Bill threatening IndyGo bus rapid transit dies in the House

Indianapolis rapid transit has survived its latest Statehouse challenge.

Senate Bill 141, which jeopardized the planned Purple and Blue bus rapid transit lines, will not advance out of House committee by deadline. The bill, filed by Indianapolis Republican Sen. Aaron Freeman, advanced out of the Senate but stalled in the House Roads and Transportation Committee.

Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, chairs the committee and ultimately decided to not hold another hearing on the bill before Thursday's advancement deadline. He held the bill March 24 after the committee heard nearly two hours of testimony. Another 20 people who signed up to speak did not get an opportunity due to time restraints.

On Wednesday morning a spokesperson for Pressel confirmed the bill will not get another hearing.

"Senate Bill 141 is complex legislation with passionate voices on all sides," Pressel said in a statement provided early Wednesday afternoon. "Despite meaningful conversations among stakeholder groups and legislators, it's obvious that consensus won't be reached before the committee report deadline."

In a statement, IndyGo said it was grateful that Pressel decided to not have another hearing.

"This bill has been a distraction as we have been focused on maintaining transit service and keeping our riders and employees safe throughout the pandemic, as well as advancing our major projects," the statement said.

Freeman did not respond to requests for comment.

While this is the end of Senate Bill 141, lawmakers could insert similar provisions in other bills.

What the bill would have done

The bill would have created a penalty if IndyGo didn't meet certain revenue requirements. It also would have adjusted existing requirements and banned additional bus rapid transit lines if those requirements aren't met.

In January, Freeman told IndyStar he filed the bill to hold IndyGo accountable. He says IndyGo isn't meeting the law's current requirements. IndyGo says it is. This debate underlying the bill was never resolved, with sides citing the attorney general, a private law firm and the State Board of Accounts in attempts to prove their point.

Freeman and other supporters of the bill also cited concerns about Washington Street being made one lane in each direction after the addition of a bus-only lane for the Blue Line. Indianapolis Department of Public Works leaders said the change would lead to a travel time increase of 1-4 minutes on average at peak travel times.

IndyGo and other opponents of the bill said it put at risk $200 million in federal funds that could help improve streets, build sidewalks and make other infrastructure improvements along the future lines.

Part of a trend

This is the second consecutive year that a bill threatening IndyGo died in the Indiana House.

An amendment attached to a Northwest Indiana transit bill last year was very similar to Senate Bill 141. It died in conference committee at the very end of the legislative session.

This year's bill was a notable member in a group of bills filed by Republican state lawmakers looking to assert themselves in the state's Democrat-controlled capital.

The different pieces of proposed legislation looked to do everything from take control of the city's police department to make it more difficult for the city to change its name.

Many of these bills have met the same fate as the IndyGo bill. The police department control bill, for example, landed in a summer study committee.

What's next

The Red Line, the first part of the new bus rapid transit system, has been in use for more than a year and a half.

Ridership has not met IndyGo's stated expectations, though the pandemic has hurt public transit ridership nationwide and IndyGo says adding the new lines will improve ridership for the whole system.

2020 numbers: How Red Line ridership fared in its first full calendar year

IndyGo has already spent $37 million on the Purple Line, which is set to run along 38th Street to Lawrence. They expect the federal government to reimburse 50% of that money, which was spent on engineering and property acquisition.

In the statement provided Wednesday, IndyGo said bidding out the Purple Line will be among their next priorities. Another stated priority is developing a process for route improvements.

The Purple Line is expected to open in 2023. Construction should begin this year.

IndyGo has spent about $4 million on the Blue Line, which is set to run along Washington Street from Cumberland to Indianapolis International Airport. IndyGo has not started buying property for the line and had halted design while Senate Bill 141 was pending.

The Blue Line is expected to open in 2025.

IndyGo has also begun its Super Stops project, which looks to improve some of its busiest stops by building stations similar to those on the rapid transit routes.

Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Ethan May at emay@indystar.com or 317-402-1058. Follow him on Twitter: @EthanMayJ.