June 6th Route Updates

There are a handful of changes and updates going into effect on Monday, June 6th.

Urbanized Area Routes

Due to extremely low ridership, the mid-day trips spanning 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM on routes 410 (Chatham), 430 (Sherman), and 440 (Riverton) are suspended until further notice.

Route 4 - West Lawrence

Route 4 previously used 7th Street to circle to Clay and then 9th to make a stop at the SMTD office before heading west, but will now use 8th Street instead.

Route 7 - West Washington

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Map showing the new path of Route 7 (red) compared to the previous version (blue).

Instead of taking West White Oaks to Iles to get to Veterans Parkway inbound, Route 7 will continue north on West White Oaks to Green Briar before getting on Veterans. Two stops that had previously been cut (1304 and 1306) will be reinstalled on the east side of West White Oaks between Iles and Greenbriar, mirroring the Route 903 stops (1272 and 1273) on the west side of that road segment.

Route 15 - UIS / Seven Pines

The “teardrop” at the UIS PAC building is reopened but there isn’t enough room for multiple buses to be stopped there at the same time. The 11 will remain unchanged, but the 15 will start its route at the UIS book store instead.

Franklin Park (Routes 15 and 905)

Bus stops 1366 and 1367 on South 11th Street have been moved west to the light poles closest to the new sidewalk connecting Pickfair Road and 11th Street, making service more accessible for the Franklin Park area. Both stops are serviced by Route 15 and Route 905. This change has already gone into effect, but on June 6th the new locations will be reflected in the schedule data used for our real-time bus tracker and navigation apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.

Route 801 - State Fair Shuttle

The State Fair Shuttle bus will offer 30-minute trips to and from the fair and downtown on weekday evenings from August 13th to August 20th. Check our State Fair 2022 page for more information on service to the fair.

SMTD Making Over 550 Trips to the State Fair

The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) announced today that bus service will again pass by the Illinois State Fairgrounds at bus stops along Sangamon Avenue over 550 times during the 2017 State Fair.

"Our regular Route 1 North 5th and Route 2 North 9th service will pass by the fairgrounds over 500 times during this year’s State Fair," said SMTD Managing Director, Frank Squires. "And we have maintained our stepped up public outreach from last year to continue to get the word out that there are plenty of bus trips to the state fair available to the public."

Brochures detailing schedules will again be available at local hotels, the fairgrounds and other popular visitor spots, and signage downtown, at fair gates and along the routes to the fair make the routes much more visible to residents and visitors alike.

"The only real change from last year is eliminating the last two weeknight trips," said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning & Marketing Specialist. "Since last year’s fair, our regular night service was reduced by one hour. So, to avoid dropping off passengers downtown with no bus to connect to, we are rolling back the weeknight trip hours to align with our regular night service."

Service runs weekdays from 6:15 AM to 9:30 PM on weeknights and 6:15 AM to 6:15 PM on Saturdays. There is no Sunday service, and buses may not run their regular routes on the Thursday the State Fair opens due to parade traffic and street closures around the fairgrounds.

All of SMTD’s daytime routes that cover most of Springfield meet the state fair routes at the downtown transfer center throughout the day. Passengers needing to change buses downtown should ask their first driver for a transfer when they pay their fare. Regular fare for passengers 5-and-over is $1.25 each way. Seniors 65 or older with ID ride for $ .60 each way. The first two children under 5 ride for free. More than two children under five ride for $ .60 each. To learn more about SMTD’s State Fair Service, click here.

July 1st Route Changes

Several route changes are going into effect on July 1st, 2015. 

Eliminated Routes

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• Night Service 11:45 PM (Last) Trip - 10:45 PM will be the last trip on all Night Service routes. Buses will return to the Transfer Center at 11:45 PM, but will take passengers no further.
• Historic Sites - Passengers can ride Route 1 (North 5th) and Route 5 (North Walnut).
• Route 19 - Will be replaced with a morning supplemental route that departs the downtown Transfer Center at 7:20 AM and an afternoon supplemental that departs the Sangamon County Regional Office of Education (SCROE) at 4:30 PM. The schedules are as follows: 

Transfer Center A	SCROE	SoS	IDOT
7:20 AM	7:35 AM	7:40 AM	7:50 AM

SCROE	SoS	IDOT	Transfer Center A
4:30 PM	4:35 PM	4:45 PM	5:00 PM

Other passengers can ride the Route 6 (East Cook), Route 9 (MLK), Route 11 (UIS), or Route 15 (S. 11th / UIS / LLCC) buses either on or within two to four blocks of the current Route 19.

• Southwind Park - A stop at the park is added to the Route 15 (S. 11th / UIS / LLCC) on Saturdays. Passengers riding the northern two-thirds of the route can ride the Route 10 (Laketown / Southern View). In addition to eliminating a low-performing route, this change makes travel to and from Southwind Park easier for UIS and LLCC students.
• State Fair - Passengers can ride Route 1 (North 5th) and Route 2 (North 9th) on Monday-Saturday.
• Willard Ice Supplemental Tripper - Passengers can ride Route 4 (West Jefferson).
• Park Tower Supplemental Tripper - Passengers can ride Route 14 (Wabash / Prairie Crossing) both ways on 2nd / Allen.
• Christ the King Supplemental Tripper - Route 14 (Wabash / Prairie Crossing) can be utilized on Barberry & Chatham Road.
• Country Club to SHS (AM) Supplemental Tripper - Route 18 (Lawrence / Knox Knolls) will take to College & Monroe and Route 7 (West Washington / White Oaks Mall) will take to Monroe & Walnut or Monroe & Lewis.
• Carl Sandburg (PM) Supplemental Tripper - Route 13 (Sherwood Plaza) inbound stop at Kirkley Lane.

Combined School Supplemental Trippers

• Add SHS (East Cook) Tripper to SHS (MLK / South 15th)
• Add Laketown (SEHS) Tripper to Southern View (SEHS)
• Add SEHS (Laketown) Tripper to (SEHS) Southern View

State Holiday Hours

Buses will run in Saturday Service format on the following holidays:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 18th)
• Lincoln's Birthday (February 12)
• Washington's Birthday / Presidents Day (3rd Monday of February)
• Veterans Day (November 11)

These and other planned service changes can be found on our Service Calendar.

The changes were the first recommendations of what SMTD staff plans to make an annual occurrence, utilizing analyses of passenger counts on each route and implementation of performance standards to produce the most efficient service possible for Springfield. That is not to say that routes will be eliminated every year. 

"No one enjoys eliminating routes," said Managing Director Frank Squires, "but the reality is that, by reducing these clear inefficiencies, we are now in a much better position to provide better service and passenger amenities moving forward. By constantly evaluating our service, we can make any necessary annual adjustments to keep us providing the best service possible with the resources available to us without too often inconveniencing our passengers, and we can more easily add service in the future if we’re operating at maximum efficiency." 

Other changes made by SMTD will be publicized at dates closer to when they will affect passengers, such as State Fair service closer to the opening of the Illinois State Fair, school supplemental route changes closer to the first day of school later this summer and reduced service hours on certain state holidays.