Springfield Mass Transit District (Illinois)
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The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) is the mass transit district serving Springfield, Illinois, the state capital.
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[edit] Routes
As of 2007, the Springfield Mass Transit District operates transit routes on a "pulse system" based on a transfer area in the central business district and reaching the city through "spokes," similar to the concept of a wagon wheel. SMTD operates 13 regular routes during the day, three routes at night, and additionally a number of supplemental routes, serving schools and historic sites. Hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. during weekdays and 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays. No service is offered on Sundays or major holidays. The routes are covered with 53 buses (28 fueled with natural gas) and 16 paratransit vans. Routes are numbered and color-coded for ease of use. A solid color indicates a double loop route, or cross-town route. A dashed color indicates a single-loop route, or a route serving a specific area and connecting it to the transfer area downtown.
Core routes
- Route 1 (Solid Pink) North Fifth-Springfield College/South Fifth-Park South
- Route 2 (Dashed Gold) North Ninth-Northfield Center
- Route 3 (Dashed Indigo) Bergen Park-Grandview
- Route 4 (Dashed Green) West Jefferson-Youngston Hills
- Route 5 (Solid Indigo) South 15th/North Walnut
- Route 6 (Solid Green) Colony West-White Oaks Mall/East Cook
- Route 7 (Solid Red) White Oaks Mall (via West Washington Street on 7W and via South State/Westchester on 7S)
- Route 8 (Solid Gold) West Governor/Lowell
- Route 9 (Solid Blue) Noble Ave/M.L. King
- Route 10 (Dashed Blue) Southern View-Laketown
- Route 11 (Dashed Red) University of Illinois at Springfield-Lincoln Land Community College
- Route 12 (Dashed Pink) Knox Knolls-Country Club
Supplemental routes
- Harrison Park Route--serves Lutheran High School, Sacred Heart-Griffin Catholic High School, and neighborhoods along West Washington Street
- Historic Sites Route--serves historic sites such as the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln Tomb, and the Illinois State Capitol
- Route 7X (Express Route)--Connects the Illinois State Capitol to Jerome and Westchester with limited stops.
[edit] Cash fare, transfers and passes
Regular bus fare is $1.00 for anyone age five or over. 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 50 cents. For senior citizens, disabled persons, or Medicare card holders, fare is 50 cents with proof of such status. 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, public, private, and parochial schools, and other places: http://www.smtd.org/displayPage.asp?pID=19
Four different kinds of passes are available, and are color-coded for easy identification.
- Regular Discount Pass (Yellow) 20 Rides/$15.00
- Senior Citizen Pass (Peach) 20 Rides/$10.00
- Disabled Person Pass (Blue) 20 Rides/$10.00
- All-Day Pass (Green) All-day/$3.00 (only available on the Historic Sites Bus, but good for all SMTD routes)
[edit] Funding and employees
In 2006, the employee headcount was 119, of whom 99 were members of labor unions and 20 were administrative personnel. The annual budget was $7.6 million.
Only 9% of the SMTD's 2006 operating budget was met through fares paid by riders. An additional 3% was earned through other private-sector-style income streams, such as income from placards and billboards on the buses, and the remaining 88% consisted of federal, state, and local public-sector subsidies.
[edit] Recent developments
SMTD initiated a federally-funded pilot program to provide evening bus service in December 2007. Upon the exhaustion of the pilot-program grant in summer 2008, the SMTD will have to either develop alternative funding or shut down the program.
[edit] References
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