Regular routes and weeknight service gives fairgoers multiple options.
The 11th annual National ‘Dump the Pump Day’ on June 16th is a day to highlight using public transportation as a great alternative to driving that will help people save money.
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Springfield, IL – The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) will implement changes to one route and three schedules beginning June 6th. In addition, a new Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials Express route will begin the evening of Tuesday, June 7th.
“A year ago, we began an annual process of evaluating our entire system each spring and making recommendations for changes to address everything from efficiency to service gaps to route performance,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Specialist. “These changes are a product of that evaluation and recommendation process.” He listed the changes passengers can expect beginning Monday, June 6th:
1. Route 8 – 1st & Highland will be simplified into one path with a single schedule. The route currently runs two different paths. One serves Highland and North Street, and one serves Highland and Outer Park. While SMTD has received positive feedback on the addition of North St. and Outer Part to the route, the current split route schedule is too complicated. The new route will follow the existing route from downtown to 1st & Outer Park, then travel west to MacArthur, south to Highland, east to Spring, south to North St. and North St. to Stanford Avenue, then to Scheels. The return trip to downtown will follow virtually the same path in reverse.
2. Route 5 – N. Walnut will begin 30-minute service throughout the day. The route currently has 1-hour off-peak service between 9:15am and 2:15pm. Service every thirty minutes throughout the day will begin on this route on June 6th.
3. Route 18 – Lawrence/Knox Knolls will begin hourly off-peak service between the hours of 9:15am and 2:15pm. Currently, this route has 30-minute service throughout the day, but considerably higher ridership during this time on Route 5 makes switching thirty minute service to Route 5 a more-efficient use of SMTD’s resources. This route will also begin its inbound trip at Lawrence & Dickinson rather than the current Dickinson & Cranmer stop, and it will begin that inbound trip at :27 after the hour all day and :57 after the hour all day except the off-peak hours 9:15am to 2:15pm.
Lincoln's Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
4. Route 11 – UIS will only stop at the County Health Department building during their regular office hours. Monday through Friday, the first bus to stop here will be at
8:26am and the last bus will depart to downtown at 5:29pm.
5. Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials Express service will begin Tuesday evening at 5:30pm at the Washington Street side of the Old State Capitol and will travel non- stop to Lincoln’s Tomb and the War Memorials at Oak Ridge Cemetery at 5:30pm, 6:30pm and 7:30pm June through August. This route is designed around the weekly Flag Retreat ceremony at Lincoln’s Tomb at 7pm on Tuesday nights. The last bus will leave Lincoln’s Tomb at 7:46pm and the War Memorials at 7:50pm in order to be out of the cemetery before it closes at 8pm. Fare will be a one-time $2 per person charge, and the ticket can be used multiple times on the day it is first used.
“What’s New Summer 2016 at SMTD!” brochures containing all of these details are being distributed by operators on buses and at SMTD’s offices in the coming days.
“We believe these changes will be a net positive for our passengers, operators and staff,” Schoeffel said. “Route 8 will be much simpler for the public to use, and we’re excited to offer more frequent service on one of our busiest routes, Route 5 N. Walnut, which serves Memorial Medical Center.”
SMTD is considering the Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials Express a pilot program.
“We are cautiously optimistic about how well this new express route will do,” Schoeffel added. “After this summer, we will evaluate ridership and any feedback we get from the community to see if it’s something we want to continue, make permanent or even expand. The future will depend on how well the route performs this summer.”
SMTD’s routes and other information can be found at SMTD.org and several apps and mobile tools like Google Transit, Moovit and TripGo.
The 9th annual Curb Your Car event will run from May 14th -21st, 2016! Leave your car at home and walk, run, bike, or take the bus to work to get some exercise, save money, engage in your community and reduce negative impacts on the environment!
This year SMTD is again offering free rides to anyone that brings their bike on the bus. Each bus is equipped with a bike rack on the front that can accommodate up to 2 bikes. We are also offering free rides to EVERYONE that rides the bus, system-wide on Tuesday, May 17th!
Be sure to like the Curb Your Car Commute Challenge Facebook page to be entered into a drawing for a free SMTD bus pass!
More information:
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Springfield, IL – 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. As of March, SMTD has completed optimization along four routes, and is entering the public comment phase on its fifth route.
“Route 7 is the fifth route we have addressed so far, and we plan to shake things up a little by taking public comment online this time,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Specialist. “Because turnout at our previous public comment sessions has been low, we are rolling out online public comment this time to see how the public responds. Previously, there was no formal presentation, and staff just did question and answer periods with anyone that asked questions. This time, more information is available via our website, and the public can fill out an electronic form with any questions or concerns they might have.”
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 actually changed. SMTD believes the changes will still serve the public well with plenty of remaining bus stops while allowing buses to cover routes faster with fewer stops made so close together – sometimes fewer than two hundred feet apart.
“The goal of SMTD’s Bus Stop Optimization Plan is to provide balance between on-time service and convenient pedestrian access to bus stops,” Schoeffel added. “Through a route-by-route analysis, review and implementation schedule, we plan to complete this project in late 2017, and our hope is to upgrade all bus stop signs system-wide once the project is finished.”
Route 7 West Washington travels west along Adams then Washington past Springfield and Sacred Heart Griffin high schools, Fairhills Mall and a number of retirement homes and apartment complexes. Turning south onto Durkin Drive, the route continues to Monroe and Old Jacksonville Road, Koke Mill, West Iles, White Oaks Mall, West White Oaks Drive and to Parkway Pointe and back. The ninety-minute route runs every thirty minutes during peak times on weekdays and every hour off-peak and on Saturdays.
Schoeffel noted that, so far, along the four 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.”
Click here to review the Route 7 Optimization Plan and to submit a comment.
March 18th is Nat'l Transit Worker Appreciation Day
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The daytime transfer center will be moved one block south on Saturday, March 12th in order to accommodate the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown.
- On 5th, between Jackson and Edwards:
- Routes 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 13
- On Jackson, between 4th and 5th:
- Routes 2, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16
- On 5th, just south of Edwards:
- Routes 10, 14, 18, Sec. of State / IDOT, all Trippers
Click here to view a map of the area.
The daytime transfer center will be back to its usual location at 5th & Capitol on Monday, March 14th.
Due to the President's visit to Springfield on Wednesday, February 10th, the Daytime Transfer Center will be relocated a block south from 5th & Capitol to 5th & Jackson. The Night Service Transfer Center will not be affected.
The stop layout for the temporary Day Service Transfer Center location can be seen on the map below. Click here to open the map in a new tab or window.
The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) will once again enter its popular lighted bus in the Springfield Jaycees Christmas Parade this coming Saturday. 2015 will be the fourth year, and SMTD volunteers try to raise the bar with some new addition each year.
“Our maintenance department takes a lot of pride in their work day in and day out,” said SMTD Managing Director Frank Squires, “and decorating and programming this bus is a chance to volunteer on something they can see the community enjoy every year.”
Nearly 30,000 lights cover the mainline bus, which is requested from communities and businesses all over the Springfield area. SMTD even got calls from across the country when the bus was mentioned in a story in the industry’s Busline Magazine this year. The lights are programmed across 16 different channels, which took almost 30 volunteer hours, and they are powered by an external generator attached specifically for the lights and speakers.
Squires said SMTD employees and their families volunteer to walk with the bus in the parade, and the bus is driven by an experienced operator nearing retirement. SMTD is adding a new feature this year but won’t reveal it until the parade on Saturday.
After the parade, the bus will make special appearances in the Springfield area during the month of December. Employee volunteers will be collecting unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots. Here's the full schedule:
| Date | Location | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, December 5th | Springfield Christmas Parade | 7:30 PM |
| Tuesday, December 8th | Kmart on Wabash Ave. | 5-8 PM |
| Wednesday, December 9th | Walmart on Freedom Drive | 5-8 PM |
| Thursday, December 10th | Kmart on Clear Lake Ave. | 5-8 PM |
| Friday, December 11th | HyVee | 5-8 PM |
| Saturday, December 12th | Walmart on Dirksen Pkwy. | 5-8 PM |
| Tuesday, December 15th | J.C. Penney | 5-8 PM |
| Wednesday, December 16th | Menard's - South Side | 5-8 PM |
| Thursday, December 17th | St. John's Children's Hospital | 5-8 PM |
| Friday, December 18th | Farm & Home on Wabash Ave. | 5-8 PM |
| Saturday, December 19th | Chatham Park | 5-8 PM |
| Tuesday, December 22nd | Walmart on 6th St. | 5-8 PM |
| Wednesday, December 23rd | Downtown Transfer Center | 4-6 PM |
Posted
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.”
