Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority

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. 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 executive director is Mark Donaghy.[2]

Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority
Founded1972
Headquarters4 South Main St,
Dayton, Ohio
Service areaMontgomery County and Greene County, Ohio
Service typebus service, express bus, paratransit
Routes29
Stops3,300
HubsEastown Shopping Center
Westown Shopping Center
Northwest
South (Dayton Mall)
Wright Stop Plaza (Downtown Dayton)
StationsMaintenance Facilities,
600 Longworth St, Dayton
Fleet284
Annual ridership11.6 million[1]
Fuel typeDiesel, Electric and Hybrid
Operator350
WebsiteGDRTA

Greater Dayton RTA is Ohio’s fourth-largest public transit system,[3] 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.[4]

History
Former GDRTA Logo

The Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority (now the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, or RTA) took over public transit 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.[5]

Trolley buses
Main article: Trolleybuses in Dayton
One of RTA's ETI trolley buses, in 2016

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.[6] 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 added its first low-floor trolley buses, with four dual-mode prototypes purchased from Vossloh Kiepe (now Kiepe Electric) and using bodies from Gillig, 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.[7]

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.[6]

Hybrid buses
One of RTA's 2010-built hybrid buses leaving the downtown transit center, known as Wright Stop Plaza

With the addition of environmentally friendly hybrid buses in 2010 to the GDRTA's fleet, the GDRTA is Ohio's greenest transit fleet.[8] In September 2010 RTA was designated the only 5-star Ohio Green Fleet by Clean Fuels Ohio.

Hubs
Wright Stop Plaza Transit Center, viewed from across Main Street in 2010

The RTA operates five bus "hubs", or transit centers. 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).[9][10]

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.[6] 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.

Regular route list
A 2010 Gillig Low Floor bus in downtown, on route 12, in 2017
  • 1 Pentagon Blvd-Wright State University-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-Englewood-Kettering-Whipp & Bigger-Clyo Rd.
  • 17 Vandalia-South TC
  • 18 Huber Heights-Moraine-West Carrollton-Miamisburg
  • 19 Huber Heights-Moraine-Miamisburg-South TC
  • 22 Keowee-Northridge-Job Center-Miller Ln-Gateway
  • 23 Eastown TC-Kettering-Centerville-Dayton Mall-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
  1. "GDRTA Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  2. "Executive Leadership: Mark Donaghy, Chief Executive Officer". GDRTA. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  3. "Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products Announces Partnership with Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority". Business Wire. September 29, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  4. "GDRTA Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  5. "History". GDRTA. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
  6. "A Brief History of Electric Transit in Dayton". GDRTA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  7. Trolleybus Magazine No. 339 (May–June 2018), p. 117. ISSN 0266-7452.
  8. "Dayton becomes Ohio's greenest fleet". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  9. "New RTA Transit Center opens". Dayton Daily News. September 1, 2009. p. 3.
  10. Trolleybus Magazine No. 288 (November–December 2009), p. 144. ISSN 0266-7452.
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