RICHLAND COUNTY — Richland County Transit is working to help get people to work. It’s called the RCT Flex service, a 1-year pilot program designed to expand transit access during hours when traditional fixed-route service is not available.
Starting May 4, the service will operate Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 7 a.m. and from 6:15 to 11:15 p.m., targeting workers with early-morning, late-evening, and overnight shifts. The service is also open to the public for school, shopping, social, medical or other needs.
“We're hoping to be able to get more people to work and help our employers have people in the jobs that they have open with reliable transportation to get there,” said RCT’s assistant general manager, Tara Burchett.
The new hours will help community members like Trent Spencer, who works second and sometimes third shift. He mainly relies on RCT to get to work, but that’s not an option when he must punch in before 6 a.m. or clock out after 11 p.m.
“It’s hard for me to find rides to and from work; sometimes I walk two hours to work because there’s no other transportation,” Spencer said.
The program targets workers with early-morning, late-evening, and overnight shifts. It’s a need that RCT bus drivers Tyler Rhodes and Darrel Leibolt have been hearing about from the community.
“Every day we hear from people about the need for all different hours, so they'll be thankful for newer hours,” said Leibolt.
RCT depended on its bus drivers to tell them which new routes to add; the drivers wanted to focus on apartment complexes, hospitals and the airport.
“We know the area, we drive the area every single day,” Rhodes said.
The pilot includes two routes operating on one-hour loops. Route 17 runs north to south, from the Mansfield Industrial Park area to Cook Road, including neighborhoods with several apartment complexes. Route 18 runs primarily east to west between Home Road and Newman Street, serving areas along Longview Avenue and key destinations such as grocery stores and OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. Transfers are available at the RCT Transit Center, with an additional connection point at Longview and Main.
RCT is adding midday trips on Route 15 (Airport) to improve connections to the Airport Industrial Park during key shift changes.
The 1-year program was funded by federal research money, thanks to the MATI grant, which focuses on areas with transportation insecurity.
“This is chosen to be the biggest concentration of people who don't have a reliable car and workplaces that need workers for more than one shift a day. We are going to be analyzing every week, every month, which routes are performing the best and which times are performing the best. Before the end of the year, we are going to be looking at what can we keep and what can we not afford to keep anymore when we lose this 100% funding,“ said Transit Development Manager Jean Taddie.
RCT Flex also introduces added flexibility for riders through a “deviation” option, which allows buses to travel up to a quarter mile off route to pick up passengers closer to their homes. This service must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance and is available for a small additional fee of $2 per trip.
Spencer says he is excited to use the new resources.
“That’s going to come handy around here,” said Spencer.
RCT is hosting an open house on April 14 for riders to learn more about the flex program and take a preview ride of the new routes.
Maya Locket is the Erie, Huron and Richland counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MayaLockett, on Facebook MayaLockettWEWS or email her at Maya.Lockett@wews.com.
