Without promised funding from the State of Illinois, Connect Transit will institute the temporary closure of their facility and a layoff of 150 employees beginning in 2017. The public transportation system will continue operations through December 31, 2016.
Connect Transit relies on the State of Illinois to operate the system which includes 15 bus routes in Bloomington-Normal and an annual ridership of nearly 2.5 million. A state appropriation provides 65% of annual operating expenses. A payment has not been made to Connect Transit in Fiscal Year 2017, which began in July 2016.
In accordance with the WARN Act (United States Labor Law), Connect Transit has issued company wide notifications of potential service suspension and temporary employee layoffs. All employees have received notification of the budget situation and have been informed that December 31, 2016 will be their final scheduled day of employment if funding is not received by this date. All Connect Transit employees will be recalled once the money owed has been paid and service resumes.
“We are still very hopeful that the State of Illinois will resolve this issue before the end of the year and that any service suspensions will be avoided. It continues to be very important that our riders and our community come together and share their stories with state legislators so that they know how vital public transportation is to community”, said Andrew Johnson, Connect Transit general manager.
Rider and public support statements have been collected via email, USPS, and at a Town Hall meeting last week attended by Representative Dan Brady as well as staff members from other legislative offices. All items will be forwarded to area elected officials. Information on contacting elected officials can be found on the Connect Transit website.
