MORNING MOTIVATION: When I first began to advocate for better public transportation in 2005, buses were mostly empty and ridership was at 900,000 (or so) annually. Today, in 2015, ridership is near 1.9 million. We doubled ridership on SMTD fixed-route service. 2007: Evening service beyond 6:00 p.m. was implemented on weeknights in the urban core. 2008: Transit routing at UIS was shifted to the growing westside, residential portion of the campus. 2009: Evening service to UIS and LLCC was implemented. 2010: The first major overhaul of the route network since 1970 was implemented (except in a few spots where the public opposed the changes) 2011: Transit service to the Lost Bridge Trail and Wabash Trail trailheads is implemented to connect riders to Woodside Township and Chatham via bike trails (ahead of bike rack installation) 2012: Bike racks are installed on SMTD buses. 2013: Frequency is improved to the IDOT, Secretary of States office, and southeast area restaurants and businesses via Route 19. 2013: For the first time in SMTD history, every bus is equipped with wheelchair ramps, fulfilling ADA requirements and providing better service for individuals with mobility challenges. 2014: Special express bus service begins, connecting students living in Chatham Hills/Gaines Mill area to campus via a direct express route. 2015: West side service is improved and changed in preparation for future route changes and system expansion. 2016 (projected): Technology is installed and utilized on buses, giving passengers and SMTD staff GPS capability, route-tracking capability, automated intersections announcements for the visually-impaired, and trip planning on Google Maps. Planned (but not scheduled): A high-frequency, downtown circulator route. Public-private partnerships to provide service to outlying areas. Partnerships with suburban communities to pilot express bus service. On-demand, call-ahead van transit service to outlying Sangamon & Menard counties. Develop a YouTube channel. Connect the airport to the Amtrak station with transit shuttle service. ---------- I cannot take credit for all of this--staff at the planning commission and the mass transit district worked hard to make this happen. But I fought like hell and pushed it along the best I could. Looking back, I am glad we got all we did. No, were not Madison or San Francisco or Europe. But for a community of our size, relative to others in the United States, we have pretty good transit.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 09:17:56 +0000
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