The Greater Dayton RTA is offering free bus rides on weekends this summer. RTA leaders said they want the promotion to draw in new riders and promote their new same-service, seven day-a-week schedule.
Ridership patterns are changing, according to CEO Bob Ruzinsky, so RTA will run its buses more often on the weekends starting later this month. By the time the new schedule is fully implemented in September, RTA will offer the same level of service seven days a week.
The new schedule reflects a population that Ruzinsky said increasingly works on the weekends. He said more weekend service is being offered by transit authorities across the country.
Right now, per internal RTA data, the local transit authority averages about half as many customers on the weekend as it does during the week. Ruzinsky said he hopes running the buses more often and the free-ride promotion will help increase RTA’s weekend ridership.
“I'm hoping people who work on the weekends who currently don't ride RTA because our service isn't frequent enough, or they're just not really aware of it, may jump on board," he said.
Ruzinsky also said he hopes people will use the free weekend services to go to places like parks or museums this summer.
Riding the bus has other benefits, especially during the summer when air quality can be a concern.
“If we can have a bus that is even half full, that could be 10, 20 less cars, and that's going to mean less emissions,” Ruzinsky said.
Plus, more than a third of Dayton’s bus fleet is electric.
Free rides start June 4, end on September 4 and run from Saturday mornings until late night Sundays.
Chris Welter is a reporter and corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.
