Congressman Eric Sorensen celebrates Connect Flex 1-year anniversary in Bloomington-Normal

BLOOMINGTON — Local elected officials celebrated the first anniversary of Connect Transit's Connect Flex service Tuesday with a visit from U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, DRockford. "This on-demand program makes getting around even easier for seniors and veterans and families, and it represents what we can accomplish when we listen to the needs of our neighbors and then respond together, working across party lines to find the ways to meet the needs," Sorensen said. "As I work in Congress to make sure that our neighborhoods are stronger and more sustainable, I'll be focused on how we can bring the tax dollars that you pay back to our communities. Not just now, but in the future."

Sorensen and others made the trip out to Connect Transit's facility at 351 Wylie Drive in Normal to highlight the success of the Connect Flex service launching just over a year ago.

Connect Flex is an on-demand transit program allows anyone in Bloomington-Normal to book rides at a moment's notice through the Connect Flex app or by phone. Since it began last summer, Connect Flex has provided about 172 rides per day, with a total of 56,297 rides. More than 245 riders have taken more than 50 trips, giving an average ride rating of 4.9 out of 5. "Most of us will have a tendency to shrink, but with this particular service, Connect Transit had the vision to really think critically about the needs of the community and build this new service," said Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe. "As we continue to chip away at the lingering effects that COVID had on our communities, I can't help but feel optimism about the future of Connect Transit."

Mwilambwe said Connect Transit's commitment to serving the community, especially those in underserved areas like southwest Bloomington, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and creating new services has been "fantastic."

The overall ridership for the system is at 2,302,225 for fiscal year 2024, which is about 91% of the system's pre-pandemic ridership of 2,533,469 in fiscal year 2019.

Mwilambwe added he is also excited for the development of the new downtown public transportation station at the West Market Street parking deck, which he hopes will be completed in January 2026.

"I've had the pleasure of serving this organization, and I've seen firsthand what the service provides to this community and what we do here is we provide service to the people of this community," said Ryan Whitehouse, chairman of the Connect Transit's Board of Trustees. "When we talked about this service, it was a new idea, and if you know me, new ideas kind of make me scared and … I have been pleasantly surprised."

Connect Transit's Managing Director David Braun said in the past few years they have seen a lot of changes in the way people commute and have implemented changes to increase ridership.

One of those solutions was to provide access to all active military personnel and veterans in 2022 with the Star Pass program, which allows them to ride for free and never expires.

Braun said since they have started the Star Pass program, Connect Transit has been able to provide 183 passes and offered around 47,500 rides or about 2,500 rides a month.

"So we're doing significantly better, primarily due to some of the different things that we're trying to do to enhance our service to our community," Braun said. "We'll continue to find ways to serve our growing community, our expanding workforce and our aging population."