A levy to fund bus rapid transit is on central Ohio ballots. How has it worked elsewhere?

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WCMH) -- On Election Day, many central Ohio voters will be deciding whether to pass a levy that would help fund a new transit system. So, how has bus rapid transit worked for one of the other cities it's used in?

LinkUS is the Central Ohio Transit Authority's $2 billion plan with the City of Columbus, Franklin County and other local groups to upgrade the region's public transportation options, with Issue 47 on Election Day being a COTA sales tax levy to help pay for it. One of the key goals of this plan is to introduce bus rapid transit -- also known as BRT.

The bus-based transit system is used in other big cities across the U.S., including Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2019, IndyGo -- Indianapolis' version of COTA -- opened its first BRT route, which is called the Red Line. Carrie Black, chief public affairs officer at IndyGo, explained how it works.

"Bus rapid transit is very rail-like in that it runs on a very specific route," Black said. "It runs at regular intervals, it has stations with nice amenities for riders, but at only a fraction of the cost of rail."

One major criticism of BRT is that it's not light rail, the preferred option of many public transit advocates. However, Black said it's actually the superior option because of the ease with which complications can be resolved.

"We like to think it's better and here's why," Black said. "Light rail, if there is an issue, if there is construction, if there is an accident, then the trains are just on pause until that situation can be cleaned up. That might last a few minutes, it might last a few hours, it might last days. With bus rapid transit, we're far more nimble. If there is an accident or an issue with a dedicated bus lane for some reason, then those buses can hop off that lane, they can go around it, they can detour."

Patrick Harris, chief external relations officer at COTA, was part of a group that visited Indianapolis to see its bus rapid transit in action. He said the LinkUS corridors would be different from the Red Line in one major way.

"The Red Line is center-running just like ... our future lines would be," Harris said. "However, there's some stretches of the Red Line that have buses operating in the same lane rather than their own individual lanes, and that's something we're hoping to avoid here."

The Purple Line, an additional BRT route launched by IndyGo on Oct. 13, is closer to what central Ohio's corridors would look like, according to Harris.

"With our LinkUS plan, the Purple Line does have exactly what we're planning, which is center-running bus rapid transit with dedicated lanes going each way, with transit stations that have level boarding platforms with off-board fare payment."

Harris said a lot of the amenities found in Indianapolis' system will be similar but that LinkUS is focusing on design concepts so that its bus rapid transit will "be more upgraded." But for him, the biggest takeaway from his tour was BRT's impact on the economy.

"One of the reasons we conducted this trip is to learn more from the business community," Harris said. "They shared their story of more than $800 million in economic investment since the Red Line opened, and they're expecting similar results along [the Purple Line]. The benefit to their regional workforce was also a common theme during that visit."

In addition to increased economic investment, Harris said local leaders from Indianapolis told the group that bus rapid transit has brought "tremendous impacts" on the movement of its workforce, including getting people to frontline jobs that are dependent on transit. He said since Indianapolis introduced BRT, it has seen a lot of households decide to go from two cars to one car and from one car to no cars.

Issue 47 is on the ballot in all areas that COTA services. Black made the case for voting yes, saying that many people rely on the bus and that those who don't should still understand how crucial it is to improve their city's infrastructure.

"I think people should understand that in order to truly have a world-class city, you have to have world-class transit," Black said.