In 2015 and 2016, Nelson\Nygaard helped Connect Transit completely redesign its service in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The new network has shorter routes designed to serve specific markets, coordinated schedules that make it easy to transfer, and more frequent service to desired destinations. Services previously designed to only serve Illinois State University students were integrated with the broader Connect Transit network. New dedicated operating funding also allowed Connect Transit to add Sunday service for the first time.
The new network and service were launched on August 15, with an inaugural ride on the Green route connecting Uptown Normal to Downtown Bloomington. “It’s a dramatic redesign,” says Boris Palchik, who led the transformation of the Connect Transit network from a collection of long circuitous routes to a simpler grid network. “It’s a fundamentally different approach—much more user friendly, much more likely to attract choice riders, and a better use of resources.”