City Bus History

Buses first appeared on the streets of Champaign-Urbana for a very short time in 1901. The Illinois Motor Transit Company introduced service which only lasted from February to December of that year.

In 1925, buses were used in conjunction with street cars. This saved the Illinois Light and Power Company, the owner of the trolley system, the expense of laying rails and paving streets in some parts of the Twin Cities. Best of all, it allowed transit to go where ever streets were located.

One of the City Line's buses ca.1925National City Bus Lines, a subsidiary of General Motors, bought the trolley lines from Illinois Power & Light Company in October 1936 for $53,000. Within a month, all trolley operations were ceased and buses became the predominate mode of public transportation in C-U. National City Lines operated the system under the name Champaign-Urbana City Lines for the next 30 years.

City Lines operated the system through WWII. Ridership peaked at one million passengers for the year of 1958. This peak was followed by a gradual decline in ridership caused by America's ever increasing use of the automobile for primary transportation. The company raised fares in order to cover costs causing riders to be even more reluctant to use the system. When National City Lines realized they could not make a profit they sold the system to Westover Transit Management Corporation in 1965.

In a story that appeared in the November 17, 1970 Champaign-Urbana Courier, P.E. Cherry, then manager, described the state of affairs as, "declining ridership, 22 year old buses and deficit spending." A request was made to the Illinois Commerce Commission by the City Lines to cease operation. The hearing on the petition was put on hold in lieu of a referendum to create a mass transit district. The issue was voted on November 24, 1970 and was overwhelmingly approved. The first director, Thomas Evans, had been hired the previous April for $16,000 a year.

The first board of trustees of the newly formed Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District was appointed December 15, 1970. On the five member board were Warren Burgard, Mrs. Helen Smith, Karl Tauber (chairman)he, Prof. Lachlan Blair, and James Benefiel. Their first meeting was held the following Friday at the Bank of Illinois.

Operations in the new Transit District began August 2, 1971. Fare was 30¢ and transfers were (and still are) free. The District leased buses and property at 501 N. 5th Street from the City Lines. It was announced May 13, 1971 that a federal grant of $260,608 was approved and a promise of an additional $86,869 for the purchase of fifteen new buses. Ten used buses were purchased from Peoria.

The Ten of the new GM buses were put on public display Friday, July 30, 1971. They were painted in one of four different colors; Red, Blue, Green, and Lavender. The color of the bus designated which route it would operate on. One of the buses was set up as a temporary "restaurant," where a light lunch was offered inside of Lincoln Square Mall. The buses were also shown off in a parade that day, which traveled from Downtown Urbana, down Green Street through Campus, then north on First to Downtown Champaign and on to West Side Park, where they were put on display.

The plan of painting the buses a variety of colors expanded with the system. The Yellow and White Routes were added and a Red and White stripped bus was created for a Christmas "Shop and Ride" project. The driver passed out candy canes and the fare was only 10¢. The last bus to be painted a unique color was the "Generic Bus" which was an olive green and operated at a reduced fare. These last two buses might show up an any route at any time.

Originally, in 1971, operators worked as much as 12 straight hours a day with no breaks and a 55 hour 6 day work week. Overtime was paid at a rate of time and one-half for work over 48 hours in a week. One week of vacation was offered after one year of employement with no sick time plan. After 5 years two weeks of vacation was offered. The hourly rate was $2.47.

The MTD has had a close working relationship with the University of Illinois since its creation. In 1973 two Campus routes were created, the Illi and the Orchard Downs. The Illi provided service nearly identical to the present day Quad route. The Orchard Downs remain virtually unchanged from its inception. U of I students paid 10¢ a ride or they could purchase a semester pass for $20.

On March 1, 1973, James Mansbridge was named Managing Director of the Mass Transit District. He was hired to replace Tom Evans, who had resigned the previous October to accept a position in Phoenix, Arizona. The most sweeping change implemented by Mansbridge was the creation of the grid system, which went into effect August 27, 1973. Eleven new routes were added, the Shop and Ride program was suspended, and the fare was reduced from 30¢ to 25¢. The color-coded buses were also done away with. Route names were changed to a street/number system, such as the Vine 12, and the Bradley 3. Some were named for the area they covered such as the Campus 7 and the Central Belt 5. Mansbridge resigned, effective December 1, 1973, the "grid system" was discontinued in favor of the old "loop" system January 2, 1974.

In the early 70's the District faced one of the same problems the American public faced, fuel shortage. Bus service was reduced by cutting 6 of the 23 buses the District operated to save fuel. Buses were also operated with no A/C, engines were to be shut down on layovers of more than 3 minutes, and frequency of bus service was decreased from 15 to 30 minutes. An emergency fuel shipment on September 15, 1973 help prevent a system wide shutdown.

After Mansbridge resigned C. Lynn Watson served as Interim Director. On Monday, January 25, 1974, 25 year old William Volk took over as Managing Director. Volk, a graduate of Indiana University, had been assistant director at the Ft. Wayne, Indiana mass transit system. In his first month as director he was to oversee the return to the loop system. The return was welcomed by the public by a 10% increase in ridership.

Soon after Mr. Volk's arrival the now familiar MTD logo was created, which was based on the international symbol for bus stops. Its use was started around October 1, 1974. Another landmark for the first year of Volk's career was the hiring of Gayle Novak, the first female driver.

The N. 5th St. Facility. The Architecture firm of Berger and Kelly Associates presented plans for a garage - office facility, to be built at 803 E. University in Urbana March 29, 1974. The site was formerly where the Big 4 round house was located. After scaling back the plans and making modifications the board finally approved a final draft of the plans on September 20, 1974. Some demolition of the old roundhouse had to be completed before construction could begin. Finally ground breaking took place Tuesday, February 18, 1975. The project was completed and use of the facility started November 1, 1974. A public open house was held April 25, 1975.

In 1984 national recognition for the MTD was given when it was listed as having the 7th best transportation system in America, by USA Today. The District has received the American Public Transit Associations Outstanding Achievement Award twice, in 1986 and 1994. In 1986 the Swedish Public Transportation Association chose Champaign-Urbana as one of Eight "Chosen Cities."

The relationship between the District and the U of I has also continued to grow. In April of 1989 the students passed a referendum of a one year trial of the MTD providing a Campus Transportation System. The project proved to be a great success and continues to this day.

The District continues to grow. Today the MTD carries more than 10 million passengers per year. The storage and repair facility and main offices have expanded to the Plywood Minnesota building to the east, which more than doubles our storage capability. The Illinois Terminal was completed in 1999 and provides the MTD with an enclosed transfer station and an extra form of income through the leasing of office space.