Travel along Washington Street toward the intersection at Meridian Street and you will discover petite white electric cars with the name BlueIndy plastered on their back and sides.
The city’s first car-sharing program will open later this year and seems as if it will complement our current ways of transportation, in particular the IndyGo public transit system. With an abundance of complaints about the public transportation system, could this new car-sharing program help balance the chaos?
Beginning in December, 125 electric blue cars will be placed at 25 locations around the city. Bolloré Group, a French company, began a program in Paris in 2011 and since then it has become so popular the group will launch a similar program in Indianapolis thanks to Mayor Greg Ballard’s energy security initiative.
Mayor Ballard signed executive order #6 on Dec. 12, 2012, which made Indianapolis the first major city in the U.S. to pledge to convert its entire municipal non-police fleet to electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025.
Ballard stated in a speech to the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee that he anticipates the vehicles involved within the executive order will save taxpayers about $12,000 per vehicle during their 10-year life span.
Indianapolis is one of the top cities in the nation for plug-in vehicles, according to both the U.S. Department of Energy and Toyota.
Andrew Spohn, a representative from BlueIndy, said Indianapolis is known for cars, especially because of the Indy 500-Mile Race. With about 830,000 people in the city, Bolloré Group is investing $35 million and hopes residents can make good use of vehicles.
The program will work based on a subscription. Cars can be reserved for a day, week, month or year. Prices have yet to be finalized. Residents will have 24/7 access to a four person car that can be driven for 150 miles on a full charge. The in-car GPS allows the driver to reserve a parking spot with a charging station near their destination which makes this rental a one-way service. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. will serve as a partner in the program in which the city will give the company access to street spaces.
In December there will be 125 charging stations, but with time the group is hoping to grow their numbers. By the end of setup, 500 identical BlueIndy cars will be on the streets along with 1,000 charging stations in more than 200 locations.
The car promises to ride smoothly and quietly and offers an environmentally friendly way to travel around the city.
Spohn said that there won’t be too much competition with public transportation.
“The buses are great and they’re going during the day from a specific location, but it’s not very comprehensive and it doesn’t run great hours compared to other cities where there are trains – but we don’t have that.”
With the talk of public transportation comes the Indy Connect initiative. This initiative is partnered with Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority and IndyGo. The transportation plan beginning in Marion and Hamilton counties includes doubling the current bus service within the first 10 years, providing five rapid transit or rail lines to break up heavily congested areas, connect bike trails to bus areas and expanding the roadways. For a family of four earning $50,000 a year, the plan would cost them about $10 per month in additional taxes.
According to the 2012 American Community Survey, 9,480 residents use public transportation to get to work, excluding taxi usage, with 25 to 44 year olds being the highest percentage. Anna Gremling, executive director at Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization says that she doesn’t think the program will interfere with the amount of people taking transportation.
“It’s just another transportation option,” said Gremling. “We’re seeing increases in IndyGo ridership at the same time we’re seeing increases in bike use. Driving is actually down for the first time in decades.”
In addition, Indy Connect feels as if the car-sharing program is good for the community just like the new Pacers Bikeshare.
“People want choices,” she said. “They want to decide how they’re going to get places, and the more choices the better. We like seeing people trying car share and bike share and look to see them try other public transit options too.”
Spohn said that BlueIndy is hoping to target a younger audience. Many of the anticipated charging locations are located on college campuses and universities such as Butler University, IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis.
The use of electric vehicles seems to be the route to go in today’s tech savvy world, but will this venture cause more problems? To install the 1,000 charging stations will cost about $16 million. City officials are hoping this next step will attract more people to the city. The Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation of America released a survey that states that a large number of millennials would consider moving to another city for better transit options. Of the percentage surveyed 66 percent say access to high quality transportation is one of the top three criteria they look for when deciding where to live.
Does the car-sharing program seem to leave out a specific demographic or is it possible that all residents will be able to utilize this service?
BlueIndy has ambassadors at 14. E Washington St. where residents are able to learn more about the program as well as test drive the vehicles seven days a week until December.
15 anticipated kiosk locations of service:
Washington Street and Pennsylvania Avenue (100 E. Washington St.)
Convention Center 1 (100 S. Capitol Ave.)
City Market (110 N. Delaware St.)
Indianapolis International Airport
Monument Circle
Ohio Street and Pennsylvania Avenue (30 E. Ohio St.)
IUPUI- Student Center (920 W. Vermont St.)
Massachusetts Avenue (480 Massachusetts Ave.)
Broad Ripple (6280 N. College Ave.)
Fountain Square (1060 Virginia Ave.)
City Way (210 E. South St.)
Ivy Tech (20 W. 26th St.)
86th and Monon (1410 E. 86th St.)
Castleton Mall (6020 E. 82nd St.)
Keystone Fashion Mall (8680 Keystone Crossing)
Visit Blue-Indy.com for more information.
