Springfield, IL – Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD) will suspend fixed route service to Chatham, Riverton, Rochester, and Sherman beginning July 5th. Fixed route service is regularly scheduled routes running set schedules. Pre-scheduled service will be available beginning on that date.
“SMTD continues to experience manpower shortages resulting in considerable overtime, including mandatory overtime,” said Steve Schoeffel, SMTD’s Managing Director. “In the multiple years we have provided this fixed route service, including a couple of different iterations to try to improve ridership, we just have not reached a level to sustain the amount of work hours it takes to put the service on the streets.”
The transit industry nationally is experiencing personnel issues as have multiple nontransportation industries since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are actively addressing hiring challenges and retention of existing employees at SMTD, but we are still experiencing shortages that are affecting the amount of service we’re able to offer,”Schoeffel added. “Our priority has to be the service within our district which serves the vast majority of residents in need of public transportation, but we still want to offer transportation in those outlying areas.”
Residents in the Chatham, Riverton, Rochester, and Sherman communities can still schedule transportation through SMTD. Rides must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance by calling SMTD’s Access Paratransit number, 217-522-8594. Callers should state they ride the fixed route service in whichever community they are from and that they are calling to schedule a ride. Passengers calling now to schedule rides replacing the fixed route service in, to, or from their community will need to clarify to continue to pay the same $1.00 fare.
From more information on SMTD, visit the website at www.SMTD.org.