The Sangamon Mass Transit District Board of Trustees packed a lot into this meeting, from frozen brakes to 1.4 million rides.
Highlights from the clip:
- Operations staff flagged some odd ridership numbers on a few routes and are digging into the reporting system to make sure the data is right — right after dealing with buses that wouldn’t cooperate in the cold.
- The board weighed a behind-the-scenes but important upgrade to its servers and storage. Staff walked through a multi-phase plan, competitive quotes under the federal threshold, and why one local vendor came in as the lowest qualified bid.
- A change to how far in advance riders can reserve trips raised questions about the on-demand app, the 16-hour reservation window, and making sure people don’t end up late for work. Staff talked about adjusting the tech, gathering rider feedback and even delaying changes if needed.
- Trustees quickly approved a requested change with no opposition, then shifted to a big-picture review.
- An annual recap laid out record fixed-route and paratransit ridership, facility and technology upgrades, better state operating support, a clean audit, and what’s coming next: a new walkway, hub expansion, a secondary hub site, night service improvements, and more.
If you ride SMTD — or just see the buses go by — this gives a clearer picture of what’s happening behind the scenes and what might change for riders next.
