A new Bloomington Transit route is set to serve the area located to the west of the city

Bloomington, Indiana – According to a news release from Bloomington Transit on December 3, a new bus route will take residents of Bloomington outside of city limits for the first time.
On January 2, 2025, Route 13 will start serving West Vernal Pike, Park 48, and Ivy Tech Community College.

Stops along the route will be located at the intersections of College Avenue and 11th Street, Walnut and 14th Street, and 17th Street and Lismore Drive. Additionally, stops will be made at Garden Hill Mobile Home Park, Simtra BioPharma Solutions, Ivy Tech Community College, and Will Detmer Park.

Through the route, riders can also reach other enterprises, such as Berry Global, Cook Medical, Singota Solutions, and TASUS, all of which are situated in the Park 48 Industrial Park.
Although it’s unclear if Bloomington Transit plans for Route 13 to serve the new jail, the new Monroe County jail location at North Park is located one mile north of the Will Detmer Park stop.

The buses will make one journey every hour from 6:40 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Prior to working with the Monroe County administration, Bloomington Transit exclusively provided fixed-route service inside the Bloomington municipal limits.

In the release, Julie Thomas, a member of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, stated, “This is a fantastic opportunity to expand county-city collaboration into the realm of transit.” “It will be an amazing service for Monroe County residents.”

Although it does not offer fixed-route services inside Monroe County, Rural Transit, a nonprofit company that serves Putnam, Owen, Monroe, and Lawrence counties, offers door-to-door transportation with three to five days’ notice.

The cost of the Bloomington Transit bus is $1. If they have a valid student ID, Indiana University students can ride Bloomington Transit buses for free.