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
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
area. The GDRTA serves communities within
Montgomery County and parts of
Greene County, Ohio
Greene County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 167,966. Its county seat is Xenia. The county was established on March 24, 1803 and named for General Nathanael Greene, ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. There are 31 routes. RTA operates diesel and
electric trolley buses seven days a week, 21 hours a day, and provides services to many citizens within the area. RTA's current CEO is Bob Ruzinsky. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
Greater Dayton RTA is
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
’s fourth-largest
public transit system
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
, 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
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
operations in November 1972. In 2003, its Board of Trustees voted to change the transit agency's name to the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority.
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
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
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
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
company
Skoda
Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
and the U.S. company
AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland, US. Formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007. It currently operates ...
, based on Skoda's model 14Tr. Final assembly of the vehicles took place in Dayton in 1995–98. In 2014, the system added its first
low-floor
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
trolley buses, with four
dual-mode prototypes purchased from
Vossloh Kiepe
Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...
(now
Kiepe Electric
Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...
) and using bodies from
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
, for testing and evaluation. In January 2018, RTA placed an order with Kiepe for 26 production-series dual-mode trolley buses to the same design as the prototypes, with Gillig low-floor bodies, for delivery starting in 2019.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 339 (May–June 2018), p. 117. .]
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
![Dayton Gillig BRT hybrid bus 1002 leaving Wright Stop Plaza on route 9](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Dayton_Gillig_BRT_hybrid_bus_1002_leaving_Wright_Stop_Plaza_on_route_9.jpg)
With the addition of
environmentally friendly
Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...
hybrid buses in 2010 to the GDRTA's fleet, the GDRTA is Ohio's greenest
transit
Transit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film
* ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world
* ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...
fleet. In September 2010 RTA was designated the only 5-star Ohio Green Fleet by Clean Fuels Ohio.
Hubs
![Wright Stop Plaza transit center from west (2010)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Wright_Stop_Plaza_transit_center_from_west_%282010%29.jpg)
The RTA operates five bus "hubs", or
transit center
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
s. Each hub serves as a connection to many suburban bus routes around Dayton. The one in
downtown Dayton is named Wright Stop Plaza and opened for service on September 1, 2009 (after a ceremonial opening earlier).
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 288 (November–December 2009), p. 144. .]
Operation
The RTA operates with
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
and electric
trolley buses. Dayton is the smallest city in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
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
Dayton International Airport (officially James M. Cox Dayton International Airport), formerly Dayton Municipal Airport and James M. Cox-Dayton Municipal Airport, is 10 miles north of downtown Dayton, in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. T ...
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 Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. In 2 ...
, The
Schuster Center
The Schuster Performing Arts Center is located in Dayton, Ohio and was built in 2003 to serve as Dayton's principal center of the lively arts. It is owned and operated by the Victoria Theatre Association and occupies the former site of Rike's d ...
, and the
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio that commemorates three important historical figures— Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar—and the ...
.
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.
Regular route list
*1 Pentagon Blvd-
Wright State University
Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...
-Third St-Westown TC-Drexel
*2 Linden Ave-Eastown TC-Otterbein-Lexington-Northwest TC
*3 (Weekday only) Wayne Ave.-Eastown
*4 Townview-Hoover-Delphos-Xenia Ave./Linden Ave.-Eastown TC-Westown TC
*5 (Weekday only) Valley St-Children's Medical Center-Downtown Dayton-Far Hills
*7 North Main St-Shiloh-Downtown Dayton-Watervliet
*8 Northwest TC-Salem Ave-Lakeview-Westown TC
*9 Northwest TC-Greenwich Village-Derby Rd-Westown
*11 Kettering to Woodman (Downtown Dayton – WPAFB Gate 1B) / Kettering to Stroop (Kettering Medical Center – Kettering Rec. Center – The Greene)
*12 Five Oaks-Valerie Arms-Forrer Blvd-Dorothy Lane
*14 Northwest TC-
Trotwood-
Centerville
*16
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
-
Englewood-Kettering-Whipp & Bigger-Clyo Rd.
*17
Vandalia-South TC
*18
Huber Heights-
Moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
-
West Carrollton-
Miamisburg
Miamisburg ( ) is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio. The population was 20,181 at the time of the 2010 census. A suburb of Dayton. It is part of the Dayton metropolitan area. Miamisburg is known for its large industry (mainly for its nuclear ...
*19 Huber Heights-Moraine-Miamisburg-South TC
*22 Keowee-Northridge-Job Center-Miller Ln-Gateway
*23 Eastown TC-Kettering-Centerville-
Dayton Mall
Dayton Mall is a shopping mall in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Dayton. The mall's anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW, Guitar Center, H&M, JCPenney, Kirkland's, LensCrafters, Macy's, Morris Home Fu ...
-South TC
*24 Garber Rd-Northwest TC-Westown TC-South TC
*34 Miller Ln.-Northwest TC-Westbrook Rd.-MVCTC
*42 (Weekday only) Farmersville-Germantown-Miamisburg-South TC
*43 Dayton International Airport, Vandalia
*60 Dayton Mall-South TC-Miamisburg
*64 Senior E-Z Ride (Fridays Only)
*65 Senior E-Z Ride (Tues. and Thurs.)
*66 Senior E-Z Ride (Mon. and Wed.)
*X5 Dayton Mall Express-Downtown Dayton-South TC
References
External links
Greater Dayton Regional Transit AuthorityCity of Dayton official site
{{Authority control
Bus transportation in Ohio
Transportation in Montgomery County, Ohio
Transportation in Greene County, Ohio
Wright State University
Transportation in Dayton, Ohio
Trolleybus transport in the United States
Transit agencies in Ohio
1972 establishments in Ohio