The start of night bus service to the University of Illinois Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College and the Sixth Street Walmart later this month should strengthen ties between downtown and the south side of the city, the head of the Springfield Mass Transit District said Thursday.
A federal grant of more than $400,000 is paying for the service, which will begin May 17.
“I think this is going to be heavily used. It’s just going to make it easier for our students,” said UIS vice chancellor for student affairs Tim Barnett.
Students frequently use day bus service to reach shopping and services elsewhere in the city, and a night route would provide one more option, including to and from downtown.
Junior Ashley Okooboh, who lives on campus, said the bus was her transportation lifeline in her freshman year, when she was without a car.
The addition of night bus service was featured in a May 7, 2010, article in The State Journal-Register.
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