The Greater Lafayette Public Transportation Corporation (GLPTC) is a municipal corporation founded in 1971 that provides bus services in Tippecanoe County, Indiana under the operating name of CityBus. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
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.
As with most transit agencies, CityBus saw a decrease in ridership in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a small increase was observed in 2021 and again in 2022. The corporation's revenue for 2022 was $15.09 million, with approximately $3.3 million coming from farebox collections, pass sales, charters and other services. As of October 2024, the CityBus fleet consists of 72 buses: 7 paratransit buses, 44 CNG buses, 20 hybrid diesel-electric buses, and 1 diesel buses. In 2021 CityBus (GLPTC) was the second busiest bus system in Indiana with more than 2.4 million rider trips.
CityBus has a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College that allows students, faculty and staff of the university to ride free of cost.
CityBus is currently undergoing a replacement plan that will eventually replace all of their Diesel and Hybrid buses with CNG buses. As of August 2020, CityBus surpassed their goal of having 50% of their fleet use CNG fuel by 2025.
In June 2023, CityBus was awarded a grant from the FTA's Low or No Emission Grant Program to purchase four hydrogen fueled buses and begin to develop necessary infrastructure to fuel and support these buses.
On April 4, 2025, CityBus announced they will no longer be providing campus transportation for Purdue University. All campus routes will be discontinued at the end of the 2024âÂÂ2025 school year.
On July 1, 2025, CityBus announced the first major overhaul of its route network titled "Reimagine CityBus". The goal is to "provide a more useful, intuitive, and efficient transit experience...". CityBus intends to improve route coverage and frequency. With this, Sunday service will be discontinued.
CityBus operates 16 regular routes through Lafayette and West Lafayette and 3 contracted routes for apartment complexes.
The CityBus Center, located at 316 North Third Street, serves as the primary transfer hub in the system. The $2.2 million facility features dedicated space for each bus route and an indoor waiting area along with a customer service desk, restrooms, and a rain garden. The station opened on August 19, 2013.
CityBus operates a fleet of transit and para-transit buses. A slight majority of its transit buses are New Flyers, but there are also a number of Gillig Low Floor / Gillig BRT buses. The para-transit buses, used for their "ACCESS" system, are mostly mini-buses based on the Ford E-Series chassis. In 2015, CityBus, along with other transportation providers, signed a 5-year contract with New Flyer to provide up to 159 new buses (total) for the providers. CityBus ordered buses 5001âÂÂ5009, 6001âÂÂ6006, and 7001âÂÂ7006 through the consortium, for a total of 21 buses, fulfilling their portion of the contract.
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.