Rollsigns from the Northwestern Indiana
Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC)
The governing body of all transportation in Northwestern Indiana.
This mylar front destination rollsign was off the August, 1987 built MCI
MC-9 highway coach that was originally "Hammond Yellow Coach Lines"
of Hammond, Indiana #39. (The bus's full history is described below.)

Its print date is July 7, 1987 and it has 25 exposures.

Its sign tag reads as follows:
MCI-NORTHWESTERN INDIANA REG
PLANNING COMM
P.O.P45490
SGL.FRT         CURTAIN
7/7/87 TRANSIGN
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) is a multi-purpose, sub-state, area-wide
planning agency.  NIRPC is a Regional Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO) for Northwestern Indiana. Created by an action of the Indiana General Assembly and signed by the
governor in 1965, NIRPC held its first meeting in 1966, marking the beginning of formalized regional
collaboration among the communities of northwest Indiana in cooperatively planning for the future of the region.
NIRPC is the only regional planning body in the State that has its enabling statute specifically adopted into
state code. An amendment to the legislation in 1973 provided the Commission with its current name and
allowed for the addition of new member counties. Under this provision LaPorte County joined NIRPC in 1979.
NIRPC is comprised of fifty-three members appointed by local elected officials, and one appointed by the
Governor.  All of the Commission members must be local elected officials.  The Commission’s planning area
is comprised of the three participating counties of Lake, Porter and LaPorte. It consists of over 775,000 people
and covers 1,520 square miles. There are forty-one cities and towns and forty-four townships within the NIRPC
planning area. Over the many years of its existence, NIRPC’s contribution to the region has included maintaining
a certified metropolitan area planning process which keeps the region eligible for federal transportation
funds, leadership in saving the South Shore Railroad commuter service from discontinuance, forming the
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, participating in the initial purchase of new rail cars, and
planning for new stations, and providing vehicles and operating assistance for public transportation systems,
particularly those serving people with mobility limitations, among other achievements. On October 6, 2008,
ChicaGO Dash, a joint service run by the city of Valparaiso and the Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission, with
substantial financial support from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Development Authority, began operation
with express service provided between Valparaiso, Indiana and points in Chicago, Illinois including downtown.
The MCI MC-9 (VIN# 1M89CM7A0HP041432) shown here is still
displaying this rollsign. This August, 1987 built bus was originally
purchased by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning
Commission (NIRPC) and ran for "Hammond Yellow Coach Lines"
of Hammond, Indiana to provide commuter service in and around
Lake and Porter Counties in Indiana and to points in Chicago, Illinois.
The bus's original fleet number was 39. It was eventually retired
and purchased by "Travel America Charter Bus Service" of Walton,
Kentucky, where its fleet number was changed to 231. The bus was
eventually retired from Travel America and was purchased by "A
Limousine Associates, LLC" of Cincinnati, Ohio (USDOT 1020994,
MC 541902). The bus was once again renumbered with a fleet
number of 2. Sometime after May 29, 2014 when the bus failed an
Ohio DOT inspection with several violations, the bus was retired for
the last time. In the photo above, it was found at a bus maintenance
facility near Muncie, Indiana on September 19, 2016. The bus was
being used for parts at the time, and it has since been scrapped.