southwest ohio regional transit authority
southwest ohio regional transit authority or sorta, is the public transit agency serving cincinnati, ohio and its suburbs .
duson, metropolitan atlanta transit consultants sean gash, chicago transit authority lashawn gillespie, foothill transit colin groth, southwest ohio regional transit authority brian j .
currently, there are no fleet mechanic jobs available at southwest ohio regional transit authority metro. you may wish to explore other locations and job titles at southwest ohio regional transit authority metro on the southwest ohio regional transit authority metro maintenance jobs page or view related jobs below .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority has broken ground on what will soon become the new oakley transit center .
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* the southwest ohio regional transit authority asked for nearly $ 4. 19 million to run the streetcar .
issues facing the streetcar network might be resolved by the city, the southwest ohio regional transit authority or transdev .
the streetcar is owned by the city, managed by the southwest ohio regional transit authority and operated by transdev .
a southwest regional transit authority bus heads down 5th street toward government square in downtown cincinnati .
a southwest regional transit authority bus heads down 5th street toward government square in downtown cincinnati .
transdev said weekend ridership has been 300 percent to 500 percent higher than projected by the southwest ohio regional transit authority .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority is considering seeking a sales tax to help fund its operations, known as cincinnati metro .
a recent financial audit of the southwest ohio regional transit authority by the auditor of state’s office has returned a clean audit report .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority has proposed adjustments to three local routes that would eliminate some service in low - performing areas .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority now estimates an average of 1, 693 rides a day between july 2017 and june 2018 .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority said the 3. 6 mile cincinnati bell connector had ridership of 52, 209 in december .
let’s face it. serving on the board overseeing the southwest ohio regional transit authority isn’t the sexiest volunteer job in the city .
dwight ferrell, ceo of southwest ohio regional transit authority, left, and cincinnati city councilman david mann ride the cincinnati bell connector during the streetcar' s opening day. both the metro buses and the streetcar are run by the southwest ohio regional transit authority .
jason dunn, chairman of the southwest ohio regional transit authority, has been named a 2017 outstanding director by the cincinnati business courier .
“we’re trying to (make) adjustments that are necessary, ” said sallie hilvers, spokeswoman for the southwest ohio regional transit authority .
also riding the inaugural run were acting federal transit administrator carolyn flowers, southwest ohio regional transit authority chair jason dunn, and other public officials and project supporters .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority has elected kreg keesee as chair of the sorta board for 2018. maurice brown was elected vice chair .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority said the revenue is a quarter of what is needed to fund the system for the remainder of 2016 .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority told a cincinnati council committee tuesday it has a broken funding formula and it is looking to fix the problem .
metro is a non - profit, tax - funded public service of the southwest ohio regional transit authority, providing about 15 million rides per year .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority awarded a contract to passport for the creation of a mobile ticketing app that will allow public transit riders to purchase fare on smartphones and tablets .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority’s board vice - chair ken reed was recently honored by the american society of public administration with the public service recognition award .
smartdrive systems recently announced that transdev north america has selected smartdrive rail for deployment on the cincinnati bell connector streetcars, managed by the southwest ohio regional transit authority .
about metro metro is a non - profit, tax - funded public service of the southwest ohio regional transit authority, providing about 15 million rides per year .
a: the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) operates metro buses and smaller access buses for people whose disabilities prevent their use of metro’s regular service .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority has delayed until next year a ballot measure proposing a sales tax that would help fund an expansion of public transportation in greater cincinnati .
average southwest ohio regional transit authority - metro fleet mechanic hourly pay in the united states is approximately $ 19. 17, which is 8% below the national average .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) board of trustees voted to express its intent to place a hamilton county - wide sales tax levy on the november 2018 ballot .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) has re - elected jason dunn as chair of the sorta board for 2017. ken reed was re - elected vice chair .
in cincinnati, the southwest ohio regional transit authority has reached an agreement with passport to develop a mobile ticketing app to be used on buses and the under construction streetcar line .
cincinnati council has approved an ordinance that would allow the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) to sell advertising on bus benches to provide seating at stops that lack shelters .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority has announced it will operate free metro bus circulator service during the grand opening weekend for the cincinnati bell connector streetcar, sept. 9 - 11 .
the proposals approved for public hearing by southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) board members include adjustments to three local routes that would eliminate some service in low - performing areas .
cincinnati city manager harry black is putting pressure on the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) to eliminate long waits at streetcar stations, but sorta officials say that will cost money .
who' s making this billion dollar transit decision? let’s face it. serving on the board overseeing the southwest ohio regional transit authority isn’t the sexiest volunteer job in the city. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) board has voted to take all appropriate steps to explore placing a ballot issue before hamilton county voters in 2017 to increase and enhance public transportation services .
a survey hints at a sales tax ballot issue from the southwest ohio regional transit authority. sorta asked a sampling of hamilton county residents if they would vote for a sales tax to support public transportation .
quanna moses, a southwest regional transit authority driver, makes a stop at government square on her route to evendale. moses has been a driver for 10 years .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) received the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting from the government finance officers association of the united states and canada (gfoa) .
advertising vehicles - which has the contract with the southwest ohio regional transit authority to sell the naming rights and advertising on the cincinnati streetcar - has announced a streetcar advertising contract with the local restaurant tom + chee .
on thursday, june 16 from 10 a. m. until about 2 p. m. , southwest ohio regional transit authority and transdev staff will take part in a cincinnati streetcar full - scale emergency exercise .
with 18 stops, the streetcar, which is managed by the southwest ohio regional transit authority and operated by transdev will feature 18 stops on a loop extending from downtown to the over - the - rhine neighborhood .
about: he has worked in public transit since 1998. he' s currently the loss control services manager for the ohio transit risk pool. he was previously the general manager of the butler county regional transit authority and has a bachelor' s in business administration from ohio state university in marketing and transit logistics .
through the turmoil of the riots of 2001, cincinnati' s transit system — southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) — operated without interruption, moving people to and from work and helping to keep the business of the city at full throttle .
have your say on these proposed cuts to bus routes the southwest ohio regional transit authority has proposed adjustments to three local routes that would eliminate some service in low - performing areas. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
the choice for the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) board wednesday was simple – go to the voters now for a new sales tax increase to save the financially troubled bus system or go to the voters later .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) is a tax - supported, independent political subdivision of the state of ohio and is a government entity. sorta operates metro fixed - route bus service and access paratransit service for people whose disabilities prevent their riding metro buses .
southwest ohio regional transit authority ceo and general manager dwight ferrell addressed reporters at the richter & phillips streetcar station at sixth and main streets - - just outside the transit authority' s offices - - friday morning, to provide an update on the streetcar' s reception throughout its first week of paid rides .
the financially - strapped southwest ohio regional transit authority plans to trim back service on its three least - used metro bus routes as part of a cost - saving plan before they go to voters next year with a sales tax request .
- - under its contract with the city of cincinnati, the southwest ohio regional transit authority is responsible for submitting an annual cincinnati streetcar operating budget and funding request to the city of cincinnati in preparation for the city’s july 1 fiscal year .
believing that increased transit use could improve air quality in the region, the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) embarked on a innovative effort to use $ 860, 000 of istea congestion mitigation and air quality improvement (cmaq) funds to improve intermodal transportation and air quality .
the southwest ohio regional transportation authority operates 337 fixed route buses out of two (2) garage facilities and provides transit service to the greater cincinnati metropolitan area. sorta secured federal funding for the trapeze its system through the american recovery and reinvestment act (arra) .
how can the southwest ohio regional transit authority persuade taxpayers to fix a broken - down bus system when the agency also is in charge of running the politically polarizing streetcar? politics extra isn' t sure it can right now. it appears neither is the sorta board .
while the transit authority resolves a software issue with the streetcar' s automated passenger counters, they used a ridership calculation method approved by the federal transit authority, according to sorta spokeswoman sallie hilvers .
but the $ 109. 1 million budget came with a cry for help from the southwest ohio regional transit authority, which cast its 2017 budget as a stripped - down, stop - gap effort that illustrates the need for a tax hike on next year' s ballot .
the cincinnati bell connector streetcar is intended to expand transportation options and enhance livability by connecting downtown, the riverfront and over - the - rhine. it is owned and funded by the city of cincinnati, managed by the southwest ohio regional transit authority, and operated by transdev .
after that, on thursday, the city and transit authority teamed up and demanded the additional service .
transit authority staffers friday were also adding new signage to each stop explaining the process in further detail .
bell will pay $ 340, 000 per year for 10 years under an agreement signed with advertising vehicles, which has the contract with the southwest ohio regional transit authority to sell naming rights and advertising on the cincinnati streetcar. revenue from the agreement will be used to fund operations .
metro is southwest ohio' s fixed - route bus service, which serves hamilton county residents in addition to providing commuter routes from clermont, butler and warren counties into cincinnati. metro is a non - profit, tax - funded public service of the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta), providing about 14 million rides per year in the greater cincinnati area. find answers to commonly asked questions on metro’s faqs .
the cincinnati enquirer reported earlier this month that the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta), which operates the city of cincinnati' s fixed - service metro bus routes, is seeking grants or private donations to help fund the purchase of up to three diesel - fueled hybrid electric buses .
the national transit database a program of the federal transit administration. all major transit agencies are required to report certain statistics on a regular basis .
some ohio transit agencies are beginning to embrace smart card smart phone apps to allow passengers to pay their fare .
trapeze its, an operating company of trapeze group, today announced that the southwest ohio regional transportation authority (sorta) of cincinnati, ohio has selected trapeze its to deploy a new comprehensive intelligent transportation system. the solution replaces an existing legacy system and is designed to help enhance the agency’s fixed route operations while increasing customer service and ridership satisfaction .
judy cox, of monfort heights, rides the cincinnati bell connector with her daughter karen childs and karen' s husband, dan, of white oak, during the streetcar' s opening day. it is now sharing the road with metro buses, which like the streetcar, are run by the southwest ohio regional transit authority .
the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) is seeking a full service public relations company for a one year contract. sorta, is the public transport agency serving cincinnati and its ohio suburbs. the agency provides metro transit bus services, and other services – and is believed to provide services to more than 50, 000 people daily. ridership has been in rapid decline – with poor service reported, and service cuts as well as fare increases .
the cincinnati bell connector makes its way down central parkway towards walnut street. the streetcar opened in september of 2016. it operates in a 3. 6 - mile loop through over - the - rhine and downtown cincinnati. it' s owned by the city and managed by the southwest ohio regional transit authority and maintained by transdev .
transdev welcomes the... calls to operate more streetcars ,
said ruth otte, a transdev spokeswoman .
we will add extra service to meet weekend demand and continue to work closely with (the southwest ohio regional transit authority) to make the cincinnati streetcar a great success for the city and the people of cincinnati .
“a robust bus system is a vital mode of the transportation network, ” said derek bauman, the southwest ohio director of all aboard ohio and a public transportation advocate. “more and more people are looking for noncar options. ”
the central ohio transit authority in columbus plans to seek requests for proposals for a new payment system to replace cash - only fare boxes. cota also plans to offer wi - fi aboard its buses .
instead, there were memos and press releases but an overall lack of clarity. southwest ohio regional transit authority, which oversees streetcar operations and made the budget request, sent out written information that did not answer the enquirer' s questions; officials there also did not consent to an interview. and the city simply said it was reviewing the budget request .
a 2012 study of the 10 most popular bus routes of the greater cleveland regional transit authority found that buses spent twice as much time waiting for passengers to pay than they did waiting at red lights .
metro does not operate in northern kentucky, where transit services are provided by the transit authority of northern kentucky (tank). metro and tank work cooperatively to provide regional transportation. riders can transfer between the two systems from metro’s government square hub in downtown cincinnati .
a: metro’s $ 1. 75 base fare is one of the lowest in the country. here’s how metro’s base fare compares with other ohio transit systems :
mr. ferrell is a recognized leader in the transit industry. for four years, he served as deputy general manager and chief operating officer of the metropolitan atlanta rapid transit authority (marta), managing day - to - day operations for the ninth largest transit system in the united states .
gtfs, or the general transit feed specification, is the standard format used by many transit agencies to release schedule and trip planning information .
regional transportation connecting people and places, driving economic growth and expanding quality of life choices .
uc * metro is an agreement between uc and the southwest ohio regional transit authority, which operates the region' s metro bus service. the ez ride fare card, is open to students, staff, and faulty. the program allows members of the uc community to take local bus transportation at a substantial discount! the card itself is free and secures you $ 1 rides and 50 - cent transfers. visit uc' s metro page for more information or to register ,
recommending appropriate research methods, conducting the research, and analyzing the results to track public opinion on issues related to regional transit development and to measure the effectiveness of sorta’s efforts .
transdev, the company that operates the cincinnati streetcar, came under fire thursday when the city and transit authority teamed up and demanded it run more streetcars on weekends, ar .
board chairman jason dunn and chief executive officer dwight ferrell addressed the major transportation and regional cooperation committee .
voters approved a city of cincinnati income tax increase for transit in november 1972, which permitted cincinnati to purchase the privately - owned cincinnati transit inc. bus system .
the cincinnati / northern kentucky international airport offers 180 daily departures to regional, national, and international destinations .
just 4 percent of the cincinnati region’s jobs are accessible within an hour’s transit commute .
the mayor’s race might only fuel the skepticism anti - tax / anti - streetcar group coast has about the transit authority. the group' s concern is any bus money given to sorta through a transit tax would go straight to the streetcar coffer. the transit authority has a policy in place that bus money absolutely cannot be used for the streetcar. but who’s to say that won’t be changed if simpson or richardson are elected and appoint streetcar advocates to the sorta board ?
get to know khaled shammout, metro' s new director of transit development. urltoken urltoken
117 was preserved by the cincinnati transit historical association before being sold off due to electrical issues .
the transit authority has found itself struggling to keep up with changes in where people live and work, and ridership and fare revenue have dropped since 2009. fares cover about a third of the agency' s budget .
david a. riposo is the chief financial officer and secretary – treasurer of the southwest ohio regional transit authority (sorta) and is responsible for overseeing the organizations $ 100 million operating budget and capital program. in this role he is responsible for managing the finance, procurement, information technology, and treasury / risk management areas of the organization. mr. riposo has more than 20 years of experience in the finance industry. most recently, he served as vice president, treasurer of novitex enterprise solutions, in stamford, connecticut. he also held leadership positions at fougera pharmaceuticals, handy & harman ltd. , international paper co. , and the chicago transit authority, where he was general manager, treasury. mr. riposo is a member of financial executives international and the association for financial professionals. he has an mba in accounting from loyola university of chicago and a bachelor of science degree in business administration in finance from the ohio state university. he is a certified treasury professional .
challenges: the transit system has a dated configuration that does not work for where jobs are today .
providing transit riders with critical traveller information, the trapeze its solution for sorta also includes real - time arrival and departure displays at the downtown transit center and next stop announcement signs and audio systems on the bus .
donna adkins currently holds the position of chief of staff, responsible for project management, board liaison and supervising a variety of cross - agency functions, initiatives, and projects in support of the executive management team. ms. adkins’ 30 + years of service at metro began as administrative coordinator for the southwest ohio regional transit authority board of trustees. she has served as finance coordinator and project manager for such high - profile projects as the uptown transit district and transit centers in northside, oakley, walnut hills and the cincinnati bell connector streetcar. ms. adkins was also instrumental in establishing the everybody rides metro (erm) foundation, partnering with over 100 local agencies to provide metro rides to those in need. in 2015, she was promoted to chief of staff. adkins attended northern kentucky university. she is active with her six grandchildren and enjoys reading, gardening and camping .
about: he' s the executive director for journey to liberty, a non - profit, faith - based organization that helps people better themselves. he was previously a senior public affairs manager for walmart, where he oversaw government and public relations for 140 stores in ohio. he was a spokesman for the ohio department of transportation during ohio governor bob taft' s administration. he' s also a north college hill city councilman .
the sorta board got itself into the streetcar in 2013, when it had a pro - streetcar majority. that’s not the case now, but the streetcar connection is backfiring on the transit authority. the board really wants to focus on helping jobless and under - employed residents connect to thousands of job opportunities outside the urban core that are currently not accessible by transit .
challenges: that many in the community don' t realize the importance of a great transportation system. and growing it into a regional transportation system .
transit ceo @ dwightaferrell reminding @ cb _ connector riders to * validate * their passes after purchasing. @ wcpo urltoken
challenges: an unsustainable funding model, external politics and the false perception that public transit is solely for poor blacks .
full speed ahead: streetcar operator will run more streetcars transdev, the company that operates the cincinnati streetcar, came under fire thursday when the city and transit authority teamed up and demanded it run more streetcars on weekends, ar. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
applicable law the laws of the state of ohio shall govern all rights and obligations under this agreement, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of laws .
from monday through thursday, the transit authority calculated 12, 740 rides, averaging to about 3, 185 rides per day. the streetcar' s first - year operating budget, approved by cincinnati city council earlier this year, accommodated for about 3, 000 rides per day .
but the streetcar' s launch has not been without a few hiccups. the transit authority has been working with its partners to resolve some software issues with the fare kiosks located at each of the system' s 18 stations, issues that ferrell said had been mostly resolved by friday .
bus rapid transit could be an exciting new way to get around the region. learn about the benefits of brt as well as… urltoken
ferrell described the streetcar' s launch as the
smoothest
he' s seen in his 30 years working in public transit .
an estimated 9 percent of ohioans and nearly one third of cincinnati residents don’t own a vehicle, according to u. s. census data and the ohio bureau of motor vehicles .
sorta also needs more time to rally critical stakeholder support. transit authority chairman jason dunn is a masterful collaborator who greatly cares about improving the agency. expect him and other sorta officials to spend time with the preschool levy leaders, who set a new standard for how to collaborate on a challenging levy project .
schneider has remained a transit proponent, these days known for his work on the streetcar even though he believes in both forms of transportation .
about: senior vice president and chief operating officer at the cincinnati usa regional chamber. he' s worked for kroger in government relations and was press secretary for mayor charlie luken .
challenges: that sorta has not had the resources, funding model or operational structure necessary to build an innovative and regional transit system. those limitations have real consequences and they diminish our ability to be competitive with our peers and... connect people to a growing number of jobs available in communities surrounding the urban core .
shammout is is responsible for overseeing metro’s planning department, infrastructure and transit center design and construction, as well long - term and strategic planning .
exx - cleveland transit system 1701, 1711, 1717, 1723, 1731, 1733, 1737 - 1738, 1702, 1704, 1719 .
metro has said that under its current funding it can’t offer transit service to reach the growing number of jobs that are outside the city of cincinnati .
i’ve been in transit 30 years, seen three start - ups, and none have had so few issues getting started ,
he said .
the rfp is due by september 4, 2015 and more information is available via email to lbryan @ urltoken. the scope is to include strategic public relations includes planning, research and consultation related to sorta’s efforts to explore an expanded role in providing regional public transit services. it is estimated that this work will average about 50 hours per month .
the authority made up for a projected $ 1. 3 million shortfall in next year' s budget by laying off four executives, switching to self - funded health insurance and deferring capital expenses .
sorta leaders say the organization expects budget shortfalls from 2018 onward and is looking at reducing service and raising fares in 2018 to cover the gap. the authority hasn' t raised fares since 2009 .
openstreetmap osm has some well - developed, but still incomplete, data on the region’s transit routes and infrastructure. other aspects of the data are very complete .
he' d like to see regular transit users on the board .
over the years that' s been few and far between ,
he said .
cincinnati - - since opening to revenue service monday morning, the cincinnati bell connector streetcar has exceeded ridership projections throughout its first week, transit officials announced friday morning .
historic maps and schedules this is a tremendous dataset (~ 8gb all told) put together by dave walters of the cincinnati transit historical association. it consists mostly of scanned raster pdfs of every local transit map and schedule that could be found. they go back as far as the 1930’s and get more complete closer to the present .
challenges: ensuring sorta is financially solvent without placing the burden on riders is a major challenge. also, determining what the future transit needs will be in the region .
peter mclinden is executive secretary – treasurer of the cincinnati afl - cio labor council. he also serves on the ohio bureau of workers’ compensation board of directors, the city of cincinnati’s civil service commission, the united way of greater cincinnati executive committee & board of directors and on the board of the greater cincinnati occupational health center. he served previously as regional director and assistant / associate general counsel for the afscme ohio council 8, afl - cio. mclinden received his b. a. in history / political science from john carroll university and his m. a. in public administration and public policy and j. d. from the university of akron. he resides in lebanon .
public transit agencies and businesses voluntarily participate in the apta sustainability commitment program and pledge to implement processes and actions that create continuous improvements in environmental, social, and economic sustainability .
funding of the $ 148 - million streetcar project came from public - private partnerships, which included grants from the federal transit administration and u. s. department of transportation .
transit agency longingly eyes 2017 tax levy the agency that oversees greater cincinnati' s bus system narrowly balanced its budget for next year on tuesday. check out this story on urltoken urltoken
among the issues of the cincinnati bell connector have been inoperative credit card readers, lack of enough cars running on weekends, and transit times that have not lived up to their billing .
for better or worse, the public sees the streetcar and metro buses as intertwined through sorta. that’s why the agency probably should put a halt to any thought of placing a countywide transit tax on the ballot this year. the plan is for a possible transit tax to be designed only for buses, but voters could see it as giving money to the agency that runs the streetcar .
all board ohio said cranley is facing a tough opponent and asked his appointees to the sorta board of directors to delay the tax increase question in the belief that not having it on the ballot in november will result in a smaller voter turnout at the polls .
do we want to give sorta the power to decide where these benches go ?
cranley asked .
that seems like a really big delegation of authority, and do we want to give sorta the power to make money off the advertising ?
tank is the regional bus service of northern kentucky. it extends into downtown cincinnati and can be taken to the cincinnati / northern kentucky international airport (cvg) as well as many other destinations. uc does not currently have any program for discounted services from tank .
these streetcar arguments have been going on for nearly a decade, and they' re probably going to continue this year. all indications are the streetcar again is going to be a hot - button issue in the mayor' s race between cranley, city councilwoman yvette simpson and former university of cincinnati chairman rob richardson jr. the mayor' s race – covered by media that reaches a regional audience – probably will do nothing to change minds about transit across hamilton county .
the idea at the time: create a regional bus system that is regionally funded. the hope was the clermont, warren and butler counties, and even northern kentucky, would help pay for expanded service into each of their areas. northern kentucky has its own bus system .
allan freeman is president of 50 + 1 public policy initiatives, a consulting business focusing on financial and public relations strategies. previously, freeman worked for the ohio kentucky indiana regional council of governments (oki) and prior to that as district representative to former u. s. congressman rob portman. while at oki freeman served on the on the lunken airport advisory committee, the oki environmental justice advisory committee and, was as an alternate on the greater cincinnati health council. he currently serves on the pierce township board of trustees. allen also received his b. a. in political science from the university of cincinnati .
cincinnati metro also would like to expand service to areas where there is job growth, noting that one out of five adults in cincinnati doesn’t have a car. just 4 percent of the region’s jobs are accessible within a 1 - hour transit commute .
to assist transit dispatchers in answering questions such as
what event has priority ?
and
what service needs attention ?
the solution for sorta also incorporates transitmaster ids™ (ids) – the latest development in dispatching technology providing intelligent decision support .
transit officials declined to put a tax levy on the 2016 ballot, which also featured a sizable cincinnati public schools levy, which voters approved on nov. 8. sorta instead directed its staff to explore the possibility of a tax levy on the 2017 ballot .
in an effort to further guarantee 12 - minute intervals during the workweek, ferrell also said transit officials were working with city traffic engineers to update traffic signal patterns, to increase traffic flow now along the streetcar route, now that service is in full swing .
“we will run to the problem and not kick the can down the road. our organization is at a crossroads. we need more funding not just to address this budget issue, but to grow the system to meet the community’s need for better access to jobs, ” said jason dunn, chair of the authority' s board, in a news release .
saddled with streetcar operations and having no transit - tax champion, it' s difficult to determine where sorta goes from here. on tuesday, sorta leaders told whoever was listening the agency needs a jaw - dropping $ 1 billion over the next decade to fix the bus system. but it generated little buzz .
mount washington resident greg landsman spent four years working to get a diverse group of stakeholders on board before the preschool property tax went on the ballot last fall. the effort really took off once the big - company ceos of the high - powered cincinnati business committee got involved over a year ago. the cincinnati usa regional chamber jumped in. so did cincinnati public schools, labor unions and community groups .
sorta is a political subdivision of the state of ohio and is governed by a 13 - member volunteer citizens’ board of trustees. seven trustees are appointed by the city of cincinnati and six are appointed by hamilton county. hamilton county appoints three of its own trustees plus one each representing butler, clermont and warren counties. the funding relationship between sorta and the city is established by the city / sorta agreement of 1973 .
it is the view of the administration that allowing placement of advertising by other entities raises a substantial risk of opening the door (via lawsuit) to private advertising occurring outside the transit stop context in the right of way, leading to more benches throughout the city with advertising in the future ,
the memo said .
also looking toward the future, friday' s news briefing also introduced the streetcar' s new general manager, john lee, who, like ferrell, brings three decades of public transit experience to the table. lee was a part of multiple light rail launches and systems, including houston and dallas, texas, and escondido, california .
hamilton county commissioner todd portune said this week it’s not the right time for a ballot initiative – and the democrat is perhaps the no. 1 advocate for improving public transportation in the region. mayor john cranley originally hatched the idea of the transit tax, but he backed away a year ago after his parks levy went up in flames .
the transit system is currently funded in part by a 0. 3 percent earning tax on jobs in cincinnati. but as many jobs in the city have vanished or moved to the surrounding region, the level of funding provided by the jobs tax has fallen to the point where sorta is unable to replace aging buses and maintain its existing network .
john schneider led a 2002 tax levy aimed at putting public transit within one mile of 95 percent of hamilton county households, with a massive expansion of routes, frequency and hours of service. voters, fresh off passing a controversial sales tax for the stadiums, saw it as prioritizing rail instead of buses and defeated it more than 2 - 1 .
darryl haley manages the departments responsible for transit service planning development and scheduling, operations, and maintenance. mr. haley most recently served as interim general manager. he was previously executive director of development, responsible for short and long range planning, customer relations, and transit and ridership development. prior to joining metro in 2005, mr. haley held positions in the health - care distribution industry and financial institutions, where he earned many awards for leadership in operations, sales, and profit improvement. mr. haley holds a b. a. in business administration from the university of cincinnati and is a cincinnati native and graduate of withrow high school. he is a member of the conference of minority transportation officials (comto) .
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during the hot summer months that can trigger heat and pollution alerts, the partnership is also allowing uc riders to become friendlier to the environment. metro busses in the uptown run on biodiesel made from ohio soybeans which burns cleaner than conventional diesel fuel. metro adds that each person who opts to ride the bus instead of driving the car to work conserves more than 200 gallons of gas per year, so as gas prices soar to more than three dollars a gallon, that’s a savings of over $ 600 .
robert harris is an inclusion consultant at bridges for a just community. previously, he worked as director for the cincinnati region for ohio technology related assistance information network (train) and as the education and training coordinator for the cincinnati human relations commission. he has served on several local boards and commissions, including a prior term on the sorta board of trustees. harris received his b. a. in community development and community relations, as well as in printmaking, from the university of cincinnati. he resides in cincinnati .
blake ethridge is technical editor at first transit. previously, he spent more than 10 years as an instructor at johns hopkins university. he serves on the board of the midwest chapter of the congress for new urbanism. ethridge received his b. a. in chemistry and political science from goucher college and his m. a. in political science from johns hopkins university. he resides in cincinnati .
mr. ferrell held leadership positions at some of the largest, multi - modal public transportation systems in the nation, including in austin, dallas, new orleans and philadelphia. for many years, he has been actively involved with the american public transportation association, conference of minority transportation officials, and transportation research board. he participated in the eno center for transit leadership executive development program and is a graduate of leadership atlanta .
“that was nine years ago and we don’t have that, ” said todd portune, president of the board of county commissioners and longtime transit proponent. “i have, with increasing frustration, been engaging the sorta board about either their inability to or failure to address those elements of its mission. we’re entering the 9th year of the agreement. i don’t think it’s too strong a statement to say very little noticeable progress has been made. ”
communities served by metro: metro helps connect many of cincinnati' s great neighborhoods. popular destinations: museums, theatres, work and play... metro is your key to all that cincinnati has to offer. check out some of the fantastic places that metro serves. know your route? simply click on the schedule links below to view your route schedule as a pdf files. if you have trouble accessing pdfs, please use google transit .
she is a graduate of xavier university and has a degree in communications: public relations and holds an accreditation in public relations (apr) credential. she has received numerous awards for her public relations work, including several blacksmith awards from the cincinnati chapter of the public relations society of america and is a 2016 recipient of the “top 40 under 40” award by mass transit magazine. jones also serves as president of the cincinnati chapter of the conference of minority transportation officials (comto) .
but the board is about to make a billion dollar decision in the next few months. the 12 members - - there' s one open seat - - will decide whether to put a transit tax on the november ballot. it could come in the form of a sales tax, perhaps as high one percent, which would bring in $ 1. 5 billion over the next decade. absent a tax, sorta leaders say they' ll have to raise fares or cut service .
mr. cull is the senior vice president and chief operating officer at the cincinnati usa regional chamber, where he oversees operations and strategic initiatives aimed at growing the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the cincinnati usa region. previously he served as director of government relations and regulatory affairs at the kroger co. , legislative director and press secretary for cincinnati mayor charlie luken and as a consultant at global lead management consulting. mr. cull serves on the government relations commitees of the food marketing institute and the national retail federation in washington, d. c. , and the boards of tender mercies and the mercantile library. he received a bachelor’s degree in organizational communications from xavier university. mr. cull and his family reside in clifton .
about: dunn is vice president of multicultural and community development for the cincinnati usa convention and visitors bureau. he' s in his second term on the board, appointed by both mayor mark mallory and cranley. he told the enquirer the tourism workforce is “multifaceted and is represented by every socio - economic level. it is important to the region’s tourism industry that the workforce that brings an estimated $ 4. 4 billion annually in visitor spend to the region have reliable transportation. ” he was named to mass transit magazine' s 2014
top 40 under forty
list .
about trapeze its trapeze its is a leading global provider of solutions for public urban passenger transportation. as an operating company of trapeze group, trapeze its offers public transit companies extensive operating and information systems for enhancing on - schedule traffic, reducing travelling times, achieving more accurate connections, and offering dynamic passenger information. internationally present, trapeze its develops, produces, and integrates high - quality operations control systems, on - board computers, passenger information displays at stops and in vehicles, and customized services in close cooperation with its customers. further information is available at www. trapezeits. com .
gwen l. robinson serves as president / ceo for cincinnati - hamilton county community action agency, a position she has held since 1995. she is a co - founder of every child succeeds, president of the state community action association, and member of many boards, including the hoxworth advisory board, downtown cincinnati inc. (dci), the public library foundation board, the cincinnatus association, the public benefit board for the state of ohio, and the fifth third cra board. she was the first african - american president of the cincinnatus association. ms. robinson has received many awards, including the 2010 profile in courage, the cincinnati enquirer 2006 women of the year, leading women of the year, ywca career women of achievement, ladies of distinction 2007 honoree, naacp 2006 wright overstreet award, radio one women empowerment award, and the dada rafiki award. she lives in springfield township with her husband and has two adult sons. she joined the sorta board in 2012 .
we are very proud that the governmental finance officers association of the united states and canada (gfoa) has again awarded a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting to sorta for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ending december 31, 2015, representing the 25th consecutive year the authority has received this award. the certificate of achievement is a prestigious national award recognizing conformance to the highest standards for preparation of state and local government financial reports. in order to be awarded a certificate of achievement, a government unit must publish an easily - readable and efficiently - organized comprehensive annual financial report, whose contents conform to stringent program standards. the cafr must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. a certificate of achievement is valid for a period of one year only. we believe our current report continues to conform to the program requirements, and we have submitted it to gfoa to determine its eligibility for another certificate. • for fiscal year 2016 archive
rebecca swartzendruber, of norwood, and her two - year - old great nephew, gus, along with good friend, sara dicken, of downtown, get off the the cincinnati bell connector at 5th and walnut. the streetcar begin operation a week ago .
after a week of battling over streetcar delays, transdev, the company that operates the cincinnati bell connector, announced thursday night it would run enough streetcars on weekends to meet demand .
otte said ridership levels on weekends have been from 300 percent to more than 500 percent of what sorta projected before the start of the service .
the streetcar has proven to be a huge hit and the voice of the people has been heard loud and clear ,
said derek bauman, a streetcar supporter who has been helping educate riders about protocols .
we have asked for more and quicker service and it' s encouraging to see officials working collaboratively to achieve that goal .
mayor john cranley convened a late day meeting wednesday with 10 stakeholders to discuss solutions to hold transdev accountable .
if it didn' t comply, cincinnati city officials threatened to take the operator to court, arguing the city' s contract requires that passengers wait no more than 15 minutes for a streetcar to arrive at any stop, known in the industry as
headway .
it is impossible to meet the contractual headway requirement obligation without running more streetcars ,
said jason dunn, chairman of the sorta board .
transdev must make the required adjustments to meet ridership demand, each and every day, and especially on weekends when demand is at its highest .
the thursday afternoon press release marks the first time in weeks the city and sorta have agreed on how to proceed .
an exchange of letters between sorta and transdev on oct. 4, obtained by the enquirer, show a tough stance from sorta, demanding performance requirements be met.
southwest ohio regional transit authority , abbreviated sorta , is the public transport agency serving cincinnati and its ohio suburbs . the agency provides metro transit bus service , access paratransit service , and the cincinnati bell connector streetcar system in downtown cincinnati . sorta replaced the cincinnati transit commission , which operated buses from 1952 to 1973 . as of 2015 , the agency operates 50 bus routes and facilitates approximately 16 million passenger trips annually . sorta is funded primarily by cincinnati 's city earnings tax , second by fares , and third by federal sources , with some other minor sources . 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 is also served by the transit authority of northern kentucky ( tank ) , whose transit services extend over the ohio river into northern kentucky . 
southwest ohio regional transit authority, abbreviated sorta, is the public transport agency serving cincinnati and its ohio suburbs. the agency provides metro transit bus service, access paratransit service, and the cincinnati bell connector streetcar system in downtown cincinnati. sorta replaced the cincinnati transit commission, which operated buses from 1952 to 1973. as of 2015, the agency operates 50 bus routes and facilitates approximately 16 million passenger trips annually. sorta is funded primarily by cincinnati's city earnings tax, second by fares, and third by federal sources, with some other minor sources. 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 is also served by the transit authority of northern kentucky (tank), whose transit services extend over the ohio river into northern kentucky.
southwest ohio regional transit authority, abbreviated sorta, is the public transport agency serving cincinnati and its ohio suburbs. the agency provides metro transit bus service, access paratransit service, and the cincinnati bell connector streetcar system in downtown cincinnati. sorta replaced the cincinnati transit commission, which operated buses from 1952 to 1973. as of 2015, the agency operates 50 bus routes and facilitates approximately 16 million passenger trips annually. sorta is funded primarily by cincinnati's city earnings tax, second by fares, and third by federal sources, with some other minor sources. 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 is also served by the transit authority of northern kentucky (tank), whose transit services extend over the ohio river into northern kentucky.