CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — People in Champaign are worried about losing a bus stop that drops them off right in front of services they need.

C-U MTD is proposing changes to their bus route that would take away the stop in front of the Salvation Army.

The captain of the Salvation of Champaign County said it’ll put a toll on hundreds of people who use the route on North Market Street. It would make them walk a quarter mile to get to the building instead of just steps.

“Bus service and stuff like that should be maintained. Okay. And it’s a public service, so service the public,” Chester Watson said.

Watson is one of the hundreds of people who uses the bus to get where he’s going. He and a few others who are at the Salvation Army regularly learned the bus stop on North Marketplace drive could possibly be relocating.

“Market Place wanted us to pay a maintenance fee for their roads throughout their property and our board declined to do that,” C-U MTD managing director and CEO Karl Gnadt said.

Gnadt said they’re stuck in between a rock and a hard place. They still have to discuss the situation with the MTD board but time is limited. Now, it’s putting people like Watson in a tight position.

“For me, it is inconvenient because I’m blind and I got a bad back. I got a bad knee. I can’t walk that far, and I’ll just be trapped,” Watson said.

C-U MTD officials said the relocation spot will be further down the road in front of the Housing Authority of Champaign County, which is a quarter of a mile from the Salvation Army building.

“The board and staff of MTD are very concerned about not being able to service, but we also have to deal with the reality that we don’t have an ability to get the bus turned around and in a timely manner,” Gnadt said.

Watson said if the bus location ends up changing he’ll just stay at home and forget about the Salvation Army services.

“It’s convenient, you know, and that’s what it’s all about, is being convenient. Public services supposedly are convenient and you take away convenience, you taking away everything,” Watson said.

WCIA reached out to Market Place Mall for a comment but did not immediately receive a response back.

The next board meeting to talk about the change will be May 28.