Whitestown board reports ridership gains for Connector; service provider changes to Go Express

The Whitestown Economic Improvement Board told the Town Council on Feb. 12 that the Whitestown Connector transit service finished 2024 largely self-funded after an earlier CIRTA grant ended and that the board has selected Go Express as the 2025 service provider.

Todd, a representative of the Whitestown Economic Improvement Board, said the board met twice in 2024 and that “the primary function of this board, right now anyway, is to fund the Whitestown Connector,” the shuttle that links Traders Point and industrial areas to the Indigo route. Todd said the small district initially received additional funding from the Redevelopment Commission but in the last two to three years has covered its own operating costs.

The nut of the report is that the Connector has continued producing steady ridership after five years of operation. The board provided a five-year ridership history that shows steady numbers through 2024 and reported that January 2025 was the service’s second-largest January on record.

Why it matters: the Connector provides first-mile/last-mile service for employees in Whitestown’s industrial and business parks, and sustained ridership supports continued service and potential route adjustments. The board said it is trying to identify what drove January’s uptick — possibilities mentioned included the provider change, improved accounting, or the 2024 decision to remove the dollar-per-ride charge on the Connector itself.

Details from the presentation and council exchange: - The Town received a CIRTA-related grant that supported part of the service; that grant ended in November 2024. The board said the district has remained financially self-supporting since then. - The board completed a provider review and selected Go Express to operate the Connector starting in 2025. - The board has ZIP-code level information for riders but said more detailed origin–destination data is limited; the board plans additional study to understand trip patterns and what produced the January increase. - A change in state statute last year now allows modification and potential expansion of business-district boundaries; the board plans to investigate whether expanding the district to include newly developed properties could broaden the tax base for the Connector. - The board plans quarterly meetings in 2025.

The board did not present a final decision on boundary expansion, and council members asked staff to bring back further analysis if the board pursues boundary changes. The board also said it will continue monitoring ridership under the new operator and report follow-up findings to the council.

The board offered to answer further questions at future quarterly meetings.