New buses arrive as ridership holds steady

The Sangamon Mass Transit District Board of Trustees kicked off its meeting with a peek behind the scenes at how our bus system is changing. First up: new vehicles and training. The transit director reported that the first of 11 new buses has finally arrived, with the rest expected by the end of the year. Staff also took a larger-than-usual group to a major transit expo and conference in Chicago, each coming back with different ideas and takeaways for improving local service. Operations followed with a heads-up for riders: a server issue has been quietly affecting real-time passenger info from bus stops and texts, and staff are actively troubleshooting the glitch. Despite a slight dip compared to last September, fixed-route ridership is still up for the fiscal year. If you ride SMTD — or wish you could rely on it more — this is a good snapshot of where things are headed and what’s happening behind the scenes before the budget spreadsheets ever hit the screen.

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