IndyGo will increase fares in 2026. Some riders are unhappy with the change

The IndyGo Board of Directors voted unanimously this week to approve a fare rate hike - the first one in sixteen years. 

The move would increase a basic fare by one dollar starting in 2026, meaning a bus ride would cost $2.75.

IndyGo officials said the fare increase will cover the rising costs of fuel, labor and vehicle maintenance. 

“Fare increases are never easy, but this step is about protecting the service our riders depend on,” said IndyGo President and CEO Jennifer Pyrz.

At the IndyGo downtown transit center, riders were uniformly unhappy with the board's decision to approve a hike. 

“We are basically in a recession right now, it’s hard out here,” said Indianapolis resident Kevin Harris. “You should get something more. There’s already late buses, no AC on buses, buses breaking down. Which I understand is one of the reasons they want to increase the prices, but…”
 

Across the transit center, 19-year-old Aliyah Goodrich and 22-year-old Sean Baker said they feel the same way. 

“It’s just really disappointing for the people that are actually in need of transportation. Now you go broke trying to get on the bus. It doesn’t seem right to me,” Goodrich said. 

Baker, who rides for free as a veteran, said he wishes the increased fare would come with an increased time limit for transferring between buses. 

“They are increasing [the price] but keeping the same two-hour time limit,” he said. “Buses take about an hour to get here. If you need three buses, you gotta pay at least twice as much. I don’t like it.”
 

Daily fare caps will now rise from $4 to $6 with weekly caps increasing from $15.75 to $24 with use of IndyGo’s MyKey cards.

IndyGo’s rideshare service for persons with disabilities will also see increases, and the company plans to stop the sale of a number of passes in July of next year, including summer youth and 31 day passes. 

Those passes will stop being accepted altogether in July of 2027. IndyGo will also stop issuing paper passes and move to the MyKey cards.

Local activist and community member “Wildstyle” Paschall said that while he generally supported IndyGo increasing its prices the change was “too much, too fast.”

“I expected the IndyGo board would tell them to phase this rate increase in over a couple of years vs raising it 57% in only a few months,” Paschall wrote in an email. “I think IndyGo needs to re-think the implementation of this fare increase and give the public a clear timeline on when their fare collection system will be reliable.” 

Other riders generally acknowledged that they wanted to see the bus system improved but had broad concerns about rising prices. 

“People can’t afford to eat, they can barely get around on a bus, the routes are inadequate and poorly managed,” said rider Freedom Tillberry. “I don’t think you should be asking for more money when you can’t manage your business correctly.”

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.