The transit agency says it is considering creating a couple more connectors, based on what it learns from these two routes.
The new West Connector is expected to connect more than 60% of RTA’s transit centers, bus routes and On-Demand zones, said Brandon Policicchio, chief customer and business development officer for the Greater Dayton RTA.
“Along the route there are full-service grocery and pharmacy stores located within walking distance, or less than a 10-minute ride on a connecting bus route or via Connect On-Demand,” Policicchio said.
Policicchio said the RTA hopes to start operating the West Connector this fall.
The West Connector’s route is not finalized, but buses may travel along Gettysburg Avenue, and proposed stops may include the Northwest Transit Center (on Shiloh Springs Road just east of Salem Avenue); the Westown Transit Center along West Third Street; the South Transit Center near the Dayton Mall; and the Dayton Children’s south campus, south of Austin Boulevard.
The West Connector might stop at the Homefull Grocery & Marketplace, Greater Dayton RTA CEO Robert Ruzinsky said during a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this year.
That new $20 million facility, located on the 800 block of South Gettysburg Ave., will have a full-service grocery store, a regional food hub and medical and pharmacy services.
The overwhelming majority of RTA’s bus routes stop at Wright Stop Plaza Transit Center in the heart of downtown Dayton. But the North Connector runs east to west in the northern part of the county, without coming downtown.
The North Connector’s stops include Trotwood-Madison High School, the Trotwood branch library, the Northwest Transit Center, the Montgomery County Western Division Courthouse and the Trotwood Senior Lofts.
The RTA at the end of last year also began operating Route 28, which travels in a loop in Kettering, without leaving the city.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The service goes along Dorothy Lane, Southern Boulevard and Stroop Road.
The RTA says its connectors are supposed to provide direct access to jobs, health care and educational opportunities.
The agency is considering creating a new airport connector to get people to and from the Dayton International Airport and a connector that serves some of the eastern communities of Montgomery County.
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