Dayton RTA to Honor the Work of its Drivers on Transit Driver Appreciation Day

22 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year the drivers of the Greater Dayton RTA are out on the roads to make sure thousands of customers get where they need to be. For their hard work, the RTA will celebrate its more than 400 transit drivers on Friday, March 16, as part of national “Transit Driver Appreciation Day.” 

Around the clock, no matter if there’s sun in the sky or six inches of snow on the ground, our operators drive their routes, helping riders with directions, checking fares and remembering requests — all while safely operating extra-large vehicles through tight roadways, unpredictable traffic and ever-changing road conditions. The RTA is grateful for their hard work and dedication to our passengers and to the community. 

But RTA's drivers do more than just get people from one point to the next. For example, in the past year the RTA has received reports from the community about drivers performing acts of compassion in their work. These esteemed drivers include Damone Hudson, who stopped his bus to help a woman he saw who might jump off a bridge. Or Sean Belyeu, who saw a victim of a hit-and-run crash and stopped to console her and help her contact police and safely wait for help. And then there was Shereonta Ely who was driving along busy Edwin C. Moses Drive and noticed a 4-year-old child wandering alone and pulled over to comfort the child until authorities arrived and could help find his caregivers. These are just a few examples of the above-and-beyond ways transit drivers impact lives in the communities they serve.

The RTA will be honoring all of their drivers with a token gift in commemoration of the day, as well as encouraging riders to say “Thank You,” to their drivers. The nationally-recognized day will be documented on social media by transit agencies across the United States using the hashtag #tdad.