Sangamon Mass Transit District

Routes

The Sangamon Mass Transit District operates 16 regular routes during the day, 5 routes at night, and 12 supplemental routes, most of which serve schools. On weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., most routes run every half-hour, with buses leaving downtown at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. Some routes run only once an hour during part of the day. On weeknights and Saturdays between 6:45 and 10:45 p.m., buses leave downtown once an hour, at 45 minutes past the hour. The last buses of the night return to downtown at 11:45 p.m. Supplemental routes run only once per day. No service is offered on Sundays, nor on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Buses run the Saturday schedule on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday/President's Day, and Veterans Day.

Daytime routes

Evening Routes

Supplemental routes

Cash fare, transfers and passes

Regular bus fare is $1.25 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 60 cents. For senior citizens, disabled persons, or Medicare card holders, fare is 60 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 including all Walgreens stores in the city, public, private, and parochial schools, and the SMTD home office at 928 S. 9th Street.

Three different kinds of passes are available, and are color-coded for easy identification.

Buses

The routes are covered with 57 buses (31 fueled with natural gas) and 17 paratransit vans. As of Jan. 1, 2014, the buses are

Paratransit

The SMTD operates a paratransit service named Access Sangamon for disabled 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 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.

Technology

SMTD's route information was integrated into Google Transit on May 12th, 2016. The district also freely provides their schedule data in the General Transit Feed Specification format for developers and hobbyists to incorporate in their own apps. Other apps using this data include Bing Maps, Here WeGo, Moovit, and Walk Score. Real-time data is not currently available.

Recent developments

Saturday night service was added on August 27th, 2016.

Recently the district received a $650,000 grant to make all bus stops compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As of 2012 all buses are equipped with bike racks.

In July 2015, the SMTD eliminated many routes, including the east-side Route 19, special Historic Sites and Southwind Park routes, a shuttle bus that served the Illinois State Fairgrounds during the fair, and several supplemental routes that served the Illinois Department of Revenue and some local schools. Night service was also reduced; the last trip of the night, which had begun at 11:45 p.m. from downtown, was discontinued.

On January 1st, 2017 SMTD changed their operating name from Springfield Mass Transit District to Sangamon Mass Transit District.