Bloomington to launch free downtown shuttle. Here's when and where.
Bloomington Transit will launch a free downtown shuttle this summer. Here's when and where it will run and how you can use it.
BT will launch the shuttle June 2 as part of its BLink Microtransit service.
It will run weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. BT said in a news release that it chose those hours 'to serve peak lunch and dinner times.'
The shuttle will run in an area between Rogers Street in the west and Indiana Avenue (IU campus) to the east and First Street in the north to 10th Street in the south. The shuttle will provide free, curb-to-curb rides to and from anywhere within that area.
You can order rides on demand or schedule them up to 24 hours in advance. BT suggests you make reservations on the BloomingtonLink mobile app or at book.blink.rideco.com.
In that case, the driver will follow a designated course within the shuttle zone. The course will include the Fourth Street and Walnut Street parking garages. Pedestrians can flag down the vehicle at an intersection, hop on and ask the driver to take them to their destination — so long as the destination is within the shuttle zone.
BT General Manager John Connell said on The812 podcast, 'We're trying to do something a little innovative this summer just to see how it plays out so we can plan for the future. If you're going to ride a block or two – great, ride a block or two. We encourage people: If they see it, take advantage of it.'
Former Bloomington City Council member Steve Volan, who hosts the podcast, had for many years advocated for a downtown shuttle.
BT said in the release that it created the shuttle at the request of Bloomington officials and business leaders 'who were concerned about the increased difficulty of transportation and parking brought about by the seasonal closure of Kirkwood (Avenue.)'
Bryan Fyalkowski, manager of marketing and development at BT, said via email the downtown shuttle program, as currently laid out, would cost a maximum of $30,000. The shuttle is being paid through the local income tax levied by the city of Bloomington.
No. Fyalkowski said the shuttle this summer 'is essentially a pilot program.'
'Based on how much use the service gets over the next few weeks/months will determine how we want to move forward,' he said.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: The city of Bloomington will launch a free downtown shuttle
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