Public Comment Meeting on Route 11 Bus Stop Optimization

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.”

Holiday Service Reminder

SMTD Reminds Passengers Of Holiday Service Changes

No Service on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day

Springfield, IL – Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) is reminding passengers that there will be no bus service on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and there will be no night service on Christmas Eve.

“Our employees will be enjoying Thanksgiving, the night of Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day with their families and friends,” said Steve Schoeffel, Service Planning and Marketing Specialist at SMTD.

Buses will run as normal the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving.

“There are only six days of the year when the buses are not scheduled to run, and three of those are during the end-of-year holiday season,” Schoeffel added. “We want to make sure our passengers are well-aware of when we will not be running on our regular schedules. So, we will publicize these No Service days before each one. “We wish all of our passengers and employees a safe and happy holiday season.”

Schoeffel said that after the first of the year, more reminders will be sent out regarding the additional holidays in January and February when SMTD will only be running on Saturday service hours.

More information about routes and schedules can be found at SMTD.org and on printed paper schedules posted at bus shelters and available for free at the SMTD administrative offices on S. 9th Street. 

ADA Paratransit Service Expansion Effective Today

Springfield Mass Transit District’s (SMTD) Board of Trustees approved a plan in August to expand Access paratransit service under Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) rules. The expansion takes effect today, October 19th, and adds three quarters of one mile to the existing minimum three quarters of one mile from the nearest fixed route point the ADA requires for a total of one-and-a-half miles from the nearest SMTD fixed route.

“As most agencies did when the original mandate was first issued, SMTD provided the minimum service required under the ADA,” said SMTD Managing Director Frank Squires. “After many requests for this service from the public, we believe we can handle this expansion and better serve Springfield without substantially increasing our operating costs.”

SMTD’s Access paratransit service provides transportation for persons with disabilities who are unable to use the SMTD fixed-route bus service. Individuals with disabilities must apply to become eligible to use the service. To become eligible, the individual must meet one of the three criteria.

1. An individual with a disability who is unable, as the result of a physical or mental impairment, and without the assistance of another individual, to board or disembark from any vehicle on the SMTD fixed-line system, which is readily accessible.
2. Persons who cannot use SMTD buses without lifts. (These persons are eligible for Access Springfield service if accessible, fixed-route vehicles are not available on the route on which they need to travel or at the time they need to travel.)
3. Anyone with a disability who cannot travel to or from an SMTD bus stop.

To request an application to be mailed or faxed, interested residents can find more information on the website (see this page) or by calling SMTD at (217) 522-8594. Completed applications can be faxed to (217) 789-9819, and processing of applications can take up to twenty-one (21) days. For assistance filling out the application, residents can contact the Springfield Center for Independent Living (SCIL) at (217) 523-2587.

“Access paratransit service is door-to-door service, allowing qualified residents to schedule rides in advance to get to where they need to go when regular fixed route service is not accessible to them,” Squires added. “With this expansion, our hope is to provide more ADA service to more residents of our community who have the most difficulty finding the transportation they need.”

Detour on Route 2 In Effect Oct. 1st - Oct. 31st

The city will begin rail bridge repairs on 9th Street between Converse and Black on Thursday, October 1st. This section of 9th St. is expected to be closed for the entire month. Route 2 - North 9th buses will make a slight detour to bypass the road closure.

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Public Comment Meeting on Sept. 30th RE: Route 3 Bus Stop Consolidation & Statewide Public Transportation Plan

The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) Board of Trustees approved a plan July 27th to study bus stops on routes throughout the SMTD system, make proposals for adding or removing bus stops, take public comment and implement changes over the next eighteen months. On September 30th at 4:00PM to 6:00PM at the Springfield Housing Authority offices, 200 N. 11th Street, a public comment meeting will be held regarding proposed bus stop consolidation on the Grandview Route 3. At the same time, staff from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will be on hand to gather information to be considered in the Statewide Public Transportation Plan.

“Over the years, SMTD has continued to add bus stops throughout the city for various purposes, and we have reached the point that we have considerable overlap of the areas meant to be covered by a single bus stop,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Specialist. “We are continuing to methodically study and update our system’s bus stops to move us closer to widely-accepted industry standards.”

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.

“We are not randomly removing every other bus stop, or anything close to that,” Schoeffel added. “We believe we can study our current stops, make some changes with the public’s input, and improve the system for our passengers and for traffic in general. Our goal would be to upgrade the actual bus stop signs once we have completed the optimization process across the entire system.”

IDOT will also be present to gather information for the development of the Statewide Public Transportation Plan. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide information on transportation needs and review transit data collected thus far for the area of Adams, Brown, Cass, Christian, Hancock, Logan, Macoupin, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler and Scott Counties.

Sept. 25th & 26th Transfer Center Relocations (Updated: 09/23/2015)

Due to the Route 66 Mother Road Festival being held in downtown Springfield this weekend, the daytime transfer center will be moved on Friday, September 25th and Saturday, September 26th from its normal location at 5th & Capitol to one block south at 5th & Jackson.

• 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, September 28th.

Click here for more information about the Route 66 Mother Road Festival.

09/23/2015 Update:

The Night Service transfer center will also be moving to Jackson between 4th and 5th. This relocation will only apply to Friday, September 25th.

Notice: Bus Stop A Closed Due to Water Main Break Downtown (UPDATED: 9/15/15)

Update 9/15/15: Bus Stop A is up and running as usual this morning.

Original posting:

Attention SMTD Passengers:

Due to a water main break, 5th Street between Capitol and Jackson at the Downtown Transfer Center is closed. As a result, Bus Stop A is inaccessible.

Routes 10 - S. View/Laketown and 8 - 1st/Highland will be on 4th Street between Jackson & Capitol and may be double parked to pick up passengers. Route 14 - Wabash/Prairie Crossing will be at Bus Stop C on Capitol and inbound Route 2 - N. 9th will be detouring on 7th Street to get to the Transfer Center.

This post will be updated as new information becomes available.

 

Route 8 Expansion Starts Monday, August 10th

SMTD is announcing today that, effective next Monday, August 10th, the 1st & Highland Route #8 will expand service onto both North Street and Outer Park Drive between 1st Street and MacArthur in addition to the current route that runs along Highland Avenue to Scheels. 

“We have had requests from the public for service along both North Street, where quite a few local employers are located, and along Outer Park, an area once served by a bus that utilized Lowell Avenue,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning & Marketing Specialist. “This is an adjustment to address those requests and attempt to boost ridership while still serving our loyal riders that currently use the route.” 

Two buses currently serve Route 8 every half-hour in the morning from 6:15 AM to 9:15 and from 2:15 PM to 5:45 in the evening, with hourly service from 9:15 to 2:15. The expansion to North Street and Outer Park is accomplished by putting one bus outbound on North Street and inbound to downtown on Highland and the other outbound on Highland and inbound on Outer Park – both in the morning – then reversing those routes in the afternoon. 

“For all practical purposes, we split the existing route into two routes, one serving North Street and Highland and the other serving Outer Park and Highland,” Schoeffel added. “There won’t be as many trips on Highland as there were before, and that might take time for the public to adjust to, but when we were considering the changes, we spoke to drivers and riders alike to see what made the most sense and had the least negative impact on our regular riders. Each bus will still be on Highland for part of their hour-long trip from downtown and back, and, overall, this is going to be a positive and popular change.” 

New stops along the route will be as follows: 

• On North Street:
  • at Spring Street
  • in front of Woodside Township Offices
  • between J & W Counter Tops and Charlie Parker's
  • directly north of Casey's General Store
• On Outer Park:
  • at S. Glenwood Avenue
  • at S. Lowell Avenue
  • at S. College Street
  • at S. 1st Street

Maps & Schedules for Route 8 Changes:

Note that these schedules will not take effect until Monday, August 10th. At that time they will be added to the route listing page as well as the quick route access drop down menus on the site.

• Route 8 via North Street
• Route 8 via Outer Park

Public Comment Meeting on August 5th RE: Bus Stop Consolidation on Routes 1 & 2

The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) Board of Trustees approved a plan July 27th to study bus stops on routes throughout the SMTD system, make proposals for consolidating bus stops, take public comment and implement changes over the next eighteen months.  On August 5th at 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM in the Carnegie Room South at Lincoln Library (southwest corner of the 1st floor), the first public comment meeting will be held regarding proposed bus stop consolidation on the North 5th Route 1 and North 9th Route 2.

“Over the years, SMTD has continued to add bus stops throughout the city for various purposes, and we have now reached the point that we have considerable overlap of the areas meant to be covered by a bus stop,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Service Planning and Marketing Specialist.  “We are looking to methodically study and update our system’s bus stops to move us closer to widely-accepted industry standards.”  

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.

“Mass transit systems have to balance how quickly we can move people to their destinations with how far they must walk to reach their nearest bus stop,” Schoeffel continued.  “A bus stop on every corner sounds great until you’re riding the bus and trying to make your transfer downtown in a bus that stops almost every block.”

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.

“We are not randomly removing every other bus stop, or anything close to that,” Schoeffel added.  “We believe we can study our current stops, make some changes with the public’s input, and improve the system for our passengers and for traffic in general.  Our goal would be to upgrade the actual bus stop signs once we have completed the optimization process across the entire system.”