Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District

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The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is a mass transit system that is part of the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area in which property taxes are levied to support a local transit system operating buses and the Illinois Terminal facility in downtown Champaign. Known locally as "MTD," the term also applies to the Board of Trustees or to the administration and operations supported both by these taxes as well as other revenues, such as bus fares. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which lies within the District, all 38,000 students pay a $38 transportation fee every semester in exchange for unlimited use of the bus services, resulting in nearly $3 million in annual MTD funding. The District currently levies about 26 cents of property taxes per $100 of assessed valuation. The seven members of the Board of Trustees are appointed by the Champaign County Board. Although Willard Airport lies outside the boundaries of the district, MTD also offers District residents bus service to and from the airport.

Contents 1 Public Transit in Champaign-Urbana Before the MTD 2 History of the modern MTD 3 Fatal accidents 4 Current Bus Routes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Public Transit in Champaign-Urbana 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.

[edit] 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 Associations Outstanding Achievement Award.

In 1999 the 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 10,000,000 rides per year.^[1] The current bus fare is $1.00, and a set of six tokens can be purchased for $5.00. 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 $235 for adults and $145 for students in high School or younger.^[2] All University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff have unlimited access to all routes and services. Campus Transportation Buses are free to anyone and an ID is not needed.

[edit] Fatal accidents

Prior to 2004, MTD had 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. A lawsuit was filed.^[3]

As a result of these accidents, Route 22 Illini PAR/FAR / Vet-Med / Orchard Downs now continues west on Chalmers St and proceeds to the original route by making a right turn on Green St. The route previously turned left from westbound Chalmers St to southbound 6th St, in which the turning motion of the bus attributed to the accident. Additionally, Route 25 Loop now continues on Green St and no longer serves the Wright St/Armory St/4th St alignment. ^[4] Drivers are being re-trained, strobe lights for turning movements have been installed on the entire fleet, and audible signals are being sounded during right-turn movements on 60-foot buses operated on 21 Quad, 26 Pack, and 13 Silver.^[5] A campaign encouraging University of Illinois students to use crosswalks and look both ways before crossing the street was also implemented.

[edit] Current Bus Routes

Weekday Daytime Routes

• 1 Yellow
• 2 Red
• 3 Lavender
• 4 Blue
• 5 Green
• 6 Orange
• 7 Grey
• 8 Orchard Downs
• 9A/9B Brown
• 10 Gold
• 13 Silver
• 14 Urbana Employee Shuttle
• 15 Urbana Link
• 24 Scamp
• 25 Loop
• 27 Air Bus
• Northeast Direct
• West Direct

Weekday Evening & Late Night Routes

• 50 Green
• 70 Grey
• 80 Orchard Downs
• 100 Yellow
• 130 Silver
• 150 Urbana Link
• Southeast Direct
• Southwest Direct

Saturday Daytime, Evening, & Late Night Routes

• 20 Red
• 27 Air Bus
• 30 Lavender
• 50 Green
• 70 Grey
• 80 Orchard Downs
• 100 Yellow
• 130 Silver
• 150 Urbana Link
• Southeast Direct
• Southwest Direct Daytime
• Southwest Direct Evening

Sunday Daytime & Late Night Routes

• 27 Air Bus
• 50 Green
• 70 Grey
• 80 Orchard Downs
• 100 Yellow
• 130 Silver
• 150 Urbana Link
• Southeast Direct
• Southwest Direct

University of Illinois Campus Transportation

• 21 Quad
• 21 Quad Limited
• 22 Illini
• 23 Shuttle
• 26 Pack

• SafeRides: provides safe transportation to individuals who are generally traveling alone when no other means of safe transportation are available within the designated SafeRides boundaries. There is a maximum limit of three people per pick-up location except Illini Union, Illinois Street Residence Halls and the Main Library at Armory & Wright.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• All routes, schedules, and maps
• Champaign-Urbana streetcar history — A work in progress