MTD is headquartered in Urbana and operates its primary hub at the intermodal Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign.

At the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, which lies within the District, all students pay a $59 transportation fee every semester in exchange for unlimited use of the bus services.

In 1854, the first rail lines in the region were laid 2 miles west of Urbana by the Illinois Central Railroad.

In 1860 West Urbana was renamed Champaign, and subsequently developed into an important railroad town.

At its peak, this system had as many as 20 routes, including a nighttime "Owl Service" linking Champaign and Urbana.

McKinley's scheme of selling electricity from the interurban system to the surrounding towns led to the founding of the Illinois Power and Light Company.

In 1901, the Illinois Motor Transit Company introduced a city bus system to the region, but they went bankrupt within the year.

On November 24, 1970, a mere week after the lines looked to be closing, the referendum was approved and Thomas Evans was appointed the director of the new mass transit district.

The new MTD began operation on August 2, 1971, for a fee of $0.30 per ride with free transfers on buses which allowed one to navigate the area using several different bus lines.

This was followed up by a purchase of ten rigid New Flyer XHE40 hydrogen fuel cell buses in 2023, which are currently being delivered in 2024.

Articulated buses were historically used primarily on routes 12 Teal, 13 Silver and 22 Illini on school days, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic they are now used system-wide to promote social distancing.

MTD also operated Ford E450 and RAM 3500 shuttle buses for SafeRide on campus and ADA services.

(1 bus) (3 buses) Future Fleet The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response.