# Connect Transit

Connect Transit, formerly Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System until 2012, is the primary provider of mass transportation in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. The system consists of 16 fixed routes including the Illinois State University Redbird Express and a Red Express route. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 2,206,100, or about 7,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2024.

## History

Until 1972, Bloomington-Normal was served by National City Lines. When the company left the region, the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal established an intergovernmental agency known as the Bloomington Normal Public Transit System, via intergovernmental agreement. The transit system operates as an independent agency governed by a board appointed by both the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal.

## Routes

Connect Transit's buses run every 15, 30, or 60 minutes, depending on the route, time of day, and day of the week. Service is offered in the day and evening hours daily, although hours are reduced on weekends. Buses do not operate on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Basic adult fare is $1.25 with free transfers. 1, 7, or 30 day bus passes are available.
Connect Transit has two main transfer centers. Uptown Station, located in Normal, is also served by Amtrak and by intercity buses. Eight routes have one terminus here. The other transfer center is two miles to the south, in downtown Bloomington. Nine routes have one terminus here. The Green, Red, and Lime routes serve both locations.
The Olive route that ran along Normal's north side was eliminated on July 1, 2019, due to low ridership.
Route List
| Route Name | Northern/Western Terminus | Southern/Eastern Terminus | Interval (min) |
| Aqua | Downtown Bloomington | Greyhound & Southgate | Daily |
| Blue | Shoppes at College Hills | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Brown | Bloomington Walmart | Uptown Station | Daily |
| Gold | Carle BroMenn | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Green | Uptown Station | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Lime | Uptown Station | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Orange | Downtown Bloomington | Hamilton Rd & State Farm Plaza | Daily |
| Pink | School St & Northfield Dr | Uptown Station | Daily |
| Purple | Downtown Bloomington | Shoppes at College Hills | Daily |
| Red | Uptown Station | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Red Express | Uptown Station | OSF Medical Group | Mon-Fri |
| Redbird Express | Cardinal Court | Beaufort St & School St | Daily |
| Sapphire | Rivian | Bloomington Walmart | Daily |
| Silver | Bloomington Walmart | Downtown Bloomington | Daily |
| Tan | Uptown Station | Central Illinois Regional Airport | Daily |
| Yellow | Heartland Community College | Uptown Station | Daily |

## Fleet

Source:

### Transit

| Fleet Number(s) | Model Year(s) | Manufacturer | Model | Length | Engine | Notes |
| 309-311 (3 buses) retiring | 2003 | New Flyer | D40LF | 40 feet (12 m) | Cummins ISC | Ex-Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District, purchased in September 2017. 310 is retrofitted with a waiting room area in the back (seats 13), two booths for meeting space (seats 8), a television and a DVD player. It is known as the #GetConnected Community Bus and it was debuted in 2018 with the goal of utilizing the bus to hold voter registration drives, fresh food markets, reading literacy nights, mobile pop-up museums and more. |
| 1001, 1101–1104 (5 buses) | 2010-2011 | Gillig | Low Floor | 35 feet (11 m) | 1001: Cummins ISL1101-1104: Cummins ISL9 | Numbered 90, 96-99 prior to rebranding as Connect Transit. |
| 1002-1004 (3 buses) | 2010 | New Flyer | D40LFR | 40 feet (12 m) | Cummins ISL9 | Ex-Milwaukee County Transit System, purchased in 2022. |
| 1501-1505, 1601-1607, 1801-1810 (22 buses) | 2015-2018 | New Flyer | XD40 | 40 feet (12 m) | Cummins ISL9 | |
| 2101-2104 (4 buses) | 2021 | Proterra | ZX5 | 35 feet (11 m) | Electric | |
| 2201-2208 (8 buses) | | Proterra | ZX5Max | 40 feet (12 m) | Electric | |

### Demand Response

| Fleet Number(s) | Model Year(s) | Manufacturer | Model | Length | Engine |
| 1701–1704 (4 buses) | 2017 | FordChampion | E450LF Transport | 26 feet (7.9 m) | Propane |
| 181-189 (9 buses) | 2018 | FordStarcraft | E450Allstar | 21 feet (6.4 m) | Ford Modular 6.8L V10 Gasoline |
| 201-206 (6 buses) | 2020 | FordElkhart | E450EC II | 21 feet (6.4 m) | Ford Godzilla 7.3L V8 Gasoline |
| 231-233 (3 buses) | | FordStarcraft | E450 | 21 feet (6.4 m) | Gasoline |
| 22001-22005 | | BraunabilityRam | ProMaster 3500 | | Gasoline |

## Fixed Route Ridership

The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response.