More security cameras. New buses. Blue Line construction.
Those are some of the things you can expect to see from IndyGo next year as part of the transit agency’s proposed 2026 budget.
For most people, the Blue Line will probably be the most visible use of IndyGo’s proposed budget of $432 million, which is about $90 million more than the approved budget for 2025.
Most of the increase comes from more spending on the Blue Line and construction of a new bus garage at IndyGo’s eastside campus. Once complete, the Blue Line will connect Cumberland to the Indianapolis International Airport, mostly along Washington Street.
Justin Burcope, IndyGo’s budget director, said most of the Blue Line construction in 2026 will involve utility work such as sewer upgrades and new sidewalks.
“Something that can go unnoticed when we talk about the transit projects is all of the infrastructure improvements that wrap around the transit projects themselves,” Burcope told Mirror Indy.
By the end of 2026, though, you might start to see bus stations going up along the 24-mile route.
What else will you see?
IndyGo plans to buy 28 new buses next year with a total estimated cost of about $20 million.
Half of those will be standard 40-foot buses, and the other half will be paratransit buses used for riders with disabilities.
All 28 buses will replace vehicles IndyGo currently uses.
Burcope said the agency typically keeps buses beyond what the Federal Transit Administration considers to be the vehicle’s useful life: 12 years or 500,000 miles.
IndyGo also plans to increase security on buses and at the downtown Julia M. Carson Transit Center.
Buses will have a camera inside that captures people boarding and riding, as well as the driver. And some security cameras will be upgraded at the transit center.
IndyGo plans to hire four transit security officers, who will do fare inspections and make sure people understand the payment systems.
That role was previously done through fare inspectors as part of a contracted service. There will still be fare inspectors, but Burcope said hiring some security officers directly should help make them more efficient.
What about the fare increase?
IndyGo is asking the board to approve a fare increase from $1.75 to $2.75.
But that is happening outside of the budget process.
The board plans to vote on the fare increase during its meeting at 4 p.m. Aug. 21 at IndyGo’s East Campus, 9503 E. 33rd St. The increase would go into effect at the beginning of 2026.
IndyGo estimates that would bring in about $700,000 more in fare revenue in 2026 than what it’s projected to collect through the end of this year.
Fares only represent about 4% of all revenue IndyGo anticipates collecting in 2026.
Indy Documenter Marissa Byers attended the IndyGo Board of Directors meeting on July 17. 📝 Read more about what happened.
Long-term financial stability
IndyGo will use about $26 million in stimulus money from the federal government to balance the 2026 budget. The money came as part of the pandemic response.
The stimulus fund still has about $100 million left. IndyGo’s chief financial officer, Bart Brown, previously said that the stimulus money is expected to last through 2029.
Burcope said IndyGo’s goal is to reach fiscal sustainability by reducing long-term costs and finding new revenue sources.
While increasing how much it costs to ride the bus would help, Burcope said it will take more than fares to reach that goal.
“The fare revenue itself probably won’t solve the entire picture,” he said, “but it’s a piece of the long-term fiscal sustainability.”
How to get involved
As a municipal corporation, IndyGo’s budget process looks a little different from city agencies such as the police department and public works.
IndyGo’s board is scheduled to vote on the budget Aug. 21. The board had a public hearing for the budget at a previous meeting, although no one signed up to speak.
After board approval, IndyGo will present its budget to the City-County Council’s Municipal Corporations Committee at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St. There will be an opportunity for public comment.
The committee will then send the budget to the full council for approval. There will be another opportunity for public comment during the council meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at the City-County Building.
The council is expected to vote on the entire city-county budget at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at the City-County Building.
IndyGo will need final approval for its budget from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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