Slogan it's Time to Ride Annual ridership 11.6 million Motto it's Time to Ride Fleet 284 | Stops 3,300 Headquarters Dayton Founded 1972 Routes 29 | |
 | ||
Service area Montgomery County and Greene County, Ohio Stations Maintenance Facilities,
600 Longworth St, Dayton Fuel type Diesel, Electric and Hybrid Hubs Wright Stop Plaza, westown shopping center, Eastown Shopping Center Service types Transit bus, Express bus service, Paratransit Profiles | ||
The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, formerly known as the Miami Valley RTA, is a public transit agency that generally serves the greater Dayton, Ohio area. The GDRTA serves communities within Montgomery County and parts of Greene County, Ohio, USA. There are 31 routes. The buses operate seven days a week, 21 hours a day, and provide services to many citizens within the area. RTA's current executive director is Mark Donaghy.
Contents
- History
- Trolley buses
- Hybrid buses
- Rate structure
- Hubs
- Operation
- Contributions
- Regular route list
- References
Greater Dayton RTA is Ohio’s fourth-largest public transit system, serving Dayton and 23 surrounding communities in Montgomery County and parts of Greene County. RTA provides more than 11 million passenger trips per year on its buses.
History
The Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority (now the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, or RTA) took over public transit operations in November 1972.
Trolley buses
One notable feature of the GDRTA system is its use of electric trolley buses. Only five cities in the United States currently have electric trolley buses: Boston, Dayton, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. The first electric trolley bus (ETB) operation in Ohio occurred in Dayton, on April 23, 1933, when the Linden–Salem line was converted from streetcars to trackless trolleys — or trolley buses, as they are most commonly known today. The RTA renewed its commitment to electric transit with a Board of Trustees vote to continue the trolley bus service in 1991, and the purchase of a new fleet of ETBs from Electric Transit, Inc., a joint venture of the Czech company Skoda and the U.S. company AAI Corporation, based on Skoda's model 14Tr. Final assembly of the vehicles took place in Dayton in 1995–98. In 2014, the system began adding their first fleet of low floor trolleybuses from Vossloh Kiepe, using equipment from Gillig. Electric streetcar service in Dayton had started in 1888, and it continued through to, and indeed beyond, the start of trolley bus service. Therefore, electric transit service has been operated continuously in Dayton since 1888, which is longer than in any other city in the United States.
Hybrid buses
With the addition of environmentally friendly diesel buses in 2009 and 2010 to the GDRTA's fleet, the GDRTA is Ohio's greenest transit fleet. In September 2010 RTA was designated the only 5-star Ohio Green Fleet by Clean Fuels Ohio.
Rate structure
On August 1, 2009, fares were raised to $1.75 in cash for adults, and $0.85 for children at least 45" in height, the disabled, and the elderly. 10 fare tokens for adults can be bought for $15, an adult weekly pass is $19, while an adult monthly pass is $55. For children up to age 12 & over 45" in height, the elderly, and the disabled, 10 fare tokens are $8.50, and the monthly pass rate is $32. These items are reduced for students at some area colleges according to school policies. A Family All-Day Pass, good for 2 adults & 2 kids under 13 and over 45" tall, costs $8. An individual All-Day Pass costs $5 for all riders. No fare to kids below 6 and 45 inches (110 cm) (limit 2 per fare-paying rider).
Transfers cost $0.25 for all riders, and can be used once (round-trips & stopovers prohibited) within 1 hr., 30 mins.
Project Mobility fares are $3.50.
Hubs
The RTA operates five bus "hubs", or transit centers. Each hub serves as a connection to many suburban bus routes around Dayton.
Operation
The RTA operates with diesel and electric trolley buses. Dayton is the smallest city in the United States to still operate electric trolley buses. The trolley buses travel at least five miles on RTA routes serving Dayton and some neighboring suburbs. The routes include: Route 1, Route 2, Route 3, Route 4, Route 5, Route 7 and Route 8. Bus service to Dayton International Airport from downtown Dayton began on 11 August 2013. Service was expanded to stops on Pentagon Boulevard in Beavercreek, allowing access to the Fairfield Commons Mall and Soin Medical Center, on January 12, 2014.
Contributions
The RTA has been involved in helping the city of Dayton through its contributions to the Dayton Dragons, The Schuster Center, and the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.
In addition, RTA passed a resolution to make easier connections to its regional hubs and prevent misuse of transfers. In January 2007, RTA created an established proposal to make all buses serve regional businesses, establish transfer points in designated areas and streamline previously neighborhood routes. The RTA added two routes to serve areas frequently used by passengers. RTA discontinued eight routes in response to overlapping and low passenger counts.