Getting Around, Springfield Travel, Transport and Car Rental
(Springfield, Illinois - IL, USA)
As the capital of Illinois, Springfield enjoys excellent transport connections to the rest of the city, with the various travel options being enhanced by its relatively central location in the state.
The downtown district is a very organized network of roads, based on a grid system. Numbered streets run north to south and begin with 1st Street, which connects the Illinois State Capitol and other places of interest. The principal east to west streets in downtown Springfield tend to be named after former presidents, with prominent arteries being Adams Street, Jackson Street, Jefferson Street, Madison Street and Monroe Street.
Springfield Mass Transit bus transport, Greyhound coaches and Amtrak trains all provide further travel options. Those with a rental car can make use of Sangamon County's Park and Ride scheme, with a large car park being sited at 2833 South Grand Avenue East and connected by regular shuttle buses.
Cyclists will be pleased to find numerous cycle trails around the metropolitan area, such as both the Lost Bridge Trail and the Interurban Trail. There are also a number of bicycle lanes on various main roads around the city. Bikes can be hired at cycle stores on Clock Tower Drive, the South MacArthur Boulevard, the South Veterans Parkway, West Washington Street and Winchester Road, amongst other outlets.
Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (SPI) / Arriving by Air
Address: 1200 Capital Airport Drive, Springfield, Illinois (IL), 62707, USA
Tel: +1 217 788 1060
Downtown Springfield is only a short distance to the south of the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, being a little more than 5 miles / 8 km away and connected by Walnut Street, which later becomes the J. David Jones Parkway (Highway US-29). This is a fairly small airport, serviced by airlines such as Allegiant Air, American Eagle and United Express. Ground transport options include a series of car rental firms (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National), which are located on the eastern side of the terminal, next to 'Door D'.
Other Illinois airports in the vicinity of Springfield include:
Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington Normal (BMI)
Address: 3201 Cira Drive, Bloomington, Illinois (IL), 61704, USA
Tel: +1 309 663 7383
Distance / direction: 72 miles / 116 km northeast
General Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA)
Address: 6100 Everett M. Dirksen Parkway, Peoria, Illinois (IL), 61607, USA
Tel: +1 309 697 8272
Distance / direction: 78 miles / 126 km north
University of Illinois Willard Airport (CMI)
Address: 11 Airport Road, Savoy, Illinois (IL), 61874, USA
Tel: +1 217 244 8618
Distance / direction: 94 miles / 151 km east
Car Rental
Many visitors to Springfield opt for car rental as their chosen method of transport. A hire car is by far the easiest way to travel around the city and outside of its boundaries, being a sensible choice if day trips around central Illinois are on your agenda. Roughly 100 miles / 161 km to the west is the small town of Hannibal, which is connected by Interstate I-79 for the entire journey. Head eastwards along the I-79 and you will cross into the state of Indiana, where Indianapolis is a little more than 200 miles / 322 km away. Leading eastwards to Bloomington and eventually
Chicago is the I-55, which also connects St. Louis, to the south-southwest.
Buses
Tel: +1 217 522 5531
The Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD) operates the city's public bus transport between the hours of 06:00 and midnight, Monday to Friday, and between 06:00 and 18:00 on Sundays. There are just under 20 main different bus routes serving the city, along with more than 30 additional supplemental routes. Tourists will find the Historic Sites Route especially useful, since it travels to some of Springfield's top attractions, such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Dana Thomas House, the Illinois State Capitol Building, the Illinois State Museum, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, the Lincoln Tomb and the Old State Capitol Building. Bus transport also connects the following onward destinations:
- Chamberlain Ball Park
- Chatham Square Shopping Center
- Douglas Park
- Fairhills Mall
- Humphrey's Market
- JC Penney
- Memorial Medical Center
- Montvale Plaza
- Parkway Pointe
- St. John's Hospital
- Sherwood Plaza
- Southwest Plaza Shopping Center
- State Fairgrounds
- Town and Country Shopping Center
- University of Illinois Springfield
- West Lake Shore
- White Oaks Mall
Further bus transport is provided by the Greyhound bus company (tel: +1 217 544 8466), which connects long-distance destinations such as
New York (between three hours and 30 minutes / four hours). The Greyhound bus station stands on the eastern side of Springfield, although you are not able to buy tickets here, since there are no attendants.
Trains
Tel: +1 217 753 2013
Located in downtown Springfield, the Amtrak train station is to be found on the corner of 3rd Street and East Washington Street. From here, rail transport travels to and from onward destinations between St. Louis,
Missouri (two hours) and Chicago, Illinois (three hours and 30 minutes). This route is named the Illinois Service and comprises five routes, namely the Carl Sandburg, the Illini, the Illinois Zephyr, the Lincoln Service and the Saluki.
Taxis
If you are looking for sheer convenience and are not overly concerned about the cost of travel, then taxi transport is certainly hard to beat. Taxis cover the whole of Springfield and beyond, although if you need to be picked up at a specific time, you should certainly be sure to phone ahead and give at least 15 minutes notice. At peak times, it is sensible to book your ride well in advance. Local cab companies operating in Springfield include:
- Airport Cab - tel: +1 217 741 3029
- All American Taxi Company - tel: +1 217 280 7842
- Lincoln Yellow Cab - tel: +1 217 523 4545
- Mr. Taxi - tel: +1 217 522 8294
- Quality Cabs - tel: +1 217 523 4055
- Yellow Cab Incorporated - tel: +1 217 544 1111
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