The Campus Commute shuttle between Indianapolis and Bloomington will not be shut down as previously planned, according to an IU release Thursday. The shuttle’s last day of service had been scheduled for Friday.
Ticket prices will go up to $12 for a one-way, according to the release, but tickets purchased at the current $11.50 rate will be honored. The service will also still run on its usual schedule four times per day Monday through Friday.
Low ridership resulted in plans to halt the shuttle program, according to the release. However, “University leadership felt the benefits to the IU community were great enough to continue to offer the service.”
After the shutdown was initially announced, riders of the service began to email IU and the shuttle partner company, GO Express Travel, said IU journalism professor Gerry Lanosga.
Although he teaches in Bloomington, Lanosga has lived in Indianapolis since the 1980s and wanted to stay there while his kids are in school. He has been riding the shuttle as much as his class schedule permits since it began operating in 2015.
The shuttle stops in Bloomington at the Indiana Memorial Union and Memorial Stadium, and in Indianapolis at the Indiana Statehouse and the IUPUI Campus Center.
Lanosga said some days, especially in the middle of the week, only a handful of people ride the bus alongside him, allowing everyone their own row.
However, he said, on Mondays and Fridays, when students tend to go home, the shuttle is often full enough people must sit side-by-side.
Lanosga said he enjoys riding because the shuttle has Wi-Fi, allowing him to work during his commute, and it's better for the environment than driving his own car.
IU and GO Express Travel will be looking for ways to make the shuttle more popular, according to Thursday’s release, and Lanosga said he has at least one idea: more awareness.
“I’m not sure it’s been publicized enough,” Lanosga said. “More people might use the service if they knew about it.”
