Riding

You may board an MTD bus at any bus stop sign along its scheduled route. Each bus stop sign represents a designated stop and all boardings and alightings take place at designated stops. While MTD Operators make every effort to operate on schedule, please remember that traffic and other factors may affect arrival times. To ensure that you catch your bus, make sure that you’re at your stop a few minutes before it is scheduled to depart and keep an eye on the real-time info at the stop, on the web, or on your favorite app. When your bus is arriving, give the Operator a wave to let them know you'll be boarding their bus.

Once the bus has come to a stop and the door opens, step on. The Operator will kneel the bus or extend the ramp upon request if you need help boarding the bus.

After paying your fare, please sit in the first available seat, keeping in mind that the first few seats may be reserved for those with special needs. If no seats are available, please stand in the area by the rear door and secure yourself. You should only stand near the front if the bus is full, and always behind the white line painted just behind the Operator’s seat.

For customers who have never used public transportation, it can be intimidating to start. At MTD, we work to make sure our passengers have all the information they need to travel confidently.

Accessible Vehicles

All vehicles in MTD’s fleet (buses and vans) are equipped with a ramp or lift and wheelchair securements in our accessible seating areas. Our Operators are happy to kneel, or, lower the bus and deploy the ramp at your request. If you need help securing your mobility device once on board, please ask!

Prioritized Seating

Riders with disabilities and senior riders have seating priority on MTD’s fixed-route service. The seats at the front of the bus are prioritized for these riders.

Audio Announcements

All of our passenger information kiosks and fixed-route buses are equipped with annunciators to assist individuals who have visual impairments. Automated on-board announcements are made at major intersections and destination time points (the columns that make up our schedules), as well as major transfer points. Stop announcements can also be made by our Operators when requested by a passenger on board.

A system for externally audible announcements is currently being developed, and once active, will provide for additional, external announcements of bus route information when the doors open at stops served by more than one route.

Yes, Service Animals are allowed on board MTD vehicles. Service Animals must either fit on a rider’s lap or on the floor. Animals may not take up a seat or block the aisle.

The best way to plan an MTD trip is to use mtd.org on mobile or web. You have several other options:

• Plan it yourself using our Maps & Schedules Book.
• Use any number of third-party apps.
• Give us a call at 217.384.8188 for assistance.

Looking to plan a school trip? We have a special school trip planner just for you.

No problem. Please watch the video below to see how easy & flexible the Trip Planner tool is on mtd.org. Just type the beginning of any place, bus stop, or address into the white bar under "Get to what matters," and choose your destination from the choices in the lists below. Choose "Travel from here" or "Travel to here," enter your destination/origin, and click "Plan your trip." Voila! And if you need to modify that trip, or switch directions, it's simple and can be done right on the results page.

Following our evening service, MTD offers five late night fixed-routes, operating after midnight during Illinois' Fall and Spring Semesters. The routes are the 50 Green, 100 Yellow, 120 Teal, 130 Silver, and 220 Illini.

Fixed-route service is what most people just call, "bus service." The MTD buses and vans (such as on the 11/110 Ruby) that you see driving defined routes every day, all over our community are what we refer to as fixed-route service.

Don't worry, this happens all the time. We'll be happy to search for your lost item. MTD maintains a Lost and Found Service for just this reason. Lost Item Reports are completed for items lost in the same service day. Please call MTD’s Administration and Operations Facility at 217.384.8188 to file a report. Please be prepared to give detailed trip information such as route, direction, bus stops, and travel times.

If more than a day has passed, customers are advised to contact MTD’s Illinois Terminal. All lost items are logged and stored at the Customer Service Center for two weeks. You may call the Illinois Terminal Customer Service Center at 217.384.3577 or visit in person to inquire. Items are taken to Illinois Terminal throughout the day, but a significant amount of items are taken in the morning. Passengers are advised to call after 9:00 a.m. to inquire about individual items. Lost items must be identified and picked up within two weeks. MTD is not responsible for items left on buses, in shelters, or on any MTD property.

Because of the high quantity of lost items processed by MTD, we require that lost items be identified and picked up within two weeks. Items left in MTD's possession for longer than two weeks are donated to local organizations such as The Salvation Army. MTD is not responsible for items left on buses, in shelters, or at any MTD property, but we're happy to look for them if you file a report.

Easy! Every MTD bus and van is equipped with a bike rack on the front of the vehicle.

Each bike rack holds 2 bicycles.

For many, a one-way trip is just $1. You can pay using coins, $1 bills, or the Token Transit app. All University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff ride MTD by showing their University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign i-Card. Others may be eligible for fare-free or reduced-fare transportation on MTD via DASH card, Veteran Pass, Unit 4 or District 116 school pass, or student token.

You can buy an Annual ($60) or Monthly ($20) pass at Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign or on the Token Transit app. You may also purchase an All-Day Pass on Saturdays or Sundays from any Operator for just $2 per day.

Active passes are displayed under “My Passes,” which immediately appears when the Token Transit app is opened.

Yes, you may purchase and store fares or passes. Once multiple fares or passes are purchased, you may activate as many at a time as you like. If you are traveling with others, and have activated multiples on a single device, simply show the first activated pass to the Operator, which will note how many passes are currently activated.

Yes, MTD's bus and van services, including ADA Paratransit, do not provide service seven full days and two evenings per year to allow our Operators, Maintenance employees, and Staff time off for New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve (evening service only), Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve (evening service only). Please make other arrangements for travel on these days and give us a call at 217.384.8188 with any questions.

MTD's Illinois Terminal is open 365 days per year to allow for intercity bus and passenger rail access to and from the region.

MTD's Customer Service Desk at Illinois Terminal is open for business from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. The Customer Service Desk (but not the Illinois Terminal building) is closed New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

Thanks so much for the bus love! We welcome community involvement. You might consider supporting the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois' Bus Passes for Social Services program, participating in MTD's Adopt-a-Shelter program, or applying to serve on MTD's Board of Trustees.

Have another idea to partner together? Reach out and let us know.

Help us help the District thrive! MTD's Adopt-a-Shelter Program covers approximately 100 bus shelters in Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy, and on the University of Illinois campus. Anyone with an interest is invited to apply; those interested may include individuals, businesses, community groups, and student associations. Everyone is welcome to send in an application. Adopters will be acknowledged in our promotions and with a sticker affixed to the shelter.

Adopters will be given a (one time) Monthly Pass and cleaning supplies such as a broom and dustpan, squeegee and spray bottle, and trash bags. It is asked that the adopter clean his/her shelter at least once each month during the one-year term. Responsibilities include cleaning the shelter windows, picking/sweeping up litter, and ensuring that up-to-date information is posted at the shelter. It is asked that MTD is immediately notified of any damage, vandalism, or unsafe condition so that we may quickly rectify such problems. The time commitment varies, but we ask that Adopters make time to regularly check on the shelter.

MTD has a dedicated Maintenance team that routinely cares for our bus shelters. There’s nothing better, however, than having someone keep an eye on things who is frequently at the shelter. The adopter can readily note day-to-day changes and problems that may arise. It’s extremely important that the waiting environment be safe and tidy for our customers and your neighbors. Contact us at engage@mtd.org today!