Passes and Fares

You will need to pay a fare on the Express Bus if it is the first bus you are boarding to start your travel to your destination. You will not need to pay a fare if you have a valid Transfer ticket from another bus. The Express Bus does not cost if used as a connection between routes that do not utilize the same transfer locations. The Express Bus is the ONLY route that may re-issue a transfer when a transfer is used as fare payment.

See examples below:

Example 1: You walked to the Transfer Center and are boarding the Express Bus to ride to Junction Circle. You will pay a fare and ask for a Transfer ticket. Upon arrival to Junction Circle, board a connecting bus to complete your trip and present Transfer ticket as fare.

Example 2: You board a bus along its route, pay a fare and receive a Transfer. You ride to the Transfer Center and board the Express Bus. You will use the Transfer issued previously as fare and operator will re-issue you a Transfer ticket to be used on connecting bus at Junction Circle.

Transfers are only issued when a single fare is paid. Passengers are allowed ONE transfer to complete their trip to their destination. Passengers will not be eligible for a Transfer to be issued if they used a Transfer when boarding the bus. The ONLY exception to this policy is the Express Route.

Transfers are valid for 75 minutes from date/time it was issued. Transfers are to be used when you need to ride more than one bus route to reach your destination. Transfers are only valid on other connecting routes. Transfers are not eligible to be used on the same route the Transfer was issued from. Information can be found on the back of the Transfer Ticket on date/time it will expire.

The farebox will not issue cash change for the $5.00 bill. You will be issued a Change Card with credits from the balance left after your fare is paid. That Change Card will be able to be used to pay fare on future rides until the amount has been depleted. SMTD does not accept bills in denominations larger than a $5.00 bill.

No. Change Cards do not have expiration dates. Be mindful that you will need to take care of the card so that it can be read by the farebox over time. Do not bend or otherwise damage the card. SMTD is not responsible for damaged, lost, or stolen Change Cards.

No, but the fareboxes do not dispense change. You will be issued a Change Card with credits from the balance left after your fare is paid. That Change Card enables you to pay fare on future rides until the amount has been depleted. SMTD does not accept bills in denominations larger than a $5.00 bill.

If you are eligible for reduced or paratransit fares with SMTD, you must contact customer service at +1-217-522-6087 to create your Go!SMTD account. Once that has been done, you may download the Go!SMTD app and log in with the information provided.