OH: Allen County RTA celebrates 50 years

There have been many ups and downs for the Allen County Regional Transit Authority during its 50-year history, but as administrators, employees and riders took time Monday to celebrate the organization's half-century in existence, there was a sense of optimism there will be fewer bumps along the road in the future.

Monday's celebration included snacks, desserts and refreshments at the RTA office, along with displays chronicling the 50-year history of the agency and, most importantly for patrons, free rides all day on all 10 fixed routes. For RTA co-executive director Karen Garland, there were many reasons to celebrate on Monday, not the least of them being a perceived shift in the perception of public transportation.

"The stigma over transit across the board has not been good for years, but I think for the last probably three or four years, though, we've come to where it's not a bad thing," she said. "People are realizing that not only indigent people or other such people ride transit. It's for anybody."

While public transit has been good for lower-income people who need an economical mode of transportation, RTA services have also been useful both for the county workforce and for area students, Garland said.

"We do ( Procter & Gamble) and Nelson Manufacturing," she said. "With our route changes, we will now go through the entire campus of UNOH from Eastown Road across to Cable. There are tons of students there who don't have vehicles who are here from other places, so we're going to start doing that."

Other services include scheduled rides for medical appointments and available pickup and drop-off service from when fixed routes end until 11 p.m. on weekdays.

The future for the RTA was not always so rosy, Garland said, as there were many lean years during its history.

"A year before COVID, we were in dire financial straits," she said. "We weren't sure some weeks if we would make payroll. We paid some bills late because we were robbing Peter to pay Paul. Once we went out for the levy and got that funding, we have really regained the trust of (the Ohio Department of Transportation) and (the Federal Transit Administration) as far as getting funding from them."

The RTA is now able to provide between 1,000 and 1,200 rides a month, transporting an average of 19,000 people per month. For more information on Allen County RTA services, go to acrta.com.

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