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.”

Service to Knight's Action Park Discontinued (Updated 07/28/15)

Fixed line bus service to Knight's Action Park via Route 8 - 1st & Highland / Scheels was discontinued today due to lack of ridership and deteriorating traffic and road conditions for buses at that stop.

Route 8 will also be slightly modified starting next Monday, providing service to Outer Park and North Street. Look for updated maps and schedules later this week!

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Updated 07/28/15: The additional modifications to Route 8 have been pushed back another week in order to secure proper locations for bus stop signage along the new portions of the route. 

July 10th: Night Service Transfer Center Temporarily Moving to 5th & Capitol

Due to the Downtown Bacon Throwdown & Music Fest being held this weekend at 5th & Washington, the Night Service Transfer Center will be moved to Bus Stop C at the Day Service Transfer Center location at 5th & Capitol. This move only applies to Night Service on Friday, July 10th. Day Service buses will not be affected on Friday or Saturday.

Click here to read more about the event on Downtown Springfield, Inc.'s website.

July 3rd Daytime Transfer Center Relocation

Due to the city's preparations for events downtown on July 4th, SMTD's daytime transfer center will move 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, 10, 11
• On 5th, between Edwards and Cook:
  • Routes 7, 13, 14, 18
• On Jackson between 4th and 5th:
  • Routes 2, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16

Click here to view the map.

Buses will still be in full service on the 3rd, but will not be running on Saturday, July 4th. Have a safe holiday!