INDIANAPOLIS — After months of anticipation, the IndyGo Red Line is now officially open for riders.
IndyGo's newest line officially opened on Sunday and runs 13 miles from Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis.
The new electric buses were packed on Sunday for opening day.
COMPLETE COVERAGE | RTV6 coverage of IndyGo's Red Line
"I think we had a lot of fun, just very packed," rider Joel Weyrick said. "I guess that's fun to see."
IndyGo is giving commuters a chance to test the Red Line out with free rides for the month of September before fares of $1.75 for each ride come into play. A day pass will cost $4.
The first day was not without some hiccups. RTV6 reporter Cameron Ridle was a passenger on a bus that was involved in a hit-and-run crash. Police are investigating that incident.
The Red Line has changed traffic patterns all along the route with driving lane removals, different turning lanes and bike lane changes.
"We lived close to all the construction so we kind of had to live through all of the inconvenience of that but the payoff has been great and it's turned out beautifully," Christin Nevins, of Indianapolis, said. "Really proud of our city."
Nevins said she was met by IndyGo ambassadors on her first ride that told her about the mystop app which is free to download.
"It tells where the bus is, how many riders are on it," Nevins said.
For Nevins, the Red Line represents convenience.
"I want my family to know how to ride the bus and I want this to be a normal part of how we get around Indianapolis," Nevins said.
A spokeswoman for IndyGo said frequent riders won't have to keep paying for rides if they use the bus more than a few days a week saying no one will ever pay more than $15.75 per week, where the price of weekly rides is capped.
"We know people who have moved to be close to the Red Line because they can cut down a car in their family," Stacey Weyrick said.
