NORMAL —The Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System is implementing a series of changes to its public transport bus service, making life a lot easier for its riders.

In the first of several changes, B-NPTS changed its name to “Connect Transit.” The B-NPTS Board of Trustees approved the name change on May 22. B-NPTS started operating under the name “Connect Transit” on August 13.

“Actually the name is something that we worked with a design firm to come up with and we wound up approving it,” said Connect Transit General Manager Andrew Johnson. “We went through a whole research process. Looked at many different possibilities — many different types of names and ‘Connect’ really seemed to sum up everything that we do, connecting Bloomington with Normal, with work, school, and everything else that we do.”
Also on August 13, Connect Transit relocated its Uptown Normal transfer point located near the Illinois State University residence hall Watterson Towers to the brand new Uptown Station, 11 Uptown Circle, Normal. Connect Transit staff were on site at the Uptown Station and the old transfer point near Watterson Towers to ensure that riders were able to make a smooth transition from the old transfer point to the new one.
“The people who use old hub — mostly ISU students — have gotten used to the relocation,” said Johnson.
The new transfer point has amenities the old transfer point didn’t have, including restrooms, an indoor waiting area and a Subway restaurant. Riders can board buses in a covered bus lane that protects them from the elements, at the new transfer point. Eventually, Connect Transit would like to have these amenities at all its transfer points.
“It is a goal for Connect Transit to eventually have infrastructure at all of its transfer points,” said Johnson. “Uptown Station allows us to take the first step in achieving that goal and we are excited to better serve our customers by moving into this first-class facility.”
Aside from the change in transfer points, there will be no changes in any of the bus routes serving Uptown Normal.
Another new amenity for riders, Connect Transit has installed “Automatic Vehicle Location Systems,” online in-bus tracking systems, inside all of its buses. The Automatic Vehicle Location System allows riders to physically watch their bus in action online on a computer or smartphone, through software called DoubleMap. DoubleMap tracks all 11 of Connect Transit’s fixed bus routes, as well as the Tri-Towers and College Station shuttle buses.
A DoubleMap mobile app is available for the Android and iPhone. It features real-time bus updates, an easy-to-use website for riders, cross-platform mobile apps, and in-bus GPS tracking system, a 24/7 support structure, an innovative admin interface and robust field reports.
“Allows them to plan their day so they don’t have to worry whether the bus is running a couple of minutes late or not,” said Johnson. “They can just look online, see it, and get to that stop when they know it’s down the road.”
Within the next two months, Connect Transit will install a large monitor at the Uptown Station transfer point that will display a GPS map of all its buses in action.
In the future, Connect Transit plans to install infrared beams in their buses to track what transfer points riders most frequently exit. They will also install infrastructure that will better assist the hearing impaired who ride its buses, in the future.
Connect Transit recently painted its logo and new color scheme on its newer buses. They will soon paint the Connect Transit logo and new color scheme on its older buses.
Connect Transit, formerly known as the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System, has provided safe, reliable and affordable public transportation to the Bloomington-Normal community since 1972. In fiscal year 2012, the transit system posted an all-time record for ridership with nearly 2.1 million boardings.