By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Faced with community backlash for raising fares and eliminating a bus route, the Connect Transit Board of Trustees on Tuesday created a working group to develop transit system recommendations.

Members of the Connect to the Future panel will be named at a special meeting May 14. Trustee Judy Buchanan will chair the working group and develop recommendations this fall, about the time fare hikes are supposed to take effect.

“There has probably been more conversation about local transit in the recent months than I can recall in a very long time, so that’s the good news. The bad news is of course we do have challenges,” said Buchanan.

“We are here to tell you, we hear you,” she added.

Trustee Julie Hile will also serve on the panel. Earlier, seven of the eight speakers addressing the board at its monthly meeting voiced their opposition to the fare increases and elimination of a low-ridership route taking passengers from Main and Orlando in Normal to east of Veterans Parkway.

Normal Township Trustee Arlene Hosea pleaded with Connect Transit trustees to reconsider their decisions by taking into account about 40 emails that they didn’t see prior to last month’s votes.

“It is not shameful for you to go back and to say let’s revisit this. Let’s meet with those individuals, only those individuals who wrote those emails. Let’s talk to them and let’s show that we do care about the people. This is your moment,” said Hosea.

Connect Transit Trustee John Bowman blasted the transit system for “very muddy” communication that led to the backlash.

“I don’t think anyone really articulated why the Olive (route) needed to go away beyond the fact that focusing on one or two stops and the count numbers there, said Bowman.

“There has got to be a better reason, frankly, for cutting a route, and that’s got to be communicated or you’re going to have a negative reaction from the community every time you try to do this,” Bowman added.

Bowman’s comments won applause from the audience, but Board Chairman Mike McCurdy countered there were 14 community engagement sessions before the board took action.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]