New bus routes implemented by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) met mixed reactions during the first days of the semester.

MTD did away with the 26 PACK and the 21 QUAD. The changes took effect on August 16. New campus lines began on August 21, making the first day of classes the real test for students.

“It is all confusing,” said Jason Motsinger, junior in Agriculture and Biological Engineering. “I missed my bus because I was expecting one of the cancelled ones.”

Some students were aware of the new routes, yet still had some problems.

“I knew they were going to change the routes,” said Katy Malinowski, a sophomore in mathematics. “I didn’t know they were going to be completely different.”

Graduate students have often relied on Orchard Downs for transportation to and from campus.

“I knew about the changes,” said Steve Gump, a graduate student pursing a PHD in Education. “I didn’t figure they would go away with my line, Orchard Downs.”

Leaders for MTD believe people will eventually find the changes to be beneficial.

“I think folks that were familiar with the service, that were here last year, have a little bit of a learning curve to understand the new routes,” said Jan Kigowski, marketing director for MTD.

To help both new and returning students, MTD services “had staff and operators out on the street, at key locations on campus, trying to help people get their bearings and make sure they get on the right bus to get where they need to go on time,” Kigowski said.

“We spent a lot of time getting the word out as best we could…and made sure that everybody was made aware of the changes before they had to get to their first morning class.”

People can still find busses to take them to their desired destinations even though the routes have different names, Kigowski said.

“As soon as everyone gets used to the differences, I think they will realize it is much easier to understand and they have better service now,” she added.

Other students find the change more beneficial than the previous schedule.

The 22 Illini now comes every 10 minutes, while it used to come once every half hour. That makes getting around easier, said David Miosi, a senior in Economics.

“It was really inconvenient because I live off campus,” said Maria Zarif, graduate student in law. “Now, with the changes it will be really easy to go off and on campus.”