Citilink opens new central station

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Citilink's new central station in downtown Fort Wayne will open Saturday morning.

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday at the new transit station at the corner of Calhoun and Baker Streets. A crowd filled the new station as several lawmakers spoke. Then people could get on a bus to take the first ride into the station. The bus then drove through a banner for the "ribbon cutting."

The station will serve as Citilink's new hub. Busses will come here so people can transfer routes. The station can hold 18 busses at a time and Ken Housden, Citilink's general manager, said the new station will be more efficient, which will save time.

The project cost $4.4 million, of which 80 percent was funded by Federal Transit Administration grants and 20 percent was paid by Citilink. The station was completed on time and on budget.

Citilink's ridership is around two million passenger trips a year and the bus company expects around 5,000 to pass through the new station every day. Housden said the central station will enhance and improve the experience for all those riders.

The new station has an enclosed building with heating and air conditioning, a ticket counter, seating area and restrooms. There are also benches, windscreens and a canopy covering in the bus bay areas.

The new station will cause some schedule and route changes. Click here for the new maps and bus times.

A Grand Opening and Rider Appreciation event for the public is planned for later this fall, but those details haven't been announced yet.

Housden said he isn't sure what Citilink will do with the property on Superior Street, where the previous transfer station was. Part of the lot could become a "super bus stop" and some of the land could be sold. He said the federal government is a part owner, so selling the land isn't simple. But, he said busses won't going in and out like they used to.