It's been three years since the Indianapolis 500 has seen the number of people and cars it will see next weekend.
If you don't want to be one of those thousands of personal vehicles, you have options.
Though the green flag won't wave until a little before 1 p.m., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway recommends fans get to the gate closest to their seats by 10 a.m. Beginning at 11 a.m., 16th Street will be closed from Olin Avenue to the roundabout at Main Street.
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Here are a few ways you may be able to get to the speedway sans-car on race day.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is bringing back its round trip shuttle service, which wasn't an option last year.
One shuttle pass costs $50, which riders can purchase ahead of time at indianapolismotorspeedway.com — IMS prefers that — or at the pickup locations: the Indianapolis International Airport and Gate Ten Events & Parking, located across from Lucas Oil Stadium downtown. (Warning: It will also cost $10 and $15 to park at these locations, respectively. Bring cash for parking, card for shuttle passes.)
The shuttles will run to the track from 7 a.m. to noon and drop people off at the Main Gate parking lot across from Gate 2, located on the south end of the facility. That's where they can meet the shuttle again to head home, beginning with 50 laps to go and continuing for two hours after the checkered flag.
If you're taking an Uber or Lyft or getting dropped off by a friend, they'll take you to the Main Gate parking lot. Taxicabs will drop you off at the corner of 10th and Polco streets. After the race, you can get picked up at 10th and Polco.
Rally is a charter bus ride-share program that picks up from 44 locations around Indiana and 11 more in neighboring states, as far as Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A ride only gets confirmed when enough people sign up, usually 25 (otherwise, you'll get a refund). From Marion and surrounding counties, tickets have topped $110 round-trip.
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Until noon May 23, the Colored Speedway Association is selling tickets for charter bus service from a number of Walmart locations — in Indianapolis, from 3221 W. 86th St. and 4650 S. Emerson Avenue. Tickets are currently $255 for adults and $235 for kids under 16 — a significant markup from $60 and $30 last year. These include a trip back to the Walmart.
VJ Collins, head of the association, said a combination of factors contributed to the drastic increase: gas prices, a severe, pandemic-related driver shortage and fewer charter bus companies to bargain with.
"The bus game is kind of tricky right now," he said.
You and your family could ride bikes to the Indy500 with hundreds of others — and a police escort.
This year, Bike Indianapolis' Bike to the 500 event will begin at the new AMP marketplace at 16 Tech on the northwest side.
Beginning at 7:30 a.m., cyclists can fuel up at the AMP and depart at 9:30 a.m. as one large group for the 6-mile trek. You don't need a lock — cyclists can park their bikes outside Gate 1, where they will be monitored until 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Children can ride free with an adult.
Though there isn't an official escort back home, some experienced riders will organize and lead small groups back downtown in the first 30 minutes after the checkered flag.
Skip it. The town of Speedway outlaws electric scooters, and they are not allowed inside IMS.
Though IndyGo has several bus routes that usually border IMS — Routes 10, 15 and 25 — those routes will be detoured on race day due to road restrictions by police.
Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.