The Illinois Terminal, MTD Transit Hub for Champaign The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District refers both to the greater Champaign-Urbana area in both Champaign, Illinois and Urbana, Illinois and the surrounding suburbs, and to the entity which provides transportation services and facilities to that area. Locally know as CUMTD, or simply MTD the Mass Transist District traces its history back to 1854 with the conception of the city railroad lines (and the birth of Champaign as a city).
Today the MTD serves the area with a combination of bus, taxi, train, and air service in a large part subsidized by city and county taxes. The system also serves the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where students pay for transit as part of their tuition.
History of the MTD
In 1854 the first commuter rail lines were laid west of Urbana. The city of Urbana largely 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. The station served as a stop over on the way from New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois, and vice versa. In 1909 this was expanded to also include service from Chicago to Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1901 the Illinois Motor Transit Company introduced a city bus system to the regions transportation, unfortunately they folded in under a year. A Trolley System run by the Illinois Light and Power Company quickly replaced the bus system, but was unable to lay enough tracks to fully serve the area prompting another bus system to be added in 1925 by National City Bus Lines, a subsidiary of General Motors. In 1936, as was happening in other places across the nation, General Motors purchased the trolley system from the Illinois Light and Power Company and dismantled it. 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 quite 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 with the declining ridership, aging buses, and rising deficit the lines would have to be closed. The Illinois Commerce Commission conducted a hearing on the petition to close the city lines and suggested instead of closing the lines, a referendum be drafted to create a mass transit district. 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 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 and national rail systems. The MTD also offers connections to Willard Airport, the Airport owned and operated by the University of Illinois.
The MTD Today
Today the MTD services over 10,000,000 passengers per year, and has been named the best small transit system in America, as well as recieving other awards which recognize its accomplishments when compared to even larger transit systems.
Awards and Honors
In 1984 MTD recieved national praise 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.
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