Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
 |
|
|---|---|
| Parent | Hamilton County and Cincinnati City Council |
| Headquarters | 602 Main Street |
| Locale | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Service type | bus service, paratransit, express bus service |
| Daily ridership | 63,900[1] |
| Operator | Veolia Transportation |
| Web site | go-metro.com |
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (abbreviated SORTA), is the public transport agency serving Cincinnati, Ohio and its suburbs. The agency operates transit bus services under the name Metro. SORTA replaced the Cincinnati Transit Commission, which operated buses from 1952 to 1973.
Metro is funded primarily by Cincinnati's city earnings tax, secondarily by fares, and third by federal sources; other sources of income are insignificant. This stands in contrast to other Ohio transit agencies, such as COTA and GCRTA which are primarily funded by sales tax. For a sense of perspective, the portion of Cincinnati's earnings tax going to Metro's budget is about 0.3%.
Downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are also served by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK). TANK also offers a Southbank Shuttle route.
In 1993, SORTA began experimenting with the use of biodiesel. In 2001, SORTA operated about half of its bus fleet on a biodiesel blend. Since September 2005 (initially because of Hurricane Katrina), SORTA has continuously operated its buses with a biodiesel blend. In 2006, SORTA consumed almost 1.8 million gallons of biodiesel made from soybeans grown in Ohio.[2]
In the first quarter 2007, SORTA was among the 25 largest bus agencies in the U.S. It averaged almost 75,000 unlinked passenger trips per weekday.[3]
On April 30, 2007, SORTA began a partnership with the University of Cincinnati to provide free rides to its students, staff, and faculty. The partnership was scheduled to last for two years and the initial response to the offer had been positive.[4] Current policy requires students and faculty to purchase a special UC*Metro card, costing $40 and $120, respectively.[5] A similar offer is available to students at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Students can register for a free card which provide them with a $1 fare for any bus ride one direction.
On February 17, 2012, ground was broken for Cincinnati's modern streetcar system, which will be operated by SORTA.[6]
Contents |
[edit] Bus routes
| Number | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Mt. Adams - Zoo, Mt. Adams - Museum Center |
| 2X | Madeira Express |
| 3-3X | Montgomery Express, Montgomery Job Connection |
| 4 | Kenwood- Blue Ash, Ridge Road, Silverton - Blue Ash |
| 6 | Queen City |
| 10 | Western Hills - Price Hill |
| 11 | Madison Road - Oakley, Erie Ave. - Hyde Park |
| 12X | Madisonville Express |
| 14X | Forest Park Express |
| 15X | Daly Express, Mt. Healthy Express |
| 16 | Mt. Healthy |
| 17 | Seven Hills, Mt. Healthy, Mt. Airy, Northgate |
| 19 | Colerain - Northgate, Cheviot Rd. - Groesbeck |
| 20 | Winton Road - Tri-County |
| 21 | Harrison Avenue |
| 23X | Fairfield - Tri-County Express |
| 23 | Northside - Fairfield Job Connection |
| 24 | Anderson - University of Cincinnati |
| 25X | Mt. Lookout Express |
| 27 | Northside - Casey |
| 28 | East End, East End - Milford |
| 29X | Milford Express |
| 30X | Beechmont Express |
| 31 | West End - Evanston Crosstown via Dalton, West End - Evanston Crosstown via State |
| 32 | Delhi - Price Hill, Delhi - Price Hill via Matson |
| 33 | Western Hills - Glenway, Western Hills - Glenway via Gest |
| 38X | Glenway Crossing - Uptown Express |
| 39 | Western Hills - Uptown |
| 40X | Montana Express |
| 41 | Mt. Airy - Oakley Crosstown |
| 42-42X | West Chester Express, West Chester Job Connection |
| 43 | Reading Road |
| 43 | Bond Hill |
| 43 | Winton Hills |
| 46 | Avondale |
| 49 | Fairmount - English Woods |
| 50 | Sayler Park |
| 51 | Clifton - Hyde Park Crosstown |
| 52X | Harrison Express |
| 64 | Westwood - Ferguson |
| 67 | Sharonville Job Connection |
| 71-71X | Kings Island - Fields Ertel Express, Kings Island Express, Kings Island Direct, Kings Island Job Connection |
| 74X | Northgate Express, Northgate Express via Banning |
| 75X | Anderson Express |
| 77X | Delhi Express |
| 78 | Springdale - Vine, Lincoln Heights |
| 81X | Mt. Washington Express |
| 82X | Eastgate Express |
| 85 | Riverfront Parking Shuttle |
[edit] See also
- Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), serving Columbus, Ohio
- Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), serving Cleveland, Ohio
- Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (formerly the Miami Valley RTA), serving Dayton, Ohio
- Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), serving Northern Kentucky
[edit] References
- ^ "LARGEST BUS AGENCIES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION RIDERSHIP REPORT: Fourth Quarter 2008". http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q4bus.pdf.
- ^ "THAT’S A LOT OF SOYBEANS: METRO USED ALMOST 1.8 MILLION GALLONS OF BIODIESEL IN 2006". http://www.sorta.com/news/2007/nr1.html.
- ^ "LARGEST BUS AGENCIES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION RIDERSHIP REPORT: First Quarter 2007". http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/07q1bus.pdf.
- ^ "New UC/Metro Partnership a Sizzling Summer Success". http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=6071.
- ^ "UC*Metro". http://www.uc.edu/af/facilities/go_METRO.html.. University of Cincinnati.
- ^ "Streetcar project breaks ground". The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 17, 2012. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120217/NEWS/302170045/Streetcar-project-breaks-ground-?odyssey=tab. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
[edit] External links
- Go Metro, SORTA official website
- Photograph of a biodiesel-powered Metro bus
