Editor,

Driving in Carmel during rush hour has become a miserable endeavor. The roundabouts back up into other roundabouts and cars choke busy thoroughfares. Frustration boils over as there’s nowhere to go but slowly inch forward. Your car, your source of freedom, has become your metal prison.

As Carmel grows, the cars will keep piling up and driving will become more frustrating and time-consuming. How to break the gridlock? Buses.

Buses are often an object of derision in this country, especially so in the suburbs. Basic math shows that they are miles ahead of moving people.

A single lane of traffic can move 1,000 to 2,000 people per hour. A regular bus? Somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000. Bus rapid transit? Up to 20,000 people per hour. The numbers tell the story; to move people we need buses (trains are even better, but light rail is outlawed).

Thankfully there is a bus rapid transit south of Carmel, the Red Line. Currently, the Red Line only extends to 66th Street in Indianapolis. Carmel should be negotiating with Indianapolis (and the state) on how to extend the Red Line into Carmel. Commuters could then take a bus to downtown Indianapolis, taking cars off the road and ameliorating the traffic situation.

After hooking up to the Red Line, Carmel needs to set up its own bus network and even its own bus rapid transit. Carmel City Center to downtown Fishers would make an excellent start. Do it now or let Carmel become a parking lot.

Josh Hollingsworth, Carmel