weather cooperates like it did this time and *IF* the rest of the city and surrounding counties want a piece of all the buzz and money secure official "NFL and Super Bowl" activities around the city, the reviews will not be so glowing that time around.
NFL Experience in Castleton? Autographs in Greenwood? Zipline(esque feature?) in Speedway? That's when the city will be torn down in the media and never allowed to host again (even *if* it was 72 degrees and sunny the whole week).
Indianapolis is not a connected city that allows people the freedom (read: more than one way) to move about the 361.5 square miles that is Indianapolis. And it will certainly never be one if people proclaim the city's transportation as "great"
4. How long did Indy know about this whole "Super Bowl" thing? And they didn't think that maybe, just maybe, on the slightest of chances, that MORE PEOPLE would be using the public transportation for the event??? Sure the decal on the JW was cool... but I would have rather been able to catch a bus to get to/from numerous places around the city into the downtown area.
Also, 15 minutes is "magical"? If someone truly thinks that 15 minutes is "magic" than surely that same person would think the God D--------- Wizard of Oz was head of Chicago's CTA, and the heavenly Father presided over NYC and their subways and busses.
Because in those places 15 minutes is virtually the system wide maximum to wait to get a ride to where you're going. During rush hours and special events like, oh... I don't know... Lollapalooza, and the F-------- SUPER BOWL, the MAX to wait on ANY form of transit would be about 5-10 minutes. 15-20 minutes overnight.
(Sidenote: Do you realize how many people were hit by cars during the week of "festivities"? How many accidents there were in the downtown area? And THAT doesn't cause more problems for someone to move about the Super Bowl "village"? Just imagine if things were even slightly spread out. Someone would have pulled a Michael Douglas in "Falling Down" on 465 or 69 on the Northeast side if ANY of the NFL "festivities" were up that way.
5. Even though Indy wants it to be the truth and reality so bad, 10 lanes on 465 DOES NOT EQUAL MASS TRANSIT.
Last edited by A2DAC1985; 02-26-2012 at 08:46 AM..
Absolutely not true. I rode the #14 five hours before kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday and the bus NEVER had to pass up riders. I was riding it, as were others from out of town, on the way to the Super Bowl. Everything ran smooth.
I was passed a few times on Washington Street. The number 8 route was full countless times. I've never had to stand on a bus in Indianapolis because it was so full, they had us packed in like sardines.
I was passed a few times on Washington Street. The number 8 route was full countless times. I've never had to stand on a bus in Indianapolis because it was so full, they had us packed in like sardines.
My dad and I were two of the last three people to, literally squeeze, onto the Washington St. bus. This was still over a mile from the Circle.
It didn't bother me that the bus was packed beyond capacity (I can leave the Loop at 5 pm during the week and be in the same situation on the train), but what really ticked me off, and made me scratch my head until I rubbed the skin raw and exposed my skull, was the fact that even though such a huge event was taking place, the city treated the transportation situation like it was "just another day, only free!".
If a bus or train is packed trying to leave during rush hour, I know, KNOW, for a fact, that another train will be there in 3-5 minutes, or another bus in less than 15. And then when things are actually happening in the city (events, celebrations, bad weather) the CTA makes sure that every train is running 8 cars throughout the day, as opposed to 4 during non-rush hours, and extra busses are dedicated to providing express routes and extra service.
Was it literally *impossible* for IndyGo to pull a few busses from other routes to help supplement the main routes of the system that head into downtown? If they used money for other things than beefing up it's bus fleet, would shuffling routes have been too much to ask that Washington St offered more than 2 rides an hour?
Hell, I would have welcomed IPS busses to fill in the enormous gaps in bus service.
My dad and I were two of the last three people to, literally squeeze, onto the Washington St. bus. This was still over a mile from the Circle.
It didn't bother me that the bus was packed beyond capacity (I can leave the Loop at 5 pm during the week and be in the same situation on the train), but what really ticked me off, and made me scratch my head until I rubbed the skin raw and exposed my skull, was the fact that even though such a huge event was taking place, the city treated the transportation situation like it was "just another day, only free!".
If a bus or train is packed trying to leave during rush hour, I know, KNOW, for a fact, that another train will be there in 3-5 minutes, or another bus in less than 15. And then when things are actually happening in the city (events, celebrations, bad weather) the CTA makes sure that every train is running 8 cars throughout the day, as opposed to 4 during non-rush hours, and extra busses are dedicated to providing express routes and extra service.
Was it literally *impossible* for IndyGo to pull a few busses from other routes to help supplement the main routes of the system that head into downtown? If they used money for other things than beefing up it's bus fleet, would shuffling routes have been too much to ask that Washington St offered more than 2 rides an hour?
Hell, I would have welcomed IPS busses to fill in the enormous gaps in bus service.
IndyGo was woefully unprepared for the increased demand during the Super Bowl, and has admitted as much. They were doing the best they could with the very limited resources they are given. They did take busses from some other routes and added to the Washington Street route, though what they added was clearly not enough to handle the demand.
I use CTA everytime I am Chicago, and it is a superior system to Indianapolis. Comparing the two though, is unfair. Indianapolis is not Chicago, and it will never ever ever ever be Chicago.
Indianapolis is not Chicago, and it will never ever ever ever be Chicago.
That's NOT very "narnian" sir!!! COME ON!
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