Madison County Transit

The Madison County Transit, MCT for short, is a bus and bike trail transportation system that serves the citizens of Madison County. It was first created in 1980 by the Madison County Board to improve transportation in Madison County, and is a completely separate transit system from St. Louis's Metro, which doesn't even operate in Madison County to this day. It operates a fleet of 73 buses, carries 8000 riders daily, 40,000 riders weekly, and over 2 million riders annually. Madison County Transit includes an express bus service from towns across Madison County to downtown St. Louis, cross county bus service for long distance services within the county, and shuttle bus service, as well as a paratransit bus service known as ACT (Agency for Community Transit). In 2008, MCT gave out Summer Break Youth Bus Passes to over 22,000 students ages 12-18. Illinois Public Act 95-0708 became effective in February of 2008, allowing all elderly/disabled people to ride bus service for free. All buses are equipped with bike racks, wheelchair lifts, and handicapped seats. Buses are also able to lower to the ground giving easier access to elderly/disabled people. In addition, MCT has owns and maintains over convert|85|mi|km of bike trails throughout Madison County. Madison County is located in Illinois approximately convert|30|mi|km northeast of St. Louis. Their mission statement is as follows: "Madison County Transit (MCT) enhances the mobility of the St. Louis region by providing multi-modal transportation services. MCT operates a fixed-route bus service locally and regionally connecting to MetroLink; express weekday commuter service directly to and from downtown St. Louis; and seasonal express service to the Rams games and the Muny. For elderly and disabled residents who are unable to use the fixed-route buses, MCT provides paratransit bus service. MCT is also responsible for the construction and maintenance of more than convert|85|mi|km of scenic Madison County bikeways known as the MCT Trails, as well as overseeing RideFinders, the St. Louis region’s FREE carpooling and vanpooling program. For more information on MCT services, routes and schedules, call [phone], Option 3, or visit www.mct.org."

External Links

1. Madison County Transit Homepage: http://www.mct.org/ 2. Madison County Transit's Bus Fares & Passes: http://www.mct.org/busServices/FaresAndPasses.aspx 3. Picture of a Madison County Transit Long Bus: http://www.mct.org/images/Long-bus5.jpg 4. Photo of an MCT Shuttle: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2567947147_0e828ed6c7.jpg?v=0 5. ACT (Agency for Community Transit) Paratransit Bus: http://www.mct.org/images/parapic.jpg 6. St. Louis MetroLink photo: http://www.metrostlouis.org/images/mainpagerotation/Metrolink_5677.jpg 7. St. Louis MetroBus photo: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/170620942_573a0efc9a.jpg?v=0 8. St. Louis MetroLink & MetroBus website: http://www.metrostlouis.org