Transit & Mobility as a Service

Butler County Regional Transit Authority

The mission of the Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) is “to support Butler County’s quality of life and economic development through public transportation solutions.”

Butler County Commissioners formed BCRTA in 1994. It remains the designated grantee for federal and state transportation funds within the Butler County portion of the Cincinnati Urbanized Area.

• The agency is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees appointed by the Butler County Commissioners. BCRTA was formed to:
• Provide access to health and human service programs;
• Foster the economic development and vitality of the county by providing better access to jobs, education, shopping and government services;
• Conserve energy and reduce pollution; and
• Serve as a broker of transportation services for various county boards and agencies that wish to contract with BCRTA to manage their transportation needs.

Since 2005, BCRTA has operated countywide, general public transit services in Butler County, Ohio. Without local funding support, service options and growth have relied on service contracts and partnerships with the City of Middletown, Miami University and others. These contracts and partnerships have allowed BCRTA to increase one-way trips from 2,720 in 2005 to 508,084 in 2018. In addition, BCRTA contracts with SORTA to provide service to and from Butler County Park & Rides and downtown Cincinnati. In 2018, BCRTA and SORTA generated 101,752 one-way trips provided under this Park & Ride mutual agreement.

BCRTA also provides transit services that include fixed-route; complementary ADA services in the City of Oxford, Ohio; weekday commuter services connecting the urban centers of Middletown, Oxford and Hamilton; weekday fixed route connections to the Hamilton County’s Metro bus services; on-demand, curb-to-curb services; and shopping and group shuttle services.

BCRTA fixed-route and commuter services are offered at a $2.00 one-way trip. The fare for BCRTA on-demand, curb-to-curb services is $5.00 per one-way trip and covers over 500 square miles in Butler County. From 2008 to 2015, BCRTA operated a reduced fare medical shuttle funded through a New Freedom grant. From 2010 to 2015, BCRTA operated a $5.00 job shuttle funded through a Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) grant. Although both shuttles proved very successful and operated at capacity, MAP-21 discontinued support for these funded programs.

BCRTA maintains an administrative and maintenance facility in Fairfield Township, along with a satellite office and bus storage area in the Oxford. BCRTA operates with a $6.2 million budget, employs about 100 full- and part-time persons and has a fleet of 47 vehicles.

The demand for affordable, convenient and reliable mobility options in Butler County continues to grow. BCRTA works with the Transit Alliance of Butler County, a local nonprofit charged with finding approaches to meet mobility needs through coordination of local resources. They seek more partnerships and collaborations to increase regional access for Butler County residents and visitors to jobs, job training, medical services and other quality of life opportunities. BCRTA is the only transit agency in the OKI region that has experienced an increase in ridership over the past five years, and this increase is significant. Between 2013 and 2018, BCRTA has had a 45 percent increase in ridership.

Catch-A-Ride

The Catch-A-Ride transit system started in Dearborn County in June 1997, under the name Southeast Indiana Transit (SEIT). It is a public passenger transportation system provided by the Southeastern Indiana Regional Planning Commission. The system is operated by the nonprofit LifeTime Resources, Inc. Catch-A-Ride operates in Dearborn, Decatur, Jefferson, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties in southeast Indiana. A shared-ride service, Catch-A-Ride is available to individuals of all ages and incomes, with scheduled pickup and arrival times.

Catch-A-Ride operates a demand response service, based on individual requests, which are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. It serves small towns and rural counties in the service area. Examining data for their Dearborn County service area only, Catch-A-Ride experienced a 30-percent decrease in ridership between 2010 and 2014 — a result of funding lost when the Section 5317 program ended. However, since 2014, Catch-A-Ride has experienced an about 14- percent growth in Dearborn County trips. There are no specified pick up times or locations, and no structured routes, although some routes do have service-area boundaries. This is an origin-to-destination service where drivers will offer a helping hand, as needed, to ensure that individuals reach their destination safely.

Clermont Transportation Connection

Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC) is the primary provider of public transportation in Clermont County. The agency, founded in 1977 as Clermont Area Rural Transit (CART), has continued to evolve. CTC now offers three fixed routes in addition to its Dial-A-Ride services and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NET) services. Route 1 Eastgate-Felicity Shuttle operates Tuesdays and Thursdays. It provides service between the town of Felicity, the Amelia area and the Eastgate Mall area. Route 2X provides non-stop express service from the Rivertown Market Park & Ride in New Richmond to downtown Cincinnati. Route 4X provides non-stop service between Amelia and downtown Cincinnati. CTC provides four free Park & Ride lots in their service area, including three along Route 4X (Amelia Express) and one for Route 2X (New Richmond Express).

The transit agency was operated by an independent board until October 1997, becoming a direct department of the Clermont County Commissioners. Until 2000, Clermont County was classified as a rural county and as such, the state provided operating funds to CTC. With the 2000 Census, Clermont County was re-categorized as an urban county, ending the state’s provision of operating funds. Funding has been a challenge for CTC since that time. Ridership has also been a challenge.

The Clermont County Transportation Connection operates 30 vehicles and provides intra-county Dial-A-Ride service and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NET) in addition to three fixed routes. Dial-A-Ride service is available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. NET service is available from 4:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Fixed route service is available from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Standard Dial-A-Ride fares are $4.75 for adults, $3.75 for students and $2.35 for children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Fixed route fares are $3.75 for adults, $2.75 for students and $1.85 for children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. CTC sells Ride Cards good for 10 rides on fixed routes at the rate of $33.00 for adults, $25.00 for students, $16.50 for children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. NET service is free for Medicaid-eligible persons going to and from eligible medical appointments.

Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

The largest public transit operator in the OKI region is SORTA. SORTA’s designated service area covers Hamilton County, with areas of Butler, Clermont and Warren counties served on a contractual basis. SORTA’s fixed-route service, called Metro, comprises 23 local routes, 21 express commuter and reverse commute services, one limited stop service, and the downtown parking shuttle.

Metro operates a primarily radial network of local and express routes focused on downtown Cincinnati. Local transit service mainly runs on local streets and makes stops about every 800 to 1,200 feet. Express routes operate on local streets and highways with fewer stops. A limited service with stops every half mile to one mile operates on Montgomery Road and Vine Street, between downtown, uptown, Norwood and Kenwood. In the summer, Metro operates an express connection route to King’s Island Amusement Park. To better serve changing travel patterns, Metro also operates three east-west crosstown routes to directly connect non-downtown locations. In 2018 SORTA provided just under 14 million rides to its customers. Metro also provides bus service to Cincinnati Public School high school students (grades 7-12) on schooldays.

Metro’s 357-bus fleet is accessible to persons with disabilities and feature wheelchair lifts or ramps. High-floor buses have been phased out of service; and all Metro buses are equipped with two bicycle racks on the front of each bus. In addition to the lift-equipped service, SORTA operates the Access Ride program, a shared-ride transportation service using wheelchair-accessible vehicles. The Access Ride service area is all areas within a three-quarter-mile of a fixed-route service, as required by the ADA. The service now has a fleet of 46 vehicles that provided 231,000 one-way trips in 2018, up nearly 17 percent since 2014.

Renovated in 2005, Government Square in downtown Cincinnati is Metro’s primary transit center. In 2013 Metro completed the construction of the Uptown Transit District, a multi-site bus station network connecting routes serving the University of Cincinnati and the hospital cluster. Metro also runs two transit centers at Glenway Crossing (Westwood) and the Oakley Transit Center (Oakley), which was built in 2018; another transit center is being built in Northside. These centers aid transfers between major bus routes and offer pleasant and safe areas for waiting passengers.

With its four separate hubs, the Uptown Transit District is unlike a conventional transit center. These hubs are major transfer sites for bus riders, providing connections to local shuttles to U.C. and neighboring hospitals.
The four Uptown hubs are:
• University of Cincinnati on Jefferson and at University avenues
• Hospital Area on Burnet Avenue
• Clifton Heights Business District/Hughes Street Corner
• Vine Street between McMillan and Calhoun streets

Metro owns or leases 21 free Park-and-Ride facilities throughout its service area, with only two inside the City of Cincinnati limits. Park-and-Ride sizes range from 10 to 200 spots and have convenient express routes to Downtown Cincinnati. Park-and-Ride lot information can be found below and is also available online.

For more than three years, OKI, along with local business, government and transportation leaders have been meeting to seek solutions to the region’s transit challenges. One of the options explored is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a faster, limited-stop transit service that runs in its own right-of-way, making it unaffected by traffic congestion. BRT is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line.

Locally a BRT line would feature at a minimum dedicated bus lanes for more than half of its route, smart traffic signals that allow buses to move through intersections, and bus stations with shelter, seating, lighting, ticket vending machines, schedule information, and more. Frequent service on these routes would create high capacity rapid transit spines to decrease travel times for many Metro riders. The goal of these systems is to approach the quality of rail transit service, with the cost savings and flexibility of bus transit.

In 2014, METRO launched their new Metro*Plus limited stop service along the Montgomery Road corridor, connecting uptown and downtown to Kenwood, with stops about a half-mile to one-mile apart. The route, which does not offer any of the infrastructure upgrades that would come with BRT, cut travel times and relieve crowding on the local Route 4 by offering a faster alternative for many existing Route 4 riders. Figure 4 shows possible future BRT routes in the Metro service area.

Major bus hubs have the potential to integrate retail stores, restaurants or other establishments that cater to transit riders and the surrounding community. Bringing together such amenities has the potential of enhancing commercial and residential areas and providing an economic development stimulus. Transit hubs are equipped with facilities for parking bicycles to encourage bicycle use and ease automobile parking requirements. These parking facilities should include bike lockers and covered bike racks suitable for securing the frame of the bike. Metro also works with local and regional planners to connect bike facilities and paths to bus service, with the goal of making biking to the bus stop safer and more efficient.

SORTA and the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) have an inter-local agreement to allow close coordination of the two transit systems. SORTA works with other area transit systems to form a comprehensive transit network. The network comprises four Ohio counties, three Northern Kentucky counties and Southeast Indiana. As part of the coordinated effort, SORTA and TANK offer shared fare media including a 30-day rolling pass, one-day pass, stored value card, and transfers between the two systems.

Through agreements with local universities, SORTA offers discount bus fare for qualifying people. The UC*Metro EZ-Ride and Cincinnati State Metro Discount Card programs offer rides for one dollar for students, faculty, and staff regardless of zone; and transfers remain at 50 cents. These programs are subsidized by the schools.

Uptown Smart Center

The project is a multi-modal transportation facility, which would be a Metro fixed-route bus hub with restrooms, bike share, and real-time schedule information. It will also contain a shuttle hub with shuttles that serve educational facilities, numerous hospitals and satellite offices, entertainment venues, and more. These shuttles would provide a “one seat ride” from transit to final destination in the uptown area (and other locations). The upper levels of the facility would provide automobile parking for adjacent office buildings.

The Smart Center will be located on Martin Luther King Drive near the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. This location is especially suited for a multi-modal hub, due to its direct access to Interstate 71. There are multiple Metro routes that pass through the nearby area. There is also a planned bicycle facility along MLK, with the possibility of connecting to the Wasson Way Trail. This complements the many new development opportunities available after the completion of the new I-71 and MLK interchange. (The City of Cincinnati was awarded CMAQ funds for FY2023 in September 2017.)

Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky

The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) provides public transit service in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties as well as downtown Cincinnati. In 2019 TANK carried more than three million passengers and operated more than four million miles. TANK receives funding from the three Northern Kentucky counties. Demand for transit services has grown with the growth in employment options, particularly south of I-275. TANK has incorporated processes to pilot new service to meet growing demands, while testing the service for long-term viability prior to incorporation into the service on a permanent basis.

TANK’s fixed-route bus operation has 112 coaches, all lift and bicycle rack equipped, operating 27 routes of local and express service. TANK operates seven days a week with 75 vehicles in service during morning and afternoon rush hours alone. Fares for local service are currently $1.50 for adults, $1 for students and 75 cents for senior citizens and the physically disabled. The Southbank Shuttle Trolley, TANK’s riverfront circulator route in downtown Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, also has a fare of $1. TANK’s express routes operate on the interstate highway system and have a fare of $2.

TANK has 17 Park & Ride sites throughout Northern Kentucky. The newest is the Florence Hub, which was constructed in 2013, and serves as both a park and ride for downtown commuters, and a transfer location for multiple routes. In 2017, significant renovations were made to the Covington Transit Center, TANK’s main transfer facility in downtown Covington.

Paratransit: TANK also operates RAMP—a door-to-door demand response transportation service for people who cannot use the regular fixed-route service. The fare for ADA RAMP service is $2.50 per trip and reservations are required.

TANK and Northern Kentucky University (NKU) have partnered to establish the U-Pass Program, which began July 1, 2007. U-Pass provides free transportation on all TANK routes for NKU students, faculty and staff; it was later expanded to serve students at Gateway Community and Technical College. Unlimited rides are available on all TANK routes. The programs are funded by NKU and Gateway Community and Technical College.

In May 2019, TANK began a system redesign planning process that will dramatically alter the current route network and schedules. Possibly the greatest project since the public agency’s beginning in 1972, the redesign is a bold response to 7-year trends in ridership decline and regional demographic shifts. The plan’s goals are to maximize ridership based on existing funds, increase access/travel time to jobs, and create a more financially sustainable future for TANK.

Research has shown that improving bus frequency and span in high-density corridors is a productive strategy to maximize ridership. Rather than providing a lot of regional coverage (and therefore limited service), transit agencies are improved by directing resources where the most people live. This is the direction TANK has been instructed to take by its funding partners. The final plan is anticipated for adoption in April 2020.

Warren County Transit System

The Warren County Transit System (WCTS) was established by Warren County in August 1980. It manages 19 light transit lift-equipped vehicles. WCTS provides demand response public transportation service to all of Warren County, as well as several stops in Butler County and the City of Dayton. A flex route runs throughout the City of Lebanon. The fare is $3 for a one-way trip. Discounted rates are available to elderly and physically disabled passengers at $1.50. The system runs 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding certain holidays.