ILLINOIS — Ridership on Rides Mass Transit District routes for the previous fiscal year increased nearly six percent.

Almost 718,300 passengers utilized public transportation on RMTD’s routes in the fiscal year which ended June 30.

RMTD provides door-to-door transportation by serving as the public transit provider in 17 counties in southeastern and east central Illinois.

In addition to travelling locally, passengers can gain access to regional destinations such as St. Louis, Champaign, Springfield, Charleston, Evansville, Indiana, Terre Haute, Indiana and Paducah, Kentucky.

Recently, RMTD has partnered with Southern Illinois University to provide Saluki Express bus services around Carbondale and has broken ground on a new park-and-ride transit hub in Marion which is expected to be completed in 2019.

RMTD is the largest rural public transit provider in Illinois.