Let me know when 1Si and the Our Southern Indiana Regional Development Authority get serious about mobility solutions like this one.

I'm delighted watching as the drivers shriek. Now that's entertainment. Shouldn't we be contemplating "regional" development strategies like this?

A Car-Centric City Makes a Bid for a Better Bus System, by Aaron Renn (CityLab)

Indianapolis is set to unveil a potentially transformative all-electric bus rapid transit line, along with a host of major public transportation upgrades.

Let's skip to the conclusion.

The credibility of transit in Indianapolis is already low, so the city really has to execute on the rollout. It also has to deliver an increase ridership, not just improve the operating characteristics of the system. That could be a tall order: The Red Line is going live at the same time as the new fare system, and as a new CEO is taking over the helm at IndyGo. IndyGo is going fare-free for a month when the Red Line launches, is recruiting temporary customer service volunteers to staff stations, and has arranged a grace period for ticketing bus lane violators (police will only issue warnings) until drivers in Indy figure out the new traffic pattern. Still, there are a lot of balls in the air, with much to potentially go wrong. Over the summer, the city announced a year-long delay in building the next two BRT lines—an inauspicious development.

But if Indianapolis can make its new system work and draw more riders, it would represent something all too rare in the U.S—a capital-light model for improving transit in a car-centric city. If warranted, light rail can always be added later, but as IndyGo’s Horne says, “The bus system is the backbone of any good mobility network.”

Sale of two ti ... I mean, mass transit options, in Indianapolis and Louisville.

Speaking of ZZ Top ...

Something was missing when the Austin chef recreated the gate-fold meal from ZZ Top's Tres Hombres.

For those of you interested in mass transit options, two recent news items contrast Indianapolis and Louisville.

Indianapolis has an idea for rapid transit by bus, and it isn't without controversy.

The Red Line: What you need to know, by John Tuohy (Indy Star)

The Red Line would be the first leg of a long-awaited and ambitious plan to bring some type of modern mass transit system to Indianapolis. Here are eight things you need to know:

1. What is the Red Line?
It’s a planned, all-electric bus rapid transit system to run 37 miles from Westfield through Indianapolis to Greenwood. The first phase is 13.6 miles from 66th Street in Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis on the Southside. It would cost an estimated $96.3 million. Construction of the first leg would be paid with a $75 million federal grant and $21.3 million in local matching funds from the Department of Public Works, an IndyGo reserve fund and the Downtown tax increment financing (TIF) district fund. The entire route would rely heavily on federal funds.

(click through to read the rest)

The Louisville, international headquarters of the ORBP Cult, the headline is predictable.

Activists bemoan lack of public transit plans in Louisville’s ‘Smart Cities Challenge’ application, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

... Jackie Greene, who formerly led CART, and Louisville Metro Council candidate Bryan Burns already have penned their own letter to U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx criticizing the lack of citizen input and listing instances when Mayor Greg Fischer’s administration “undermined the community” to encourage non-urban development in the urban core and exurban development.

Examples provided include the controversial west Louisville Walmart, the development of the Veterans Administration Hospital in a suburban location, and the construction of infrastructure that promotes suburban sprawl.

“Louisville’s full potential will not be realized until we address the serious land use and transportation missteps of over six decades,” the letter states. “Please do not encourage the perpetuation of our mistakes by selecting Louisville as a finalist in Smart Cities Challenge.”

In New Albany ... nah, never mind.

But would they ride the bus together?