Connect Transit, is the name that Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System ,is doing business as, and is the primary public transit provider Bloomington–Normal, Illinois. The system consists of 16 fixed routes including the Illinois State University Redbird Express. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

Unlike other transit systems in downstate Illinois, Connect Transit is not a mass transit district. Rather it is an intergovernmental agency of the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal. In 2025, the Bloomington City Council and Normal Town Council approved resolutions allowing Connect Transit to operate beyond it boundaries. The resolution will allow the McLean County Government to establish its own intergovernmental agreement with Connect Transit to operate service in the rural parts of the County. On July 1, 2025, Connect Transit launched Connect GO, a demand-response service dedicated to serving rural McLean County.

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 on Front Street across from the McLean County Law & Justice Center. Nine routes have one terminus here. The Green, Red, and Lime routes serve both locations.

A new Downtown Bloomington Transit Center is being planned to replace the existing Front Street location. It will be located at the city-owned Market Street Parking Garage (which is expected to be demolished) three blocks north of the current site. Officials expect the new facility to open in late 2026 or early 2027.

The Olive route that ran along Normal's north side was eliminated on July 1, 2019, due to low ridership.

Beginning in August 2026, Connect Transit plans to launch two new routes. One route will connect ISU's main campus in Normal with its new engineering campus in east Bloomington along General Electric Road and is expected to have 20 minute headways on weekdays and 30 minute headways on weekends. The other new route will connect Heartland Community College's Normal campus with its campus in Pontiac in neighboring Livingston County. It will have three daily departures from Monday through Thursday and make stops in Towanda, Lexington, and Chenoa

Route List Route NameNorthern/Western TerminusSouthern/Eastern TerminusInterval (min) AquaDowntown BloomingtonGreyhound & Southgate60 mins BlueShoppes at College HillsDowntown Bloomington60 mins 30 mins (Peak hour) BrownBloomington WalmartUptown Station60 mins GoldCarle BroMennDowntown Bloomington60 mins GreenUptown StationDowntown Bloomington15 mins or 30 mins (weekend) LimeUptown StationDowntown Bloomington30 mins OrangeDowntown BloomingtonHamilton Rd & State Farm Plaza60 mins PinkSchool St & Northfield DrUptown Station30 mins or 60 mins (Sundays) PurpleDowntown BloomingtonShoppes at College Hills60 mins or 30 mins RedUptown StationDowntown Bloomington30 mins MintNormal WalmartShoppes at College HillsMon-Fri30 Mins Redbird ExpressCardinal CourtBeaufort St & School St5 - 7 mins or 20 mins SapphireRivianBloomington Walmart60 mins SilverBloomington WalmartDowntown Bloomington60 mins TanUptown StationCentral Illinois Regional Airport60 mins YellowHeartland Community CollegeUptown Station30 mins or 60 mins (Sundays)

Connect FLEX In July 2023, Connect Transit launched a new microtransit service branded as Connect FLEX. The service will primarily serve a zone in southwest Bloomington and have the same hours-of-operation as the fixed-route system. For continued travel outside the zone, Connect FLEX vehicles will drop off passengers at locations such downtown Bloomington or Bloomington Walmart to allow transfers to fixed-route system.

In order to ride, passengers need to download a dedicated mobile app or call a phone number in order to notify the nearest vehicle of their trip. The cost to ride is $1.

Connect GO On July 1, 2025, Connect Transit launched a new demand-response service branded as Connect GO. The new service will serve the rural areas of McLean County not served by the urban fixed-route system.

Connect GO replaces SHOW Bus as the public transportation provider for rural McLean County, which is a result of the McLean County Board's Executive Committee voting in June 2024 to withdraw from an intergovernmental agreement with other Central Illinois counties to provide public transportation through SHOW BUS.

Unlike the urban system, policy and oversight of Connect GO will be handled by the McLean County Board rather than the Connect Transit Board. The County Board will have a say over hours and days of operation, services provided, fare policy, and its budget. Funding for Connect GO will be made up of federal Section 5311 rural transit formula funds and IDOT Downstate Operating Assistance Program (DOAP) funds rather than revenues directly from the County.

Since its launch, Connect GO has been fare-free. Connect Transit has proposed instituting a $4 one-way fare for in-county trips and $8 one-way fare for out-of-county trips, but the proposal was rejected by the McLean County Board in July 2026 and is expected to undergo revisions.

Fleet Source: Transit Fleet number(s)Model Year(s)ManufacturerModelLengthEngineTransmissionNotes309 (1 bus)retiring2003New FlyerD40LFCummins ISCZF 5HP592CEx-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. 311 & 310 were auctioned in June 2026.1001 (1 buses)2010GilligLow FloorCummins ISL9 EPA10 Allison B400R Numbered 90 prior to rebranding as Connect Transit.1101–1104 (4 buses)2011 96-99 prior to rebranding as Connect Transit.1002-1004 (3 buses)2010New FlyerD40LFR Ex-Milwaukee County Transit System, purchased in 2022.1105-1116 (12 buses)2011DE40LFRAllison H 40 EP hybrid system Ex-Champaign–Urbana Mass Transit District, purchased in 2025.1501-1505 (5 buses)2015XD40Cummins ISL9 EPA13 Allison B400R1601-1607 (7 buses)20161801-1805 (5 buses)2017Cummins L9 EPA171806-1810 (5 buses)20182101-2104 (4 buses)2021ProterraZX52201-2208 (8 buses)2022ZX5Max

Demand Response Fleet number(s)Model Year(s)ManufacturerModelLengthEngineNotes1701–1704 (4 buses)2017FordChampionE450LF TransportPropane181-189 (9 buses)2018FordStarcraftE450AllstarFord Modular 6.8L V10 Gasoline201-206 (6 buses)2020FordElkhartE450EC IIFord Godzilla 7.3L V8 Gasoline231-233 (3 buses)FordStarcraftE450Gasoline22001-22005BraunabilityRamProMaster 3500Gasoline

Fixed Route Ridership

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

See also List of bus transit systems in the United States Uptown Station

References

External links