To the editor:
One measure of a healthy economy is employment. That’s why we celebrate when a company moves jobs to Indiana.
The thing is, getting employers that create career opportunities to Indiana is only part of the challenge. We also need to get people to these opportunities. If we can’t do that, employers will bypass us for other markets.
That’s why we need to strengthen our public transportation system.
This is not a theoretical problem. All across the state, employers have jobs they can’t fill. In many cases, those jobs are not far from qualified people who are looking for opportunities to work. The barrier? Transportation.
One way we can address this problem is by increasing Indiana’s Public Mass Transportation Fund (PMTF). That Fund, which supports public transportation across the state, has remained relatively flat for 10 years, even though demand for and interest in transit has grown.
The PMTF funds IndyGo and similar mass transit systems in other big cities. But the PMTF also supports transit providers in nearly every Indiana county, serving people in smaller cities, towns and rural areas all across the state. Each county is different, but this transit service is usually delivered by a social service agency that serves seniors or people with disabilities.
Take Johnson County, for example. Access Johnson County is the public transit provider. While the service is open to anyone, most riders are seniors and people with disabilities who are unable to drive. All rides require a reservation, and reservation requests are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
The problem is, the services can’t provide enough rides to fulfill all of the reservation requests.
As a result, some people who can’t afford to own a car won’t get to medical appointments. Some people with disabilities might not receive needed services. Seniors might not get groceries. And too many people will be cut off from their communities.
Central Indiana has not always relied as much on public transit, but things have changed. More people need transit to connect with their communities, services and basic necessities.
And they need to be able to get to work.
If the economic health of our state relies on employment, then we should do all we can to make sure that all available workers can get to available work opportunities. We don’t want willing workers to be cut off from jobs, and we don’t want employers bypassing Indiana because we can’t get workers to their workplaces.
Let’s stay in the game. Let’s increase Indiana’s PMTF funding.
Bill Ehret
Board member with the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority
