The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) is a regional mass transit district that mostly serves
Springfield, Illinois along with a few neighboring communities. It is governed by a seven-member board of trustees, who are all appointed by the
Sangamon County
Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Sangamon County is included in the S ...
Board of Supervisors. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
Routes
![Low Floor Gillig](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Low_Floor_Gillig.jpg)
The Sangamon Mass Transit District operates 17 regular routes during the day, 5 routes at night, 4 limited-service suburban routes and 9 supplemental routes which serve schools. On weekdays between 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., most routes run every half-hour. Eleven of the day routes begin at the downtown
transfer center, at 11th and Washington Streets, with buses leaving downtown at the top and bottom of the hour. Five routes begin at a secondary transfer center on Junction Circle, on the southwest side, where most of the area's growth and new development has taken place in recent decades. These routes leave Junction Circle at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. One special route carries passengers between both locations. The limited-service suburban routes make two trips per weekday, at rush hours, between Springfield and some nearby towns. On weeknights between 6 and 10 p.m., buses leave downtown once an hour, at the top of the hour. The last buses of the night return to downtown at 11 p.m. Supplemental routes run only once per day. No service is offered on Sundays, nor on
New Year's Day,
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
,
Independence Day,
Labor Day,
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...
, or
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
.
Daytime routes
*Route 0 Transfer Center Express – Downtown to Junction Circle
*Route 1 Downtown to North 5th St. / Sand Hill Rd. - serves
Illinois State Fairgrounds
The Illinois State Fairgrounds is located in Springfield, Illinois. It hosts the annual Illinois State Fair in the summer as well as other events throughout the year. The fairgrounds encompasses 366 acres of land and was added as a historic dist ...
*Route 2 Downtown to North 9th St. / Piper Rd. / Northgate subdivision
*Route 3 Downtown to Clear Lake Ave. /
Midwest Technical Institute
Midwest Technical Institute (MTI) is a private for-profit trade school in Springfield, Illinois. The college focuses on the mechanical trades, allied health, cosmetology, and commercial driving fields.
Midwest Technical Institute has branch cam ...
/
Grandview
*Route 4 Downtown to West Lawrence Ave. / West Jefferson St.
*Route 5 Downtown to
Memorial Medical Center /
St. John's Hospital / North Grand Ave.
*Route 6 Junction Circle to Clear Lake Ave.
*Route 7 Downtown to West Washington St. /
White Oaks Mall
*Route 8 Downtown to South Grand Ave. / South MacArthur Blvd. - serves
Leland Grove
Leland Grove is a city in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States, located adjacent to Springfield. It is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,503 at the 2010 census.
Geography
Leland Grove is located at ( ...
and
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
*Route 9 Downtown to Martin Luther King Dr. / East Cook St.
*Route 10 Downtown to South 11th St. / Stevenson Dr. - serves the Laketown neighborhood
*Route 11 Downtown to
University of Illinois Springfield
The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The university was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois ...
and
Lincoln Land Community College
Lincoln Land Community College is a public community college in Springfield, Illinois. It has extended branches in different locations, including Beardstown, Jacksonville, Litchfield and Taylorville, Illinois. The main campus is less than hal ...
*Route 12 Downtown to South 6th St. /
Southern View / Memorial Medical Center and St. John's Hospital
*Route 13 Junction Circle to White Oaks Mall and other
shopping centers on the southwest side
*Route 14 Junction Circle to Southern View and
Toronto Rd.
*Route 15 Junction Circle to University of Illinois Springfield via Southern View
*Route 16 Junction Circle to West Wabash Ave.
Limited-service suburban routes
* Route 410
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
* Route 420
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
* Route 430
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
* Route 440
Spaulding and
Riverton
Evening Routes
*Route 901 North Side
*Route 902 Southeast Side
*Route 903 West Side via West Washington
*Route 905 UIS / LLCC
*Route 15 UIS to Chatham Hills
Supplemental routes
*Route 202
Ash and Greentree to Laketown/Southern View
*Route 204
Lewis and Adams to downtown
*Route 208
11th and North Grand to downtown
*Route 210 Lewis and Adams to Amos / Golf / Brentwood
*Route 212 Ash and Greentree to downtown
*Route 214 11th and North Grand to Bruns Lane
*Route 215 Laketown/Southern View to Ash and Greentree
*Route 217 Clearlake to 11th and North Grand
*Route 220 Lewis and Adams to East Cook / Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Cash fare, transfers and passes
Regular bus fare is $1.25 for anyone age five or over. Fare for the suburban routes is $1 if boarding outside Springfield. Up to two children under the age of four are permitted on the buses free of charge with an adult. More than two children under this age will cost an additional 60 cents. For senior citizens, disabled persons, or Medicare card holders, fare is 60 cents with proof of such status. Senior citizens and disabled persons enrolled in the Benefit Access program can procure a photo ID that enables them to ride without paying a fare. Transfers between connecting buses are free and available upon request of the driver when fare is initially paid.
Bus passes are available at area businesses including all Walgreens stores in the city, public, private, and parochial schools, Lincoln Library, and the SMTD home office at 928 S. 9th Street.
Three different kinds of passes are available, and are color-coded for easy identification.
*Regular Discount Pass (Yellow) 20 Rides/$20.00
*Senior Citizen Pass (Peach) 20 Rides/$12.00
*Disabled Person Pass (Blue) 20 Rides/$12.00
Buses
The routes are covered with 53
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es (15 fueled with
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
, 34 fueled with
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
) and 22 paratransit vans. All buses are equipped with bike racks.
As of July 1, 2018, the buses are
*Four 2008
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
(Diesel) buses
*Ten 2011
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
(Diesel) buses
*Five 2013
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
(Diesel) 30' buses
*Seven 2013
New Flyer Industries
New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
buses
*Seven 2014
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
(Diesel) buses
*Two 2017
New Flyer Industries
New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
(Diesel) buses
*Eight 2018
New Flyer Industries
New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
buses
*Nine 2018
New Flyer Industries
New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
(Diesel) buses
Paratransit
The SMTD operates a paratransit service named Access Sangamon for
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
people who are unable to use the regular buses. Service is available at the same times that the regular buses are operating.
Funding and employees
In 2017, the employee headcount was 143, of whom 116 were members of
labor unions and 27 were administrative personnel. The annual budget was $7.2 million.
Only 9% of the SMTD's 2017 operating budget was met through
fare
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger for use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used. Fare structure is the system set up to determine how much is to be paid by various pa ...
s paid by riders. An additional 1% was earned through other private-sector-style income streams, such as income from placards and
billboards
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
on the buses, and the remaining 90% consisted of federal, state, and local public-sector
subsidies
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
.
Recent developments
On January 1, 2017, SMTD changed its operating name from Springfield Mass Transit District to Sangamon Mass Transit District. The limited-service suburban routes were added on September 17, 2018.
In 2019, the city opened a new
transfer center on the east edge of downtown, and at the same time, completely overhauled its routes. The redesigned routes cover a larger geographical area than before, bringing service with reach of up to 10,000 additional area residents. Construction of the
Springfield-Sangamon Transportation Center at the downtown transfer center began in 2021, and improvements are under construction to an adjacent railroad. When complete, the new facility is expected to become part of the
Chicago Hub Network
The Chicago Hub Network is a collection of proposed fast conventional and high-speed rail lines in the Midwestern United States including of track. Since the 1990s, there have been multiple proposals to build a network from Chicago to destinat ...
, Illinois' new
high-speed rail system, with stops by
trains
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...
and possibly
intercity buses. Presently, Amtrak trains run on another railroad about half a mile west of the new transfer center.
Fixed Route Ridership
The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response.
References
External links
Sangamon Mass Transit District homepage
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Bus transportation in Illinois
Districts of Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Transit agencies in Illinois