qwantae Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 I heard from a Friend of mine of Munster, Indiana that EASY GO service is Ending their service in June 2012. The RBA has begun its death watch, "Said Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. referencing two upcoming public hearings in April, required when service is suspended. The issue is that RBA doesn't have a funding source, said Mayor of Hammond. Here's the link at http://www.viamarketing.net/rba/petition.php for more details, Please feel free to sign the petition to save their service. Thank You for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 I mentioned that this situation has been fouled up for a long time. Basically, the theory has been that somehow they could consolidate GPTC, ECT, and HTS, and some tax source would be passed by the legislature or county council to keep it running. Hammond turned over its bus service, and some of its casino money to keep it running through 2011, after having threatened to shut down its service in 2009. The two main blow ups are: Gary and East Chicago don't want to join. In Gary's case, apparently because (1) they want to keep the buses they have, and (2) GPTC has some property tax authority.Indiana, not being Illinois, isn't willing to run campaigns to raise taxes. Not even Democratic Lake County, and certainly not Porter County. If you want to further research this, this search of the Times probably is sufficient. The main issue I have with "everyone sign this petition" is that for most of our readership, it would be Illinois people telling Indiana to raise their taxes--in that it is addressed to Lake County Commissioners and State Legislators from Lake County. While there are a few signatures from Chicago Heights, Calumet City, and Lansing [and some 606s signing early and often], I really doubt that the Commissioners and Legislators are going to be influenced by their signatures. In fact, it hits me as a breach of Internet protocol (not IP) for the RBA to be publishing the names and zip codes of the signers. Now, if you live in Lake County, Indiana, and are willing to have your taxes increased, that's a different matter. But you better have a zip code starting with 463 or 464. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 What a sad state of affairs in Indiana. 1. As a former Hammond resident, I found the transit systerm, whether operated by Viacom or First Transit for Hammond Transit was not user friendly because the 5 routes operated in a hub and spoke system, with the slight exception of the 1 route. Therefore the system with hourly service could never generate any ridership. 2. The RBA is not a real regional authority if it is basically only confined to Hammond. There are reasons that Gary and E. Chicago won't join. E Chicago's transit system last I remember was free for riders. I'm not familiar how they were able to finance the operation, but E. Chicago is the smallest of the Tri-cities. GPTC with its taxing authority would probably run Hammond service if its taxing authority could be expanded, but the region with its hatred for Gary would probably not support that idea. The question is whether the commuter service RBA offers (run by Free Enterprise) generates enough revenue to save that service or will that face the ax also? Residents really have to ask themselves if they truly want bus service. While I agree that bus service is necessary becausee there are people who do rely on this service, the fact is the ridership is low, and without an additional source of revenue (sales taxes, government subsidies, etc) it really makes no sense to run it. Another option not considered is to reach out to Pace as well. It has 3 routes that serve the Hammond Transit Ctr and those could be extended into parts of Hammond, but I am sure that Pace would want some kind of funding source even in that scenario. If you could get Gary to agree to run some service in Hammond along with Pace, and get them to agree to a transfer policy, Hammond riders won't necessarily be out in the cold, and you could connect Gary with the S. Suburbs and possibly Chicago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 1. As a former Hammond resident, I found the transit systerm, whether operated by Viacom or First Transit for Hammond Transit was not user friendly because the 5 routes operated in a hub and spoke system, with the slight exception of the 1 route. Therefore the system with hourly service could never generate any ridership. When RBA took over, they changed the system to two trunk lines via Indianapolis and Calumet between 106th in Chicago and Main St. and put in two circulator routes in Hammond. See map. So, it is not the same system. In fact, the system reflects that there isn't anything near the Dan Rabin* Transit Center, as the Orange and Blue Brochure indicates that the starting point is the Food-4-Less (and by implication Walmart) in Woodmar. They also had a "Brown Line" from Community Hospital to Crown Point, but that quickly was canceled. Another option not considered is to reach out to Pace as well. It has 3 routes that serve the Hammond Transit Ctr and those could be extended into parts of Hammond, but I am sure that Pace would want some kind of funding source even in that scenario. If you could get Gary to agree to run some service in Hammond along with Pace, and get them to agree to a transfer policy, Hammond riders won't necessarily be out in the cold, and you could connect Gary with the S. Suburbs and possibly Chicago. I think we discussed that before. The Oswego discussion indicated that for Pace to operate outside the RTA territory (1) the RTA has to approve it and (2) something other than the RTA and Pace would have to pick up 100% of the cost. If Indiana isn't willing to tax to support its own bus system, it isn't going to tax to support Pace. ________ *Not sure why they named the TC for him, but I remember when he had an appliance store when there still was a Downtown Hammond.My father was teed off that an air conditioner bought from him didn't have a grille over the condenser pipes and the wrong plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwantae Posted June 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Tomorrow Saturday, June 30th is their last day of Bus service due to lack of funding. Here's the Update Story: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/indiana&id=8719747 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 29, 2012 Report Share Posted June 29, 2012 Tomorrow Saturday, June 30th is their last day of Bus service due to lack of funding. Here's the Update Story: http://abclocal.go.c...iana&id=8719747 The interesting thing for bus fans is that they showed what was being run on the Blue route, so one doesn't have to go down there to see it. However, the rest of the footage was of Pace buses. The more tragic point was derivative of that if you don't run fixed route service, you don't have to run paratransit, and that community is stranded. There was a statement at the end that the organization that was operating paratransit found another source of funding for a month, but I suppose that the you know what will hit the fan July 31 unless that is resolved, even though the import of most of the comments in The Times is that people don't want to support the buses. Update: The search I mentioned above brought up a story that the GPTC and Pace buses will be rerouted, because the Dan Rabin TC will be closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 Tomorrow Saturday, June 30th is their last day of Bus service due to lack of funding. Here's the Update Story: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/indiana&id=8719747 I cant believe how ABC7 kept showing the Pace Nabi bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 30, 2012 Report Share Posted June 30, 2012 I cant believe how ABC7 kept showing the Pace Nabi bus. I suppose that with most of the EasyGo buses not even going there, that's what they had. I'm surprised that they didn't even have a Ponce to send out on the NW Indiana story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 I suppose that with most of the EasyGo buses not even going there, that's what they had. I'm surprised that they didn't even have a Ponce to send out on the NW Indiana story. Triple A Express, the paratransit provider for EasyGo was able to secure emergency funding for paratransit operations to continue for another month. Meantime, I will look.to see if the funding dried up for the commuter service that the Agency contracted with Free Enterprise. In other news, Pace is holding a hearing in July to discontinue Route 892 UPS Northwest Indiana. I remember when the Gary UPS route had 2 buses, and now the 891/892 combo can't maintain 1 bus? Somehow I don't see GPTC stepping up to the plate. The Northwest Indiana Regional Transportation Board now really serves no purpose, not that it ever did, but was put in place in part to try to wrest control of Gary Airport from Democratic and African American dominant Gary to State and Republican control. Sounds a lot like the RTA here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 Triple A Express, the paratransit provider for EasyGo was able to secure emergency funding for paratransit operations to continue for another month. Meantime, I will look.to see if the funding dried up for the commuter service that the Agency contracted with Free Enterprise. In other news, Pace is holding a hearing in July to discontinue Route 892 UPS Northwest Indiana. I remember when the Gary UPS route had 2 buses, and now the 891/892 combo can't maintain 1 bus? Somehow I don't see GPTC stepping up to the plate. The Northwest Indiana Regional Transportation Board now really serves no purpose, not that it ever did, but was put in place in part to try to wrest control of Gary Airport from Democratic and African American dominant Gary to State and Republican control. Sounds a lot like the RTA here. You are showing that you haven't researched the issue. First the Gary Airport was put under an authority headed by Mayor Daley. So, it has nothing to do with that. Secondly, if the RBA is broke, the only way it can continue a contracted service is if it has the money to pay the contractor. The only way that would happen is if fares covered the cost of the bus. Thirdly, while their site no longer has the large banner with the threat and "sign our petition," most of the pages say at the bottom (in very small type): Due to pending closure of all transit services offered by the RBA, all tickets sales for all services are only good through June 30th, 2012. This message will be changed prior to June 30th, 2012 if a permanent local funding source is found to continue operations. Thank you for your continued support and use of the RBA services. I suppose that "all" means "all." Fourthly, you can search this forum for the fact that 892 was funded by a combination of Workforce Development in Gary and the East Chicago Casino Foundation, and, in connection with running out of the RTA territory, Pace said it had to be 100% funded, although they said it was by UPS. So GPTC had nothing to do with it. Either those entities no longer can fund it (there were stories about federal investigations into the ECCF when Pabey ran EC*) or not enough people want to ride 80 miles round trip for a minimum wage 5 hour nightshift job. _______ *Like Illinois, East Chicago has had two mayors in federal prison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 1, 2012 Report Share Posted July 1, 2012 I suppose that "all" means "all." According to the Times: The RBA also started a Chicago express bus service. That shut down Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajuan Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 (edited) You are showing that you haven't researched the issue. First the Gary Airport was put under an authority headed by Mayor Daley. So, it has nothing to do with that. Secondly, if the RBA is broke, the only way it can continue a contracted service is if it has the money to pay the contractor. The only way that would happen is if fares covered the cost of the bus. Thirdly, while their site no longer has the large banner with the threat and "sign our petition," most of the pages say at the bottom (in very small type): I suppose that "all" means "all." Fourthly, you can search this forum for the fact that 892 was funded by a combination of Workforce Development in Gary and the East Chicago Casino Foundation, and, in connection with running out of the RTA territory, Pace said it had to be 100% funded, although they said it was by UPS. So GPTC had nothing to do with it. Either those entities no longer can fund it (there were stories about federal investigations into the ECCF when Pabey ran EC*) or not enough people want to ride 80 miles round trip for a minimum wage 5 hour nightshift job. _______ *Like Illinois, East Chicago has had two mayors in federal prison. I'm actually surprised the RTA let Pace get away with going that deep into Indiana for this long despite the funding coming fully from outside sources. The 355 (when it still had express service into downtown Chicago) and 364 serving the Hammond Transit Center at least had being close to the Illinois line in its favor. And a Chicago area transit board flubbing on where money originates for something, no surprise there. Edited July 2, 2012 by jajuan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 I'm actually surprised the RTA let Pace get away with going that deep into Indiana for this long despite the funding coming fully from outside sources. The 355 (when it still had express service into downtown Chicago) and 364 serving the Hammond Transit Center at least had being close to the Illinois line in its favor. And a Chicago area transit board flubbing on where money originates for something, no surprise there. The question is whether Pace discovered the RTA approval requirement only when Oswego came off the CMAQ or JARC. One could guess that 891 and 892 were during the time when Pace pretty much prostituted itself to UPS. As far as 355, I remember when it was run by South Suburban Safeway but subsidized by the RTA that it had a loop via Sibley, State Line, and Memorial Drive, but did not cross into Indiana. Pace claims that it and 350 and 364 were legacy operations. While I wasn't around at the time all three were extended into Hammond, it definitely was under the RTA. I also seem to remember that 364 was an RTA instituted route, sort of like 220 and 330. In the meantime, if one wants to attempt to trace the history, I see that Chicago Transit & Railfan's warning that Apple was cancelling me.com came to fruition, but no replacement was indicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busfan2847 Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 In the meantime, if one wants to attempt to trace the history, I see that Chicago Transit & Railfan's warning that Apple was cancelling me.com came to fruition, but no replacement was indicated. New site http://www.chicagorailfan.com/ From the Chicgaotransit Yahoo group: "The bad news, is that my web hosting service will shut down at the end of June, and that the link will become dead. But the good news, is that my web site is now all set up with a new host, and with a REAL web address! www.chicagorailfan.com Bill Vandervoort, Chicago, IL Visit the Chicago Transit & Railfan Web Site http://www.chicagorailfan.com/" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 2, 2012 Report Share Posted July 2, 2012 New site http://www.chicagorailfan.com/ Thanks. Googling last night didn't come up with anything live. Looking at that, he doesn't have anything on when 355 was routed into Hammond, but does have that 350 was established in 1981 and 364 in 1975, which would both be under the RTA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 If you want to go into the world of the really fouled up, you might want to read this article on GPTC saying it talking to the Regional Development Authority on being the regional provider, and this editorial saying that talking doesn't solve the problem. Even more bizarre is that while we noted above that paratransit gets funded for another month is this NIRPC map (to which the callout box in the original article referred) indicating that most of Hammond is within the mandated paratransit zones for ECT and GPTC, and even Pace paratransit goes into two places in Hammond. Apparently this is the result of the 3/4 mile rule for paratransit, and that ECT has a route to Woodmar and GPTC the Tri Cities route. For the rest of North Township (Whiting, Hammond, Munster, and Highland) there is the North Township Trustee's dial a ride. The NIRPC Options Page doesn't say how effective those options are, but it spells them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 In other news, Pace is holding a hearing in July to discontinue Route 892 UPS Northwest Indiana.... A little more is indicated in the NWI Times article. Apparently, part of the problem was that 1/3 of the cost was being picked up by the RBA through an RDA grant, but the RBA is either broke or isn't. Also, it appears that Workforce Development isn't now part of the funding, which may explain why the Gary stop is now in the Village Shopping Center, instead of at Workforce Development Update: The Pace Public Hearing Results page says: Pace, the Suburban Bus Division of the RTA The Pace Board of Directors at their meeting on July 11, 2012 voted to: Discontinue Pace Route 892 due to lack of 100% funding. These changes are expected to be implemented after the last trip on Friday, August 17, 2012. More detailed Passenger Notice, confirming what I said above, is here. Apparently, the inference is to find some way to get to Route 890 in Harvey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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