In 1970, the privately owned Greater Lafayette Bus Company abruptly ceased operations and the City of Lafayette hastily assumed operation of the bus routes. Since the routes operated in West Lafayette in addition to Lafayette, a funding mechanism that allowed the use of tax revenues from both cities was needed. GLPTC was formed to operate city bus services in the two cities and select surrounding areas of Tippecanoe County. GLPTC receives funding from the federal government, the State of Indiana and property taxes levied in the service areas. In 1998 GLPTC began using the operating name CityBus.
Current operations
The corporation's revenue for 2019 was $11.86 million, with approximately $3.5 million coming from farebox collections, pass sales, charters and other services. As of December 2019, the CityBus fleet consists of 75 buses: 7 paratransit buses, 30 CNG buses, 22 hybrid diesel-electric buses, and 16 diesel buses. The majority of the fleet consists of vehicles manufactured by Gillig Corporation. In 2019 CityBus was the second busiest bus system in Indiana with more than 5 million rider trips. CityBus has a partnership with Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College that allows students, faculty and staff of these universities to ride free of cost. CityBus is currently undergoing a 10-year bus replacement plan that will eventually replace all of their Diesel and Hybrid buses with CNG buses. CityBus, along with other transportation providers, has signed a 5-year contract with New Flyer to provide up to 159 new buses for the providers. CityBus has ordered buses 5001-5009, 6001-6007, and 7001-7002 through the contract so far, and is planning to order 3 more for a total of 21 buses.
Routes
CityBus operates 15 regular routes through Lafayette and West Lafayette, 6 contracted for West Lafayette School Corporation, 3 contracted routes for apartment complexes, and an additional 7 routes within the Purdue University campus.
Current Fleet
CityBus operates a fleet of transit and para-transit buses. The majority of the transit buses are Gillig Low Floor and Gillig BRT buses, though CityBus also operates an increasing number of New Flyer buses. The para-transit buses, used for their "ACCESS" system, are mostly mini-buses based on the Ford E-Series chassis.
Retired Fleet
These buses have been retired from the CityBus fleet. Retired vehicles are typically auctioned off to the public, while some are used for spare parts prior to sale.
