CRAWFORDSVILLE — If you do not have a car or cannot drive, some places can feel inaccessible. Crawfordsville hopes to open up its city to everyone with a new way to ride.
Sunshine Vans will become an on-demand ride service for all ages, including Wabash College students. The agency will expand thanks to a grant worth more than $250,000 from the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The service is currently for seniors only. Sunshine Vans driver Bryan Kessinger said he has seen the need for his rides firsthand.
"I've seen these vans around town for years and I didn't really realize the impact they had," said Kessinger, who started driving Sunshine Vans last October. "They can't get to the doctor and they can't get places without us, so I guess we could be considered lifesavers."
Agency director Belinda Young said they realized the need for expanded transit after surveys were conducted in Crawfordsville and with Wabash College students
"We had a lot of younger individuals explaining to us how they would much rather use public transportation because they don't have access to their own private transportation and would rather support this than an Uber or a Lyft," Young said.
The revamped Sunshine Vans will launch in January 2026. It will add two minibuses to the fleet and develop an app so riders of all ages can call a ride without making a literal phone call.
"For the demographic we are looking to serve in addition to the seniors, it is truly instrumental," Young said.
Kessinger said he is eager to pick up passengers, whether they want a ride or need a ride.
"I love it," Kessinger said. "Everybody is interesting. Everybody has their own story, and I like listening to them."
-
New law to allow 16-year-olds to get driver’s licenses on their birthdays
Thanks to a new law, new drivers can get behind the wheel sooner and won’t have to wait an additional 90 days after turning 16.
Work completed on $3 million restoration of fountains at Garfield Park
Indy Parks on June 6, 2026, will celebrate the preservation of historic fountains at the Garfield Park Sunken Garden. The Friends of Garfield Park oversaw the $3 million project.
Semi-trailer rollover kills 77 pigs at Logansport, sheriff says
Seventy-seven pigs died in the Monday afternoon rollover of a semitractor-trailer carrying 170 pigs, the Cass County sheriff said Wednesday night.
14-year-old arrested in downtown shooting that killed 23-year-old
Homicide detectives on Wednesday arrested a boy for the fatal shooting nearly a week ago of a 23-year-old man at a downtown parking garage next to the Indiana Convention Center.
