Greater Dayton Regional Transit to make service changes that will impact Kettering residents

Kettering, Ohio – The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced temporary bus service changes that will impact some Kettering residents. In a press release, RTA said that the changes are necessary because of “…a severe shortage of operators and decreased customer demand for services due to COVID-19…”.

The most dramatic change is that effective October 3, 2021, RTA will temporarily eliminate Senior EZ Ride routes 64, 65, and 66. At a public hearing on the service changes, some seniors urged RTA not to eliminate the Senior EZ Ride routes because the loss of this service would prevent them from doing activities such as grocery shopping.

To address the concerns of seniors, RTA was able to obtain grant funding from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission that will allow RTA to expand door-to-door service for seniors who do not qualify for the agency’s Paratransit system for customers with disabilities. The new program will provide eligible seniors with door-to-door transportation for non-emergency essential life services such as medical appointments, pharmacy trips, and grocery shopping. Services will be provided in smaller, easier to access vehicles. The program is a partnership between RTA, Green CATS Public Transit, and Miami County Public Transit. Because of the three-agency partnership, the agencies can coordinate non-emergency medical trips that cross County lines.

The new program will begin on October 4, 2021. Seniors 65-years-old and older are eligible for the new service. Each one-way trip will cost $5. Seniors do not need to be Certified for Paratransit to access the new program. But if a Senior is Paratransit certified, they will continue to pay only $3.50 for each one-way trip. The service will be available Monday through Friday from 8 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. and reservations must be made 3-days in advance. Seniors should call 937-425-8300 to make all trip reservations.

RTA will also be cutting systemwide service hours. RTA”s new fixed-route and Paratransit service hours will be, Monday through Saturday from 5:30 A.M. to 12:30 A.M., and Sunday from 6 A.M. to 10 P.M.

RTA also made several route-specific services changes. Those changes are:

Temporary Trip Eliminations:

• Route 7: Eliminating southbound trips at 6:48 a.m., 5:07 p.m. from Meijer, and 3:17 p.m. from Wright Stop Plaza. Also, eliminating northbound trips at 5:39 a.m., 8:09 a.m., 3:51 p.m., and 6:20 p.m. from Patterson/Woodman.

• Route 8: Eliminating southbound trips at 5:38 a.m., 7:40 a.m. from the Northwest Transit Center and northbound trips at 6:37 a.m., 8:41 a.m. from the Westown Transit Center.

• Route 16: Southbound trips at 5:54 a.m. from Sheets and Montgomery, 3:44 p.m., and 7:13 p.m. from Smith and Hoke. Also, eliminating northbound trips at 7:31 a.m., 2:44 p.m., and 5:28 p.m. from Costco.

• Route 18: Eliminating southbound trip 3:07 p.m. from Wright Stop Plaza and Eliminating northbound trips 2:42 p.m. from Wright Stop Plaza, and 4:01 p.m. from First and Central.

• Route 19: Eliminating southbound trips at 6:59 a.m., 3:43 p.m., 5:43 p.m. from Meijer, and the northbound trip at 5:25 p.m. from the South Transit Center.

Other Service Changes:

• Routes 1, 2 & 4: Routing changed to serve Third Street Bridge.

• Route 12: Will serve Hope Center & Omega.

• Route 17: Routing changed from Little York Road to Maxton Road.

• Route 19: Returning service to Stebbins High School.

• Route 22: Extended AM trip from Walmart to the Gateway Shelter.

• Route 34: Extra trips added on Saturday.

• Route 43: Adjusted some trips to serve Energizer.

RTA said that it will reevaluate the service changes as the employment situation improves. Riders can find complete RTA service information at www.iriderta.org.