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IL should expand its intercity bus program
Campaign, IL is just one of many cities that would benefit from expanding intercity bus.
The fastest way to build stronger connections across the state
Illinois has scores of valuable assets widely scattered across the state—major employers, tourism sites, popular parks, and colleges and universities. Making them more accessible is critical to the state’s health.
The quickest way to improve access would be to expand Illinois’s modest intercity bus program and integrate it into the intercity rail program. (Intercity buses are currently part of the transit division.)
Three key goals
Expanding intercity bus service within the passenger rail program will achieve three key goals:
- Add missing frequencies to existing passenger rail routes. For example, Champaign, home to the University of Illinois, has line only two departures in the morning and one in the evening. But, people need to travel throughout the day. Buses can fill the gaps until the infrastructure can be built to add daily train departures. This is true on all existing Amtrak routes.
- Add service where none now exists, in advance of Amtrak service. For example, Illinois has long planned to add train service to Moline, but the project is more expensive than anticipated. Illinois should supplement the existing Burlington Trailways bus service with five or six departures throughout the day while additional funds are sought and construction completed.
- Add smaller towns into the network. Illinois has scores of towns like Jacksonville—i.e., small communities where driving is currently the only option for getting to other towns and cities, and where there are no plans for rail service. These communities could support—and will benefit immensely from—access to intercity buses.
Passengers should be able to buy bus tickets throughout the state on Amtrak.com.
California is a great model
Illinois can look to California for a great model of this kind of planning.
For example, Amtrak’s San Joaquins line through the Central Valley uses buses for all three purposes.
- There are multiple bus connections along the 300+ mile route.
- Buses fill frequency gaps north of Stockton.
- Buses are filling the missing gap between Bakersfield and Los Angeles until the high-speed tunnels can be built.
Roughly half of rides on the San Joaquins involve a transfer to an Amtrak Thruway bus.
California’s integrated bus and passenger rail network makes it possible to travel throughout the state with one ticket.
Buses are filling the gap between Bakersfield, CA and Los Angeles until the high-speed tunnels can be built.
Making this work
Making this partnership work will require three fundamentals:
- Bus schedules should be coordinated with Amtrak, so that passengers can conveniently
connect between buses and trains. It should be possible to buy bus-only tickets at Amtrak.com. - The intercity bus program should have the same priority within IDOT as intercity passenger rail, and it should be supported with appropriate funding levels. Giving intercity buses the focus and stable funding streams they deserve will eliminate the kind of upheaval Chicago has recently experienced over the fate of its bus station.
- Broadly, planning for passenger rail and intercity bus service should be guided by a vision for connecting Illinois with quality, affordable travel options that allow people to travel to any part of the state without driving.
The most effective way to achieve this level of integration would be through a unified intercity rail and intercity bus division within the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Get Involved
The Illinois General Assembly is debating the future transit and regional rail right now. The package should include a State Railway Program to invest in bridges, trainsets, and better track.
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