SARTA Celebrates 18 Years of Serving Stark County

In December 1997, Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) started countywide service after the passages of the first countywide transit issue. 

Since then, SARTA has expanded to operate 34 Fixed Route & Proline services covering Canton, Alliance, Akron, Cleveland, Hartville, Jackson Township, Louisville, Massillon, North Canton and Uniontown that operate out of four transit centers. 

Stark County has enjoyed a long history of public transit that dates back to 1884.  The first public transit service was provided by the Canton Street Railway Co. in the city of Canton.  They operated five routes that transported riders by horse drawn cars on a four foot gauge track.  Then in 1888, the Alliance Street Railway was formed to service the Alliance area.  Massillon was the next area to expand and provide public transit in 1892 with the Canton & Massillon Electric Railway

For the past 18 years, SARTA has grown from providing 1.1 million rides a year to over 2.8 million rides in 2014.  During this time, SARTA’s services have expanded to include:

• Proline services for individuals with disabilities and are unable to use the fixed route services for work, school, and medical appointments.
• Medicaid Services that provides non-emergent transportation for medical appointments or work.
• Veterans Services that includes our Cleveland Route that specifically serves the Veteran’s Administration’s Wade Park Hospital
• Express Route 81 from downtown Canton to the Akron Canton Airport, Belden Village and downtown Akron
• Travel Training Services that trained over users how to use SARTA’s system

“I am proud of how far SARTA has come, as an agency, and the increasing number of residents we are able to help.  SARTA is much more than a transportation company, we are a community partner working to improve the lives of its residents.  As a community partner, we are proud that our services and programs enable Stark County Residence to maintain their independence”, Kirt Conrad, CEO stated.

SARTA’s services enable Stark County residents to go to work, school, doctor’s appointments, Adult Day Centers, grocery stores, shopping, dinner with family and friends and much more.  SARTA’s fixed routes average over 9,000 riders a day and drive over 2,200 miles a day. Our Proline Service averages over 400 rides a day and over 4,800 miles a day.  SARTA transports over 5,000 people to work.