Connect Transit finalizes plans for Rivian bus route

Posted on August 24, 2022

*For the first month, Connect Transit won’t charge fares on the Cobalt Line to encourage people to try the new service. (Facebook/Connect Transit)*

NORMAL – Bloomington-Normal’s public transit system will launch a new west side route serving the local Rivian plant starting October 2 following action Tuesday by the Connect Transit Board of Trustees.

It will be called the Cobalt Line because Rivian is one of the first electric vehicle makers not to use cobalt in their batteries, said Connect Transit staff.

Trustees approved the new U-shaped route running from Uptown Normal to the Rivian plant, then heading east to Downtown Bloomington.

Along the way, the bus will make several stops along West College Avenue and West Market Street, providing service to the west side Walmart and OSF PromptCare on Rivian Motorway, said Connect Transit Board President Ryan Whitehouse.

Buses will run every 30 minutes during peak hours seven days a week.

To help pay for the new service, Connect Transit is eliminating the Lime Express route, which served a smaller portion of the west side.

The increase in service will cost almost $650,000, with 65% paid for by the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Downstate Operation Program. The rest will come from local Connect Transit dollars and federal grants, according to the general manager’s report.

For the first month, Connect Transit won’t charge fares on the Cobalt Line to encourage people to try the new service.

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