TARTA Board approves launch of three on-demand services for Oregon, Ohio in 2024

The Toledo Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) Board of Trustees has approved fixed-route, paratransit and TARTA Flex on-demand services for the city of Oregon, Ohio. The services will start Jan. 7, 2024. 

“This is something we have been preparing for and it is great to see it come to fruition, both for the people in northwest Ohio who need the service to connect them to and from Oregon, and for TARTA,” said TARTA Board of Trustees President Mary Morrison. “I want to thank our partners in the Oregon community, as well as the people on Team TARTA who have worked so hard to make this a reality.” Access to public transportation can change lives. We saw that and heard from people who had experienced that when we restored Sunday and holiday service and brought service out to Holland and Springfield Township. We look forward to continuing to build on these improvements and connecting even more customers to better jobs, medical appointments and a higher quality of life.” 

TARTA’s Route 2 will be extended to stops in Oregon such as St. Charles Hospital and Walmart, giving travelers a one-seat ride from Oregon to the Toledo Museum of Art, Franklin Park Mall and other destinations on that route. Fixed-route service will run every 30 minutes from those stops in Oregon. 

TARPS paratransit service will be available to anyone living within ¾ of a mile of a TARTA bus stop, including those on Seaman Road and Navarre Avenue in Oregon.  

The entire city of Oregon will be in a TARTA Flex zone, giving residents the option to request an on-demand ride or schedule one in a fully accessible vehicle. Oregon and Rossford will be a single Flex zone, giving riders the opportunity to request a ride to and-from anywhere in those communities for $3 each way. 

“Since this process began, we have heard from so many people in Oregon who are in need of paratransit or other services to get them to essential destinations,” said TARTA CEO Laura Koprowski. “It is an exciting time to be at TARTA, and with the TARTA Flex service in Oregon connecting to the zone in Rossford, we will be able to give even more options to customers in Oregon who want to give public transit a try. Great cities put a focus on mobility and it has always been our goal to connect as many people as we can to the wonderful things this area has to offer. We continue our push to hire more drivers and improve our service in other ways to accomplish that task.” 

This is the third time TARTA has expanded its coverage area in less than a year to add more options for those wishing to take public transportation. The TARTA Flex on-demand option hit the road in suburban communities in January of 2023, and fixed-route and a paratransit service to Holland and Springfield Township started in March.