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RMTD Touts Improved Transfer Center
By Jermaine Pigee, assistant managing editor ockford Mass Transit District’s Machesney Park and Belvidere. The 40 downtown transfer center is getting buses operate 18 routes Monday through a $7 million makeover. Saturday with six night routes and six Located at 501 W. State St., Rockroutes on Sunday. ford, the center is more than 30 years old The improvement project is divided and updates are a long time coming, says into two phases. The first one was comLisa Brown, marketing and public relapleted in February and included a comtions specialist for RMTD. plete overhaul of the inside of the transfer “We have about 4,000 people on our center at a cost of just over $4 million. buses everyday and about half of them The second phase is focused on the bustransfer downtown,” Brown says. “So, ing configuration outdoors. for 30 years, we’ve had 2,000 people a Since the completion of the first day going to that building and it’s taken a phase, the transfer center has more toll on it. The building went through a lot space, is brighter and features upof wear and tear. It needed to be refreshed dated amenities including better into give our passengers a much nicer waitformation system displays, charging ing environment.” stations for mobile devices, improved Since 1971, RMTD has been prosurveillance equipment and a large, viding affordable transportation to area oversized route board that provides residents. It offers fixed route and parareal-time bus arrival information. transit services in Rockford, Loves Park, “Basically, we took the old
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May 22
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building, used about 90 percent of the existing structure and extended that property, so we doubled the footprint of what was originally there and it gave us a new facility,” Brown says. “Passengers will be able to see exactly when their bus will arrive in an easier format,” Brown says. “The board has all the routes and will notify passengers if their bus is on time or delayed.”
