Veterans have taken 500,000 free Indy rides in less than a year
INDIANAPOLIS – IndyGo has provided nearly half a million free rides to more than 3,000 veterans since its Veteran Fare Card program launched last July.
With an estimated 45,000 veterans living in the city, the city’s public transit service recognizes that many more veterans could be enjoying the program.
IndyGo is marking Memorial Day by encouraging all veterans to get their Veteran Fare Cards.
The effort to provide veterans with free access to the transit system was championed by several veteran service organizations and Indianapolis leaders, including Mayor Joe Hogsett and several members of the City-County Council.
“IndyGo is pleased to see so many veterans taking advantage of the program,” said IndyGo President Mike Terry. “We feel it’s our duty to honor those who have sacrificed for our freedom.”
To register, veterans must complete the enrollment process in person at the Julia Carson Transit Center, 201 E Washington St. between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays or between 9 a.m. and noon Saturdays. They will fill out an application (provided in both English and Spanish) and provide proof of eligibility with a valid government-issued photo ID and DD 214 Certificate of Release/Discharge from Active Duty or a valid U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ID.
Initial cards are $2, and replacement cards cost $5. Cards are non-transferable and must be swiped at fare boxes onboard IndyGo buses. Other forms of eligibility will not be accepted on the bus.
The free fare program provides unlimited access to IndyGo’s fixed route bus network but does not include paratransit (Open Door) service.