The availability of UI Ride shuttles as public Wi-Fi hotspots during the COVID-19 pandemic will conclude on Friday, May 29, in locations across Champaign-Urbana. Starting in April and throughout the remainder of the K-12 school year, the vehicles provided free, weekly, public internet access in ten different neighborhood locations for students needing to complete e-learning coursework.
The Wi-Fi sites were identified by Champaign Unit 4 School District, Urbana School District #116, and community organizations. The shuttles averaged 11 connected devices per day, with a total of 300 GB of data used.
This effort was a collaboration between the University of Illinois System, Technology Services, and F&S focused on lessening the digital divide in the community where internet access is unavailable or limited.
As the university prepares for the transition back to on-site work, the community Wi-Fi project team will continue to look for specific opportunities or events this summer, where shuttles can be set up to deliver additional internet connectivity. The group would also like to thank individuals at Ivanhoe Estates, Northwoods Estates, Woodland Acres, Shadow Wood, Prairie Green, Rainbow Estates, Liberty Estates, Hamilton Place, Countryview Estates, and Loral MHP for their hospitality and support.
Drive-up Wi-Fi Locations
See the statewide map for a list of resources https://go.illinois.edu/driveupwifi.
UI Ride Daily Routes Resumption
UI Ride is expected to resume daily routes connecting the Urbana and Chicago campuses soon, as the State of Illinois begins to reopen carefully. For schedule updates, visit https://go.illinois.edu/UIRide.