The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) Board of Trustees approved a plan July 27th to study bus stops throughout the SMTD system, make proposals for adding or removing bus stops, take public comment and implement changes over the next eighteen months.  On December 2nd from Noon to 1:00PM and from 4:30PM to 6:00PM a public comment meeting will be held in the Board Room of SMTD, 928 S. 9th Street, regarding proposed bus stop changes on Route 11 - UIS.

“The goal of SMTD’s Bus Stop Optimization Plan is to provide balance between on-time service and convenient pedestrian access to bus stops,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Specialist.  “Through a route-by-route analysis, review and implementation schedule, we plan to complete this project in late 2017.” 

SMTD believes the changes will still serve the public well with plenty of bus stops while allowing buses to cover routes faster with fewer stops made so close together – sometimes fewer than two hundred feet apart.  This public comment part of the overall plan, while not legally required, is intended to give the public the opportunity to bring any specific concerns they might have to SMTD before bus stops are changed. 

“This is the fourth route we have addressed so far, and of special note this time is the fact that this route serves the University of Illinois – Springfield (UIS),” Schoeffel pointed out.  “There are no changes that should directly affect most UIS students.  We do plan to remove a set of stops near West Lake Shore Drive and Edgar Lee Masters Drive, but we understand those stops are no longer used by students.  We will continue to serve the Public Affairs Center.”

In addition to the UIS campus, Route 11 also serves South Grand Avenue east of 7th Street, the County Health Department, Taylor Avenue from South Grand to Stevenson Drive, West Lake Shore Drive from Stevenson Drive to the UIS campus, and 9th Street between South Grand and Cook, including SMTD’s administrative offices.

Schoeffel said that, so far, along the three routes already completed, there have been virtually no complaints.  “SMTD does our best to inconvenience as few of our passengers as possible while making these changes that we believe ultimately benefit everyone with more reliable, on-time service.”