Hammond Transit
_crop.jpg) |
|
| Headquarters | 425 Sibley Avenue |
|---|---|
| Locale | Hammond, Indiana |
| Service type | Fixed Route, demand-response |
| Routes | 5 (all routes discontinued as of June 30, 2012) |
| Fleet | 10 vehicles |
| Annual ridership | 290,536 (-27.95%) |
| Fuel type | diesel |
| Operator | Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority (as of January 1, 2010) |
| Chief executive | Keith E. Matosovsky, Director |
| Website | Official Site |
Hammond Transit System was the provider of bus service in the Chicago suburb of Hammond, Indiana. It features four local intra-city routes and one route that provides access to neighboring Whiting and Chicago's East Side neighborhood. The system was established in 1976 as replacement for the discontinued bus service provided by Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. The service was a division of the Hammond city government. As of January 1, 2010, the system is operated by the Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority. Hammond Transit Center acts as a transit hub, linking together all system routes, as well as Pace suburban bus system, East Chicago Transit and Gary Public Transportation Corporation bus routes.
The Hammond Transit System and the EasyGo bus system discontinued all service as of June 30, 2012.
In January 2009, Hammond officials announced that the Hammond Transit System would be shut down on July 1, 2009 due to the lack of funds. In February, Thomas McDermott Jr, mayor of Hammond decided to postpone the shutdown until the end of the year in hopes that a funding solution will materialize. In effort to save money, the Saturday service was eliminated and the service frequency on all routes was decreased to one bus per hour (in some routes, 75 minutes).
In August 2009, the city of Hammond and Northwest Indiana's Regional Bus Authority met to discuss the system's future. They eventually came up with an agreement. Under its provisions, RBA assumed control of Hammond Transit System on January 1, 2010. The city of Hammond pledged to provide a portion of the funding for the next two years. The rest is paid by RBA, a grant from Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority as well as a variety of state and federal funds.
When RBA assumed control of Hammond Transit System, it rebranded the buses, replacing "Hammond Transit System" labels with "EasyGo" stickers. The system stop signage and system maps retained the original name. While the routes and schedules remain the same for the time being, RBA is looking to make a number of service changes to make the system more efficient and allow for better connections with PACE, East Chicago Transit and GPTC. The tentative plans for creation of two regional routes and three local ones. Route 1 will be revamped as Calumet Regional Route. With a few exceptions, the route will travel along Calumet Avenue, linking Chicago's East Side neighborhood, the city of Hammond and the town of Munster. The new Indianapolis Regional Route will largely follow Indianapolis Boulevard, connecting Chicago's East Side neighborhood, parts of Hammond and East Chicago, terminating in northern Highland. The revamped local routes were not finalized until April 2010. RBA announced its intention to increase service on regional routes during morning and evening rush hours, running the buses once every half an hour. Between January and March 2010, RBA solicited comments and suggestions from the public about what kind of changes it should make. In the end of April 2010, RBA approved the changes. While the public comments resulted in a few alternation, most of the changes are broadly similar to what was originally proposed.
...
Wikipedia