Fare-free week, new west side route, ‘Bloomington Transit for Everyone’ to launch June 1

Starting June 1, Bloomington Transit’s schedule will include Route 16—a newly configured option that will combine the faltering Route 13 and Route 3 West to better serve communities on the west side of town, including Ivy Tech.

This change will be accompanied by the launch of Bloomington Transit For Everyone​, a campaign that repackages services already offered by BT to provide everyone “a mobility option with Bloomington Transit”.

To promote the launch, BT will also offer free fares for Passenger Appreciation Week, from June 1 to June 7.

These service changes were approved during Tuesday’s BT board meeting, where members expressed hope that these new offerings will improve service.

During the meeting, BT planning and special projects manager Shelley Strimaitis told board members that Route 16 was developed through public and driver feedback. “Route 13, as we know, didn't have sufficient ridership to warrant its ongoing service. Route 3 West had on-time performance issues,” she said. “We had three public hearings for the route change in the stakeholder session. In addition to just talking, we also gathered public feedback online.”

Route 13 ran west of the city limits and is supported by a funding agreement with Monroe County. Launched at the start of 2025, the route’s less-than-expected ridership numbers were also discussed in the April BT board meeting. At that time, board chair James McLary said he was concerned that Route 13’s ridership “seems to be lacking” and that Bloomington Transit needs to do more to prove to the county that its money is well spent

Figures for April show an increase in Route 13 ridership compared to March, from 988 to 1,082. But it is still the least used route in the BT system. And the 1,082 rides in April 2026 are down by more than 21% compared to April 2025.

According to Strimaitis, the public hearings on the route change drew overwhelmingly positive responses. “There’s lot of folks from Ivy Tech and Cook [Medical] and Park 48 area who either currently use the route or say that they don’t use the route because of the insufficient runtime,” she said. “They were all very, very excited to see the longer service hours.”

Route 13, as it is run now, only operates once an hour, 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday. The new Route 16 will run seven days a week, with the last buses leaving downtown at 9:10 p.m. on weekdays, 6:10 p.m on Saturdays, and 3:40 p.m. on Sundays.

BT General Manager John Connell provided clarity about the funding sources for the new route design, given Route 13 was being funded by Monroe County government. “We will be using federal funding. Instead of being 100% funded by the county, now becomes 69.44% funded by the county, with [FTA Section] 5307 funds to make up the rest,” he said.

Bloomington Transit for Everyone, the other service change approved at the meeting, promises to offer at least one transportation option to city residents depending on whether their origin and destination are within 5-minutes walking distance of a bus-stop. If they are not that close, BLink Microtransit rides will be offered for $2 a ride per passenger between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays.

If rides on BT vehicles are not available, discounted Uber or Lyft rides will be offered. These services will exist in conjunction with the BT Late Nite on Demand, which is offered between 9 p.m. and midnight on weekdays.

Connell said the decision to offer free rides during Passenger Appreciation Week was meant to coincide with the rollout of Bloomington Transit for Everyone. “As we kick off the service improvements, you know, we're talking about marketing the service, and one of the things we discussed is, why not offer service fare free for the first week, kickoff week, and coordinate it with the passenger appreciation,” he said.