MARION — Rides Mass Transit District will hold the grand opening for the new transit center on Main Street, near the VA Medical Center in Marion, on Monday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m.

Ground was broken for the new facility in June 2018 with construction starting soon after. It will allow easier access for passengers using public transportation from across southern Illinois.

Several amenities will include a passenger terminal with climate-controlled waiting areas displaying real-time bus information along with covered bus slips. The location will also be a hub that allows residents to identify and gain access to the rural destinations and resources that are available.

Officials says the terminal will offer increased efficiency in the urban bus system, but it will also be a point where all of the rural systems – Shawnee Mass Transit, South Central Transit and RMTD – will come together to make it more meaningful to citizens while giving them even more access to a very robust inter-city bus schedule that will take them to places like St. Louis, Carbondale, Evansville, Indiana, Paducah and Mount Vernon.