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| Greater Dayton RTA's motto: It's Time to Ride. |
The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority covers the Dayton, Ohio and Montgomery County with a portion of the bus lines going into Greene County. It has 29 routes and also a mobility line for seniors and special need riders. The RTA also has overhead trolleys. The trolleybuses cover a portion of the city and inner suburbs.
Dayton is the smallest city in the United States to still have overhead electric trolleys. Other cities include Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston. These cities have populations with over 500,000 residents.
In a city with 139,000 residents, the RTA is necessary for the 30,000 riders who use the public transit.
The RTA is facing a crisis within its ranks. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1385 is getting tired of dealing with the leadership's ineptness. Mark Doughney, the president of the RTA is facing calls for resignation after many drivers complained that the new rules imposed on drivers limit their break periods, their restroom breaks and time off.
Many of the drivers voiced frustration with the way RTA is working them. They now operate from 4:15 am on opening routes to nearly 2:30 am.
Now at the stroke of midnight, the city bus drivers will end their routes and walk off the job.
Dayton's mayor Nan Whaley and city's commissioners are pleading for RTA and the union to work out the differences for the sake of the community.
A strike could make life difficult for riders who need to get to work, school, or shopping districts.
A strike could cost RTA millions of dollars.
A strike could spell doom for union workers because if Republicans pass a NO STRIKE CLAUSE state law when it comes to public sector work, the RTA drivers could be fired out the cannon.
Ohio is a "right to work" state. The worker's unions across the country are being weakened by Republicans. They feel confident that they could destroy the unions and make employers hire people at lower wages and longer hours.
Ohio governor John Kasich and the federal government might get involved in this situation.
Some unfortunate facts about the RTA.
Many of the residents in this community support the fuhrer Donald J. Trump. So it won't be any surprise that some online white extremists are seething with glee watching others suffer. Most of the people who comment about the RTA often push racial stereotypes about the riders and the bus lines.
Many of them are assuming that many of the bus riders are geekers and druggies. Some openly call the workers, the riders and the people who support the RTA a bunch of NIGGERS or NIGGER-LOVERS. Some even resort to the childish name calling supporters LIBTARDS.
The junk food media here often sensationalize stories for ratings. I don't watch the news anymore because they allow Trump to win.
Beavercreek, Ohio a city that is located six miles from Dayton was a vocal opposition to the RTA and Greene County Area Transit Service having routes serve the Mall at Fairfield Commons.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Transportation warned Beavercreek that if they continue to deny bus service to the community they could lose funding for the city. Once the fuhrer Trump takes over, Beavercreek city leaders could ask for Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) to ask the DOJ to relinquish their recommendations. And Beavercreek could reinstate their public transportation ban.
RTA has wasted money big time on hydro-buses that hardly run, trolleybuses that don't often run and passing the expense onto the riders. I live in the rust belt city of Dayton. The city has trolley lines that are hardly used. I mean there is probably 100 miles of trolley line in the city and only 45 miles of the lines are used. The city fare is $1.75 for an adult. You can get a transfer for $.25 and it's good for a connecting trip for up to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
It's one of the highest fares in the state.
Compare that to larger Columbus with 80 routes and Cincinnati with 50 routes. You are paying up to $35 a week on public transit. The average bus pass for a month is $95.
Dayton has only 29 routes.
Routes 3,4,5,7 and 8 are the bus lines that have trolleybus service. Route 1 and 2 have trolleybus service on limited service.
Since 2013, RTA returned bus service to the Dayton International Airport. For 15 years the bus never went to the airport. You had to have take a bus near the area and walk to the local shuttle buses that serve the airport when air travelers had to leave their vehicle overnight.
Route 1 and 16 are the only buses that serves Greene County. The bus has 90 minute commuters to Wright State University and the Mall at Fairfield Commons. In 2016, Route 16 was realigned to serve Costco Wholesale, Kroger Marketplace and Miami Valley Hospital South Campus.
The U.S. Department of Defense and the RTA worked out an agreement to have special buses serve the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Montgomery and Greene County. The buses operate two times a day.
The RTA doesn't connect to Miami County, Warren County, Butler County, the remaining portions of Greene County and Clarke County.
The Southern Ohio Regional Transit Authority (Cincy Metro), Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) have buses that serve multiple counties, many business venues, their local airports and local attractions.
Dayton RTA has five transit stations. One that is located at the Westown shopping center. One that is located at the Eastown shopping center. One that is located in Trotwood which also serves at the Dayton Greyhound transit terminal. One located one mile from the Dayton mall. The final one is the downtown transit station which is located near the RTA headquarters.
The Dayton Mall has been under fire for banning the buses from the property. The only buses that serve the mall are routes that have very few riders. Route 23, 60 and 61 are crosstown buses that avoid downtown Dayton. The buses operate on a limited schedule and often are completed by 10pm.
Many of the county buses and crosstown Route 24 avoid the mall. They head to the transit hub or have a local stop about 1/2 mile from the mall.
Ohio State Route 741 known as Springboro Pike was reworked to have sidewalks. The speed limit was previously 45 mph. Now it's localized to 40 mph. They moved the pedestrian crosswalks to an area that is 1/2 mile from Ohio State Route 725. The Miami Township Police maintain a heavy presence around the mall. The Ohio State Patrol maintains traffic control on most roads around the mall.
Lyons Road where the South Transit Center is located is 1 mile from the Dayton Mall. The road has sidewalks and a bicycle lane. The speed limit around the area is 45 mph and the nearest light with a crosswalk is 1/4 mile from the transit center.
Dayton is still one of the most segregated cities in the United States.