Rides Mass Transit District (RMTD) is a provider of

mass transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

, primarily serving Carbondale,

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

and

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

. Local fixed-route transit service is provided in these three communities, while additional demand-response service is available through the 17 county service area. The counties served include

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

, Gallatin,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Hardin,

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Richland, Saline, Wabash, Wayne,

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and Williamson counties. As of 2019, the system provided 1,119,285 rides over 249,718 annual vehicle revenue hours with 137 buses.

History

In the early 1900s,

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in Carbondale, Harrisburg and Marion was provided by

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s. However, by 1933 these streetcar systems had all been replaced by buses. The beginning of the RMTD was in 1977, when the Rural Initiative Development of Effective Services (RIDES) began in Pope and Hardin counties, initially providing rides to nutrition centers. This service slowly expanded to three nearby counties, and in 1990, RMTD was officially formed as a Mass Transit District. Since that time, 12 more counties have joined RMTD. Major changes came to the system came in the late 2010s, when in 2018 RMTD took over operations of the Saluki Express in Carbondale on June 11. This brought significantly more routes under the RMTD system, and allows SIU students greater access to RMTD services. The Saluki Express maintains a distinctive identity however, with separate branding and buses from the rest of RMTD operations. Eighteen days later the RMTD broke ground on a new transit center near the VA Medical Center in Marion. The $1.8 million facility includes a park & ride, a six bay covered bus loading area, indoor waiting area and real-time information displays. The facility opened on October 7, 2019, allowing access to RMTD services,

South Central Transit South Central Illinois Mass Transit District is a provider of mass transportation in Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, Marion, Perry and Washington counties in Illinois, with deviated fixed-routes serving numerous cities, as well as demand-respons ...

and

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

. On March 1, 2023, the Wildcat Service began offering fixed-route transit within Marion. The new 10 stop route is intended to solve inadequate transportation, which is a major barrier to employment in the area. A partnership between RMTD and the city of Marion, five bus shelters were built alongside the service improvement, leading to an immediate increase in patronage of the RMTD buses.

Service

Rides Mass Transit District operates fixed-route services in three communities in

. Additionally, fixed-route service is provided between Carbondale and

, while local and intercity demand-response service is operated through the Southeastern Illinois service area. Regular fares for all the fixed-route services are $1.00, although SIU students may ride for free with a QR code. Within

, the Wildcat Route provides service at 30 minute headways on weekdays from 6:00 A.M. to 6:15 P.M. and on Saturdays from 8:00 A.M. to 6:15 P.M. Within

, the Bulldog Route provides service at 30 minute headways on weekdays from 9:00 A.M. to 5:52 P.M. and at hourly headways on Saturdays from 9:00 A.M. to 4:52 P.M. The Marion-Carbondale Route operates seven time daily on weekdays and three times on Saturday. The regular fare for this service is $2.00. The Saluki Express operates nine routes within Carbondale with all routes intersecting at the

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

campus, where transfers can also be made to the Marion-Carbondale Route at the Student Center. However, not all routes run simultaneously, with greater service provided while SIU is in session and reduced service during the summer and on SIU breaks. Hours of operation for the system are Monday through Friday from 6:30 A.M. to 7:49 P.M., Saturdays from 7:05 A.M. to 7:49 P.M., and Sundays from 7:05 A.M. to 7:27 P.M. Routes vary from 15 minute to one hour headways. The Saluki Express provides transfer opportunities to JCMTD and the Marion-Carbondale Route at a number of locations. At the

Amtrak station This is a list of train stations and Thruway Motorcoach stops used by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in the United States). This list is in alphabetical order by station or stop name, which mostly corresponds to the city ...

, transfers can be made to

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. At the Bill Jung Transfer Center, the Wildcat Route and Marion-Carbondale route provide connections to

and

Routes

Saluki Express

*Airport *Crosstown *Grand Loop *Mall Route *South Route *Break Route East *Break Route West *Summer Route East *Summer Route West

Other

*Bulldog Route (Harrisburg) *Wildcat Route (Marion) *Marion-Carbondale Route

Bill Jung Transfer Center

The Bill Jung Transfer Center is located at 2315 West Main Street in Marion. Opened on October 7, 2019, the facility features six bus bays and an indoor waiting area for passengers. It is served by the Wildcat Route and Marion-Carbondale Route of RMTD, as well as the Olive Route of

and intercity bus service from

. It was named to honor the 25 year CEO of RMTD.

Ridership

References

External links

* {{Illinois public transit Carbondale, Illinois Harrisburg, Illinois Marion, Illinois Bus transportation in Illinois Transit agencies in Illinois