Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District

Public transit before the MTD

In 1854 the first rail lines in the region were laid 2 miles west of Urbana by the Illinois Central Railroad. The city of Urbana initially wanted nothing to do with the new railroad economy, so a new city, originally named West Urbana, was created to help serve the needs of the railroad. In 1860 West Urbana was renamed Champaign, and subsequently developed into an important railroad town. The station served as a stopover on the way from New Orleans to Chicago, and vice versa. In 1909 this was expanded to also include service from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida.

The first trolley service in the area was established in 1863, when the Urbana Railroad Company was created to link Urbana and Champaign. These first trolleys were drawn by horses or mules. By 1890, work had begun on an electrified trolley system under the auspices of William B. McKinley. At its peak, this system had as many as 20 routes, including a nighttime "Owl Service" linking Champaign and Urbana.

Interurban streetcar service was also supplied to the area (and indeed to much of Illinois) by the Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, another brainchild of William McKinley. McKinley's scheme of selling electricity from the interurban system to the surrounding towns led to the founding of the Illinois Power and Light Company.

In 1901 the Illinois Motor Transit Company introduced a city bus system to the region, but they went bankrupt within the year. However, the inability of the trolley system to lay enough track to fully serve the area prompted the 1925 addition of another bus system by National City Bus Lines, a subsidiary of General Motors. In 1936, as was happening in other places across the nation, National City Bus Lines purchased the trolley system from the Illinois Power and Light Company and dismantled it. The last trolley operated on 10 November 1936. Within one month bus lines had become the dominant form of transportation in the city under the new name "Champaign-Urbana City Lines."

Ridership on the Champaign-Urbana City Lines was high, reaching 1,000,000 passengers served in 1958. Like most of America however, buses in Champaign-Urbana became less popular with the advent of affordable automobiles. On November 17, 1970, P.E. Cherry, the manager of Champaign-Urbana City Lines, published an article in the Courier stating that declining ridership, aging buses, and a rising deficit would force the line to close. The Illinois Commerce Commission conducted a hearing on the petition to close the city lines and suggested that rather than close the lines, a referendum should be drafted to create a mass transit district.

History of the modern MTD

On November 24, 1970, a mere week after the lines looked to be closing, the referendum was approved and Thomas Evans was appointed the director of the new mass transit district. The new MTD began operation on August 2, 1971 for a fee of $0.30 per ride with free transfers on buses which allowed one to navigate the area using several different bus lines. On May 13, 1971 a federal grant was procured to help this both fledging and historic transit district rework its fleet of buses, purchasing fifteen new buses, and ten used buses from Peoria, Illinois. In 1973 the MTD expanded its routes to include the University, offering routes around the University and to the graduate housing complex. Fees for University students were at a reduced rate, paying only $0.10 per ride, or purchasing a $20 semester pass for unlimited rides.

In 1984 MTD received national recognition when it was chosen as the 7th best transportation system in America, outranking the systems provided by many larger cities across the country. In 1986 and 1994 it was the recipient of the American Public Transit Association's Outstanding Achievement Award.

In 1999 Illinois Terminal was created in downtown Champaign which serves as both a transit hub for the MTD and a connection between the MTD, Amtrak and intercity bus lines.

Today the MTD provides over 11,000,000 rides per year. The current one-way bus fare is $1. Transfers are free and may be used to connect with another route at transfer points to complete a one-way trip. An annual bus pass can be purchased for $84. The annual pass allows unlimited rides. An all-day pass, good for either Saturday or Sunday, can be bought for $2. All University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff have unlimited access to all routes and services.

Fatal accidents

Prior to 2004, MTD never had an accident involving a fatality. Since 2004, there have been two fatal accidents involving pedestrians and MTD buses. Both cases involved University of Illinois students on campus:

October 27, 2004: Carolyn B. Jeffers, a pedestrian, was struck and killed by a 26 Pack bus at the intersection of S Goodwin Ave and Gregory Dr, Urbana.

September 29, 2005: Sarah Channick, a pedestrian, was struck and killed by a 22 Illini bus at the intersection of S 6th St and E Chalmers St, Champaign. The Channick family sued MTD; the lawsuit was eventually settled for $1.25 million.

After Channick's death, the governments of Champaign and Urbana, the University of Illinois, and MTD conducted the Campus Area Transportation Study (commonly referred to as "CATS"), which made specific recommendations to improve bus safety on campus. As of December 2011, two of three proposed phases have been implemented.

Facilities

Administration and Operations Offices

1101 E. University Avenue, Urbana, IL. 40°06′55″N 88°11′43″W

Maintenance Department and Bus Garage

803 E. University Avenue, Urbana, IL. 40°06′57″N 88°11′53″W

Illinois Terminal

45 E. University Avenue, Champaign, IL. 40°06′57″N 88°14′27″W

Wright Street Transit Plaza

University of Illinois Campus on S. Wright Street, between Daniel and John. 40°06′31″N 88°13′44″W

Downtown Urbana Transfer Point

Broadway Avenue just north of Lincoln Square, between Main and Elm. 40°06′43″N 88°12′27″W

Bus Routes

Bold - Main portion of route
Hopper interval - Including regular service, for example, 30 minute of yellow and 10 minute of YELLOWHopper means the first 10 and 20 buses are YELLOWhopper and then 30 bus is yellow.
Weekday Daytime Routes

Weekday Evening Routes

Weekday Late Night Routes U of I days only

Saturday Daytime Routes

Sunday Daytime & Late Night Routes

30 Lavender

50 Green

70 Grey

100 Yellow

110 Ruby

120 Teal

130 Silver

180 Lime A

180 Lime B

220 Illini

270 Air Bus

335 SafeRides (flex service)