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RTA providing free rides to the polls on Election Day

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On Tuesday, November 3, the Greater Dayton RTA will provide free rides system-wide to ensure access for everyone who chooses to exercise their right to vote in the national election. These free rides apply to both RTA’s fixed-route and paratransit services.

The RTA understands the necessity for reliable transportation to fulfill this constitutional right. Along with providing thousands of riders with daily transportation to work, medical appointments, and activities, this Election Day program ensures the polls remain accessible for all. The RTA has been providing free rides for all elections since 2018, and extended this program to include early voting in 2020 in order to alleviate concerns about voting during the international COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting rides were made available in partnership with the Dayton Unit NAACP, League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, and East End Community Services.

Riders are encouraged to use the Transit app, RTA’s official real-time information and trip-planning mobile application, to find the bus stop closest to their polling place. The app is free to download and available to both Android and Apple users. More information about the app can be found on our website here: iriderta.org/ridetime/track-by-app.

Those needing to find their polling location can use the Montgomery County Board of Election’s website at https://lookup.boe.ohio.gov/vtrapp/montgomery/pollfinder.aspx

 

RTA Partners to Provide Access to Early Voting

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The Greater Dayton RTA is helping local residents get out to vote this election season by partnering with the Dayton Unit NAACP, League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area (LWVGDA), and East End Community Services to provide a free day pass to individuals that may experience transportation barriers during the early voting period from October 6 to November 2.

The RTA understands the necessity for reliable transportation in order to vote, and that’s why the agency’s board of trustees decided in 2018 to provide free rides for all customers, both on fixed-route and paratransit bus services, on all certified election days. Given the added pressures of the international COVID-19 pandemic, extending this service to accommodate early voting was the right thing to do, said RTA CEO Mark Donaghy.

 

“We are pleased to partner with these great community-based organizations to ensure that every citizen is able to exercise their right to vote by removing the barrier of access through our network of services,” Donaghy said.

 

Early Vote day passes can be received at the following locations, and those with questions about the program should contact these agencies:

 

  • East End Community Services: 624 Xenia Ave., Dayton—Mon.-Fri., 8 am- 5 pm, or call 937 258-1898
  • League of Women Voters: 127 N. Ludlow St., Dayton—Mon.-Fri., 9 am- 2 pm, or call 937-228-4042
  • Dayton Unit NAACP: 1528 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Dayton—call 937-222-2172

Program partners said they are grateful of RTA’s assistance with providing access to those wishing to vote early.

 

“It is commendable that RTA has made an executive decision to participate in our democracy from a voter mobilization standpoint,” said Dr. Derrick L. Foward, President of the Dayton Unit NAACP.

“We are thankful to partner with RTA to eliminate transportation as a barrier for people to vote,” said Susan Hesselgesser, Executive Director of LWVGDA.

 

“By working with RTA, we are assuring that voters in Montgomery County can vote early in person or drop off their mail-in ballots at the Board of Elections, without any transportation cost,” said Jan Lepore-Jentleson, Executive Director of East End Community Services.

 

Registered voters can vote in-person or drop-off their absentee ballot at the Montgomery County Board of Elections. The drop box will be available 24/7. In addition to the Early Vote day pass, RTA will be providing free rides system-wide on Election Day, November 3, 2020.

RTA launches Mobile Fare Payment Option

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The Greater Dayton RTA is making it even easier for customers to ride with the launch of Tapp Pay—its new mobile fare payment system, today, June 1. Tapp Pay is available only within the Transit app— RTA’s official, free real-time information and trip planning mobile application—which allows customers to purchase and use bus fare with their mobile devices.

The RTA is excited to expand its partnership with Transit, which thousands of its customers already use for trip planning, tracking rides, and making multimodal connections, while bringing in new partner Masabi, a fare payment provider, to further simplify the riding experience.

 

“We’re thrilled for the launch of Tapp Pay and what it means for our customers, especially during a time where customers can utilize this as a way to increase their social distance while riding,” said Brandon Policicchio, Chief Customer and Business Development Officer for the RTA. “Now they can manage their entire transit experience from a single app.”

 

Today’s announcement further expands upon the RTA’s efforts to keep both passengers and employees safe during the COVID-19 outbreak. Tapp Pay’s launch is coming ahead of its expected summer launch in order to assist passengers with their social distancing efforts as those making essential trips can purchase both regular and reduced-fare passes using Transit without interacting with anyone else and store them in a wallet inside the app for later use. Once they are ready to board, passes can be activated and visually validated by the bus driver from a safe distance, which also speeds us the boarding process and limits issues at the fare box, RTA officials said.

 

“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to ride public transportation. During the coronavirus response, drivers and essential workers depending on transit as a lifeline need to stay safe, and this solution helps them do that,” said David Block-Schachter, chief business officer at Transit. “RTA’s passengers already rely on Transit to find their next trip and track their ride. Adding Tapp Pay gives riders everything they need in one app. And by minimizing contact between drivers and riders, Tapp Pay in Transit helps keep everyone a little bit safer.”

 

The RTA joins more than a dozen other agencies offering mobile ticketing through partnerships with Transit and Masabi, including those in Cincinnati, Butler County, and Northern Kentucky. Mobile ticketing in Transit is made possible through Masabi’s Justride SDK, which allows Transit to request fare types, make payments, and deliver visual and dynamic barcode tickets to riders through secure ticket wallets. With the launch of Tapp Pay, the RTA gains access to the Justride Hub, giving it real-time sales, usage, and validation data as well as an extensive customer services interface.

 

“Providing a safe way for riders to access tickets and pay for transit services is crucial in helping transit agencies keep both riders and operators safe and keep crucial services going during the COVID-19 response,” said Brian Zanghi, CEO at Masabi. “The RTA has accelerated this launch and should be commended for the great work it has done, together with our partner Transit, to get this service live for riders in a short amount of time.”

 

Transit is available to download for iPhone and Android at www.transitapp.com.

RTA Rolls Out Special Bus to Promote 2020 Census

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April 1 is Census Day, and the Greater Dayton RTA is celebrating by rolling out a census-themed bus April 1 through August 31 to increase questionnaire participation and promote census jobs.

Every 10 years, the U.S. conducts a census to determine the allocation of congressional seats as well as federal funding throughout the country. This federal funding helps shape vital programs and services offered in our community, including public transit. Participation in the census is required by law and can be completed over the phone, by mail, and—new this year—online. The easiest way for participants to complete the survey online is with their census ID, which can be found within the letter or questionnaire sent to their home by the Census Bureau. However, responses can still be submitted online if the census ID cannot be located.

 

“Census results play a critical role in how much federal funding our communities receive to support essential services, including public transit,” said Brandon Policicchio, Chief Customer and Business Development Officer for the RTA. “We want to do our part in encouraging everyone to complete their questionnaires.”

 

Through funding provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Dayton-Montgomery County Complete Count Committee, the RTA is launching a census-themed bus on April 1. The bus is decorated with census-related graphics and encourages riders to complete their questionnaire. It also refers those interested in a census job to call 1-855-JOB-2020.

 

The bus will rotate between routes daily to maximize exposure and give everyone a chance to ride. The daily schedule is located on the RTA’s website: iriderta.org/census2020.

 

For more information on the 2020 Census and to complete the questionnaire online, visit 2020census.gov.

Ride the Flyer Bus with Santa

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Those looking for a little holiday cheer need look no further than a free ride downtown on the Greater Dayton RTA’s Flyer bus service as the agency will be celebrating the season with trips with Santa and onboard carolers.

This year the RTA is debuting two “Festive Flyer” buses in constant circulation on the downtown route. The two buses are decorated with snowflakes on the outside and include holiday decorations on the inside. Also included is a custom “selfie photo booth,” where riders can take pictures and share their experience. The Flyer is RTA’s free downtown shuttle, offering rides every 10 minutes between RiverScape MetroPark and the University of Dayton campus, Monday through Saturday.

Santa will ride one of the “Festive Flyer” on select afternoons, including Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 4-6 pm, Saturday, Dec. 14 from 4-5 pm, and Saturday, Dec. 21 from 4-7 pm. Riders can meet with Santa, take pictures, and enjoy free candy canes while aboard.

In addition, carolers will be riding every Flyer bus, including the “Festive Flyers,” on Dec. 6 for downtown Dayton’s First Friday events—more info at www.downtowndayton.org. Carolers from a variety of Miami Valley churches will be onboard singing a variety of holiday music from 5:30-7 p.m. The Flyer will feature carolers again on Dec. 20 aboard all buses from 5:30-7 p.m.

For more information on The Flyer and these special events, visit iriderta.org/TheFlyer.

RTA Launches The FLYER- A FREE Shuttle Bus Service Downtown

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It’s been talked about for years and now the RTA is making it happen!

The FLYER will be a shuttle-style service that will begin  servicing the downtown and UD area in early November.  There will be a launch event with local media and public officials on Courthouse Square on Friday, Nov. 9th.

The circulator will operate six days a week and is FREE for anyone to use. There will be signs posted at the designated stops. People can get on or off simply by waiting at the stop, and a Flyer should arrive in 10 minutes or less.

The Flyer provides easy access to offices, local dining, nightlife, entertainment, parks, hotels, parking, and all that downtown Dayton has to offer in 10 minutes or less. Three “green fleet” hybrid buses run on a continuous loop to provide quick service, and each vehicle is trackable through RTA’s real time products, including the free Transit app available for download in the App Store or Google Play. By offering this service for free to all customers, The Flyer opens up transportation access to downtown employees and residents, students at the University of Dayton and visitors to Dayton to all the city has to offer.

The Flyer will head north on Brown and Warren streets up to Jefferson Street and Patterson Boulevard.

The buses will drive west on Fifth Street, then head north up Main Street and then take a right on East First Street, before looping back around using Monument Avenue. Shuttle stops will be on both sides of the street.

This joint venture is being sponsored by CareSource and Premier Health, which will help their  employee shuttles to parking lots near their offices.  The bulk of the expense will be absorbed by Greater Dayton RTA .

“This is a great opportunity for University of Dayton students, faculty and staff to explore the wonderful arts, culture and entertainment in downtown Dayton and do it in a sustainable way,” said University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina.

 

To see the complete list of stops, download the flyer map below:

The Flyer_Handout2

RTA Shows Love To Customers By Offering Free Rides

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The Greater Dayton RTA is offering a Valentine’s Day gift to its customers who use the Transit app – free rides on Tuesday, February 14 if you show the app to your driver.

Any rider who has Transit app open on their smart phone and presents it to the driver while boarding on Valentine’s Day can ride all day at no charge. This free ride day is the result of more than 1,000 customers downloading Transit app during an RTA promotion before the New Year. The app now has more than 2,200 downloads in Dayton.

Transit app was included as part of RTA’s RideTime real-time bus tracking technology rollout in December 2016. It works on any Apple or Android smartphone and is free to download in the App Store or via Google Play when users look for this logo:

Transit app uses RTA’s real-time GPS technology to enable users to track their bus, send alerts for when the bus is approaching a stop or nearing their destination, or plan a trip.

Riders who haven’t yet downloaded Transit app are encouraged to try it out and enjoy a free ride on Valentine’s Day. RTA staff hope customers will love Transit just as much as they do.

How-to guides, videos and links for how to use Transit app along with RideTime phone, text and computer-tracking features each are available at iriderta.org/ridetime. Information can also be found on the agency’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

RTA is Ohio’s greenest fleet, and serves 3,300 stops on 31 routes throughout Montgomery and parts of Greene County. The agency operates diesel, hybrid diesel, and electric trolley buses that take people to work, school and shopping. Customers ride RTA on more than 9 million passenger trips each year. 

 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Hosts Family Day and Makes Air Show Parking Easier

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Whirlybirds

Family Day: Whirlybirds

June 21

10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Celebrate the anniversary of the first flight of the world’s first practical helicopter by learning about the aircraft that can go backwards, forwards, spin and even hover in place during Family Day from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. on June 21at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Visit http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123413234 for more information.

Dayton Air Show park and ride

June 28-29

Those who want to take an easy route to the Vectren Dayton Air Show may park and ride from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. RTA shuttle buses will run to and from the museum, dropping off riders at the air show main gate from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on June 28-29. Visit http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123414168 for more information.

Connect with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force! Visit our Virtual Tour, become a fan of the museum on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or receive the latest news by subscribing to an RSS feed.

The People in my Neighborhood

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Who are the people in your neighborhood?
…in your neighborhood?
…in your neighborhood?
Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet on the bus…

As I’m wrapping up my week on the bus and bike routes, I’m thinking about the people. Some people I had conversations with. Some people I overheard conversations. Some people I avoided. Here are some of the highlights.

  • First things first – the driver sets the mood, and the drivers all had a great attitude. Every time I got on or off a bus – the driver was welcoming and friendly and always wished people well when they left the bus.
  • Good start to my week: Conversation with dude on my first bus when we got off at the same transfer stop. Guess what – new to town! Moved here from Baltimore two weeks ago to start a new job, and RTA is his main source of transportation. He wasn’t a fan of the B-more mass transit; he considers the Dayton system to be comprehensive and easy to use. Already he’s a pro and was totally helping me and giving me advice on how to catch the right bus and not to get stuck in “alternating routes.” Super nice.
  • When I climbed onto my first really full bus, I slid to the back and tried to get out of the aisle. A gentleman offered me his seat. Now, I’m not limping or on crutches or with multiple bags, but I am a girl in heels who’s trying to hold on. And he offered me his seat. Not turning this into a ‘Giving Tree’ moment – I know it was just a seat on a bus – but I was grateful for the simple demonstration of courtesy. Three cheers for Midwestern politeness, because you don’t always get that.
  • On one ride, I decide to be a snoop; I’m wondering what people are doing on the bus. Lots just sitting, lots reading, multiple ipod buds in ears. Right in front of me is a lady reviewing her daughter’s writing assignment (yeah, I looked) and there’s woman with a toddler playing across the aisle. People just doing their thing and getting where they’re going. As an older guy got on, a 20-something girl proactively moved to the back to give him her seat. He passed it by and wandered toward the back where someone else made the move and stood for him.
  • You already know that the grocery shopping wasn’t an easy experience for me. But what made it better was help from the people who were waiting at the stop with me. As I started to pick up my bags, the young guy waiting offered to help carry them. Then, a woman (who already had her hands full) said she could rearrange and take a bag or two. It wasn’t necessary, but it was so incredibly nice.
  • When the intention is good, but the delivery fails, those acts of kindness can be tougher to see. That’s when it becomes a challenge to give someone the benefit of the doubt. I got off the bus at the hub downtown, and I got hit on with the fancy line: “You make me wish I was taller. You’re real pretty.” I’m an independent woman, don’t hit on me, you can’t demean me like that way, I want to say, “of course, because the only reason we’re not dating is because I’m taller than you.”  But I resist the urge to be a big jerk and I say, “Thank you.” That simple acknowledgement solicited “It’s hot today, you be careful and have a nice day.”  And he walked on…  He wasn’t aggressive. He didn’t want money, he just wanted to (politely, albeit awkwardly) compliment a girl who was walking by.
  • Of course, sometimes what could be uncomfortable turns into something slightly humorous when you’re sharing it with other people. On one crowded bus, a rider was speaking loudly into his phone. He was explaining that he had purchased food (“a fish sandwich and fries… and it smells good”) with his paycheck and not drugs. A little weird? Yup. Kinda funny? Yup – especially if you consider the woman across the aisle from me who was offering commentary under her breath.  He wasn’t threatening anyone; he wasn’t even addressing anyone on the bus. He was having his own conversation and we just happened to be present. It was one of those events that bonds you to other people who are experiencing it.
  • There was also the woman at the bus stop who really, really wanted to talk to me. She shared personal tidbits about her medication and conversations she has with her doctor. She talked about her family. She talked about which bus she was going to take. And she talked about a few other things that I couldn’t catch. My response? I listened and talked with her for a bit and then decided that I was done, so I picked up my cell phone and excused myself b/c I had to make a call.

    Those friendly bikers! (Photo from Five Rivers Metroparks Web site)

  • I also got to enjoy a handful of musical interpretations. Hanging out at the hub, there are plenty of people listening to music via earbuds. One particularly boisterous teenager included some dancing and singing as he was enjoying his music. He was doing it for himself – perfectly content to feel the music and let it come out. We just happened to be honored and/or annoyed to witness it.
  • AND bike related: I don’t know if cyclists follow the rules of the sea, but everyone I passed who was on a bike when I was on my bike either nodded or said hello or somehow acknowledged that we share a common bond. I almost felt like a fake (“I’m not really one of you”), until I embraced it and decided that regardless of what comes tomorrow – I’m a cyclist today!

So, what am I getting at? I think when my car is my main source of transportation, I lose that personal interaction. And some of that interaction is creepy. And some of it makes you uncomfortable or compels you to hold your purse closer.  But some of it is just someone wishing you a nice day and wanting to offer a smile. Some of it is a person offering a total stranger a seat. But, even when it was weird, it was okay. For good or bad, those are the people in my neighborhood.

“Excuse me, sir – what is your job in the neighborhood?”
“You’re kidding me.”
“No, really – what’s your job?”
“I’m an elephant trainer…  Look at me – I’m driving a bus!”
“Then you must be a bus driver.”
“Oh, you’re brilliant.”

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A strategic game of chess… err – Bus riding

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Friday, Friday, Friday. Half workday, half weekend. And enough travel for both. Getting to work and getting home with my new friends Bus and Bike were golden. I even coordinated a perfectly timed bus/bike trip home over my lunch hour! Excellent. However, end of Friday = going out on the town. And of course, a First Friday falls right in the middle of this little experiment. So, I get home in plenty of time. Get ready. Get the dog fed. And get out the door with my guy (who is a trooper again!). And as I’m steps away from the bus stop …  It rolls right past us. Drat! (And I can’t even blame the bus for being early; this is another case of user error.)

So, we think about our options. 1) We can wait 45 minutes for the next bus. Nope – that would get us into the city too late to meet up with our friends. 2) We can go to the bus stop on the other side of the neighborhood to catch a different route. Feasible – but checking the schedule – both buses pass by opposite ends of the neighborhood at the same time. If we missed one – we’ve missed them both. 3) We can bike into the city to get around and plan to bus home. Unfortunately, we’re a one-bike household, and hopping on the handlebars doesn’t work as well as it did when I was 8 years old. 4) I, still personally car-less, can ride-share with someone else who is going downtown anyway. We rationalize it enough and I hop in the passenger side of the car.

We park centrally and get walking – hitting up RiverScape, the Cannery and the Oregon District in the course of the night. Passing by many, many zombies (and a few friends) on the way back to the car. Good thing we had the car – no buses were running by the time our night came to a close. We would have cabbed it home or ditched out early. That’s life without a car, but I was car-pooling!

So – back to being 100% car-less for Saturday. Ready to work and make up for Friday night’s carpool. Started the day off right with a nice walk for some coffee. And then planned to spend the afternoon cleaning, doing laundry and grocery shopping. Oh – cripe! Grocery shopping.  And I’ll tell you – it was worse than I thought. Checking the online trip planner, they recommend taking a bus a few miles in the opposite direction of where I’m headed in order to grab a transfer and come back to be dropped off directly next to the store. However, I decide that being family able-bodied that I’ll take a direct bus down to a stop less than 1/2  mile from the grocery and walk over. No problem.

Except now that I’m in the store, I’m feeling the pressure. As readers have advised, I need to be at my bus stop 5 minutes early.  I usually can enjoy grocery shopping, but with the pressure of the bus schedule on my mind, there’s no cruising the aisles and finding something new to try or comparing prices for me. I’m in the store feeling the stress; I’m rushing up and down aisles, grabbing just what I need, and getting up to the check-out line within 30 minutes to catch the next bus back out. I’m even making the choice NOT to buy some heavier objects because I’m thinking of how to carry everything. I get out to the bus stop, unload my bags from the cart, rush the cart back to the parking lot, and get seated 5 minutes early. And I wait. And I wait. And the bus is 10 minutes late.

Finally, as the bus is pulling up, nice guy next to me on the bench offers to help load my bags onto the bus. I’m ready to set them on the floor by a seat, but he kindly points out the lil’ area up front specifically designed for this stuff. Yay for help! Since I made the decision not to buy the heavy stuff on this trip, I opt to take a direct route to my neighborhood. Then I walk the 0.3 miles to my home. Longest walk of my life. Even without that case of beer, the groceries are making their weight known. The crazy heat and humidity that rolled in Saturday afternoon didn’t help either.

Lesson learned: Strategy is important. I’m being somewhat fast and loose with my decisions because I’m experimenting through trial and error and checking out all sorts of different options. If this were my life, both experience and necessity would lead to specific choices. Grocery shopping on the bus requires making the right choices: a smaller trip with manageable bags is walkable, a lil’ foldaway cart to roll groceries home can help, or a careful selection of products (i.e. not ice cream) allows you to take the bus that requires a 45 minute trip.

As afternoon turns to evening, I’m heading to church. Even though there’s a church within walking distance, we’re members somewhere a bit further off. And there’s a perfect bus to get us to our church at a decent time, but not so much to get home. And lo, another slight inconvenience of this adventure: an unfortunate lack of choice. Now, is there anything wrong with this local church? Of course not,we just don’t happen to choose it. But Saturday, we didn’t get the luxury of choice.

After church, it’s time to plan for the evening. Since I just did grocery shopping, I wasn’t anticipating dinner downtown, but with the bus schedule being what it was – I had no choice. There was no option for dinner at home and catching a bus for the show. So – we rode.  Zoomed right down to the front door of the restaurant, had a relaxed dinner and then picked up a different bus about an hour later to get to the hub. It was a short walk from the hub to the Victoria Theater and we were on-time for the concert.

Post-concert was more of a challenge. It’s that need for strategy coupled with the lack of leisure time. By the time we got out of the show, there was only one bus we could catch to get us back home. We had an hour to kill, but it wasn’t quite enough time to join the crew for the official after-show party. Plus – it was raining. Hard. So, we ran next door to Uno’s, hung out at the bar to kill some time, and then we ran for the hub and waited for the bus. I usually down-size the purse when going out for the evening, but again – the bus requires strategy. I should have packed a larger bag with a sweater and umbrella, instead I just got cold and wet.

Sunday – was an “off day.” Not for any reason than I’m designating this adventure about being car-less in Dayton. ‘Tis the season for graduation parties, so I headed to Columbus for the family. I suppose I could have bused to the airport, flew to Columbus, taken the COTA out to the party and then reversed it all to get home. But I didn’t. And I’m okay with that. Hope you are, too.

Up next – my last days car-less and learning more about the people who ride the bus.