Indianapolis — Streetcar Suggested

Rail Transit Online, September 2011

The Downtown Indianapolis Streetcar Corp. is proposing a nearly two-mile (3.2 km) modern streetcar circulator that would serve the Circle Centre mall, the convention center, the Indiana State Museum, the zoo and other key traffic generators in the city's core.

The group, whose members include business and community leaders, hired a consultant to make a preliminary study that found the capital cost would be between $20 million and $25 million, some of which could come from the private sector. Mayor Greg Ballard told the Indianapolis Business Journal that "...generally speaking, I like it," adding that he would "...have to look at the details," the most prominent being whether the scheme would require city funding.

Ballard also said he probably would oppose any use of public subsidy for
operating expenses. Streetcar Corporation President Steve DeVoe said the chances of receiving federal funding are not very good. "With 40-some cities lined up out there and our record for mass transit, I don't think FTA is going to be sympathetic to us," DeVoe told the Indianapolis Business Journal. He said the city government would first have to show support for the project before it could move forward.