FORT WAYNE – Next Saturday will bring more than just a new downtown transfer station for Citilink bus riders – it will also bring numerous route changes.
Citilink Assistant General Manager Betsy Kachmar said most of the route changes are due to the station move, but many are changes the agency has been considering for a while and many are changes suggested by the public. Citilink held three public meetings this summer to gather input on changes it should make.
“For the most part (the changes) revolve around making sure we can get the northern buses further south and make sure everyone can meet up at the same time,” Kachmar said.
Citilink has been working for a decade to move its downtown station; seven days from now it finally becomes reality in the form of a new $4.4 million facility on Baker Street between Harrison and Calhoun streets.
Citilink buses operate on a “pulse” system, where the routes fan out from the downtown transfer station like spokes on a wheel and are timed to all arrive downtown at the same time to make transfers quick and easy. But because the new station is almost a mile south of the current station at Superior and Clinton streets, the timing must be adjusted.
“We also tried to incorporate suggestions we’ve received over the years, as well as suggestions received from the public meetings,” Kachmar said. “We do listen.”
As for the new station and its impending opening, Kachmar said officials are both eager and nervous.
“It’s nerve-wracking and exciting,” she said. “It’s certainly a vast improvement over what we have now.”
