New bus service to the Rivian electric vehicle plant begins on Sunday. Connect Transit will debut the Sapphire route.
The service will be free for the first month, but those who transfer on or off the route will still need to pay a fare, transit officials said.
The route will run daily every 30 minutes during peak times from downtown Bloomington to the west Bloomington Walmart and Rivian Motorway and then to Uptown Normal.
Service will begin weekday mornings at 5:10 a.m. It will resume at 2:10 p.m. each afternoon. Weekend service will begin at 5:40 a.m.
“This route will serve an area that does not currently have service and offers opportunities for employment and business growth,” Connect Transit general manager David Braun said. “Our Sapphire route is one more thread that pulls the fabric of our community together and benefits everyone.”
The new route comes at the transit agency recently announced it was reducing the frequency of some routes because of a driver shortage.
