Join Us!

Greater Fort Wayne is the fastest growing city in the Midwest. Let’s advance public transportation so that nobody is left behind.

Everyone rides Citilink, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and people with limited English skills or low incomes. 7% of Citilink’s district households do not have car access. 14% of the population lives with a disability, many of whom rely on Citilink’s Access service. 15% of the population lives in poverty. 34% of the population are non-white or of Hispanic/Latino origin, populations that face systemic barriers that increase their reliance on public transportation.

Citilink ridership is growing, with an annual ridership of 1.6 million passenger trips last year and up 6% so far this year.

Citilink matters to people because we provide affordable, accessible, and environmentally friendly transportation options that benefit the entire community. For those without access to personal vehicles, Citilink offers a vital means of mobility, connecting residents to jobs, healthcare, education, and essential services. We link people to life.

Citilink fosters a more connected and sustainable community in Fort Wayne.

Public transportation in Greater Fort Wayne has declined for many years due to funding and service cuts. Ridership has rebounded in recent years, however, indicating strong demand. If Citilink’s 2026 budget is not approved, service cuts will be so steep that state and federal formulas will result in further service cuts.

Join our coalition today to stay in the know of all of our latest updates and to learn about how you can help.

What is the fiscal cliff?

According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), nearly half of public transportation agencies in the United States will face budget deficits in the next five years. This is due to flat or declining revenue and increasing operating expenses. Citilink’s budget deficit will arrive next year. Lafayette, South Bend, and other transit agencies face a fiscal cliff in Indiana.

What are the causes of Citilink’s budget shortfall?

In the last decade, Indiana laws constraining public revenues, such as property tax caps, have lowered Citilink’s revenues by more than $10 million. Indiana funding for public transportation, known as the Public Mass Transit Fund (PMTF), has been held virtually flat for the past 11 years. Citilink relied heavily and to a greater extent on federal relief funding during the pandemic. As that funding has expired, Citilink’s costs are $2.5 million higher than its regular budgeted revenue for 2025.

Why is state funding insufficient?

The legislature removed the PMTF from gas tax revenues in 2012, and the fund stopped growing. This $45 million pot of funding is shared by some 66 rural and urban transit agencies in Indiana. Citilink has received about $2.1 million in PMTF funding each year. Since 2012, PMTF funding grew by less than 1% annually on average, while Citilink’s operating costs grew by 54% due to inflation. The time has come for the legislature to improve PMTF funding substantially.

Greater Fort Wayne community leaders have identified public transportation as essential for community and economic development.

The City of Fort Wayne and Allen County’s All in Allen plan, Greater Fort Wayne’s Allen County Together plan, and Visit Fort Wayne’s Tourism Master Plan have each identified needs for expanding public transportation to enhance access to jobs, healthcare, housing, education, and other needs.

Citilink requests that Northeast Indiana delegates will help champion and advance the following priorities:

1. Recognize public transportation as essential to rural and urban communities throughout the state and avoid the unintended harmful statewide effects of legislation intended for Indianapolis.

2. Modernize legislation to give local governing bodies in Northeast Indiana the flexibility and authority needed to establish well-functioning public transportation services that meet rural, urban, and regional needs.

• Cities and counties, regardless of population size or region of the state, need mechanisms such as city/county ordinances and interlocal agreements to establish public transportation services that overcome barriers created by out-of-date service area boundaries limiting service to county lines.
• Provide public transportation corporations with mechanisms to raise sustainable local funding through referenda in coordination with local governing bodies.

3. Adjust the Public Mass Transit Fund (PMTF) for inflationary cost increases. Since 2013, Citilink’s PMTF funding has grown by 9%, while operating expenses have grown by 54%.