Interurban Trolley
| Headquarters | 227 West Jefferson Blvd, Room 1120 |
|---|---|
| Locale | South Bend, IN |
| Service area | Elkhart and St. Joseph County area |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit |
| Routes | 5 |
| Stations | 1 |
| Fleet |
3 Hometown trolley buses 10 ElDorado National EZ-Rider II |
| Annual ridership | 482,593 (+0.17%) |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Operator | Michiana Area Council of Governments |
| Chief executive | James Turnwald, Executive Director |
| Website | Interurban Trolley |
3 Hometown trolley buses
Interurban Trolley is an Elkhart County regional public bus service operated by the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG). It was originally known as the BUS system. The system serves the city of Elkhart and neighboring Goshen, Osceola, Dunlap and Mishawaka. It is made up of five fixed routes that radiate from downtown Elkhart and an on-demand para-transit service that covers the same territory as the fixed routes. The name refers to the fact that the system serves several communities using vintage-trolley-style buses, evoking interurban trains that were common in United States during the early 20th century.
The BUS system was originally made up of two routes – the previously independent Concord Route and the Elkhart-Goshen route. The Concord route was established in 1986, providing a link between western Elkhart and Dunlap. It was operated by Concord Township trustee and funded using local dollars. In 1999, MACOG launched the Elkhart-Goshen route, linking together the cities of Elkhart and Goshen and establishing the BUS transit system. At the time, the system used minibuses to transport passengers.
The system was expanded in 2003 with the addition of North Pointe Route, which linked downtown Elkhart and the North Pointe Mall in the city's northern section. On December 20, 2006, MACOG replaced the mini-buses with wheelchair-accessible trolley-style buses and gave the system its current name.
In September 2009, MACOG launched the Bittersweet/Mishawaka Route, linking Elkhart and city of Mishawaka's eastern neighborhoods. It was designed to sync up with South Bend TRANSPO's Route 9. The routes meet at Martin's department store, arriving and departing within minutes of each other. As of this writing, there are no free transfers between the systems.
On February 1, 2010, service on two of the four Interurban Trolley routes were changed. The North Pointe route was extended to the new Martin's and Goodwill stores at County Road 4 and Cassopolis St. (St. Rd. 19). The Bittersweet/Mishawaka route got new stop at the Elkhart General Hospital.
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