After years of trying, officials in Northwest Indiana will start laying the groundwork for coordinated bus service for the region.

Getting from point A to point B in Northwest Indiana is easy, if you have a car. If you don’t, you can try to take the bus, but that’s only an option if you live in north Lake County or parts of Porter County. Gary, Hammond and East Chicago do operate and pay for their own buses, but routes aren’t linked and service is sporadic.

Dennis Rittenmeyer heads the new Regional Bus Authority in Northwest Indiana. He says the group has two immediate goals: linking those scattered services and finding a way to pay for it. Rittenmeyer says both Lake and Porter counties could implement a one percent food and beverage tax to help pay for improved bus service, but haven’t done so.

He says a study getting underway will give the authority more information on where to put new bus lines in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties, how to connect those that exist and how to pay for it.