WRTA routes being renumbered
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
On Monday, the Western Reserve Transit Authority will roll out new route numbers for all of its fixed-route buses.
“Our routes and schedules are not changing,” emphasizes Jim Ferraro, WRTA executive director.
“All of our buses will follow the same routes and schedule times they always have. We’re simply changing the numbering system used to identify them,” Ferraro said. “And we wanted to make sure this new system was implemented before we bring our new website online, which will be happening very soon.”
For example, the route formerly known as 38 Market will now be 8 Market, and the routes formerly known as 33 Struthers-Buckeye and 33 Buckeye-Struthers will now each have their own number: 15 Struthers and 16 Buckeye.
Riders with long memories will notice that in several cases – such as 5 South (formerly 35 South) and 12 Albert (formerly 37 Albert) – the route numbers are returning to ones that were known for many decades before the current numbering system took effect in the 1980s.
“There are two main reasons for this change. First, we wanted to simplify and clarify our numbering system. In some instances, the same route number was assigned to two different routes, and we wanted to eliminate any possible confusion,” said Judy Rodriguez, the authority’s director of transportation.
“And secondly, the new numbering system will tie into some exciting new technological developments we’ll be announcing over the next several months. These innovations will make it even easier to ride with WRTA by giving riders real-time information and updates about the status of the bus they plan to ride,” she added.
The Western Reserve Transit Authority is a countywide public transportation authority, providing a range of bus services in Mahoning County, as well as limited service to Trumbull County.
WRTA vehicles operate 19 hours a day Monday through Friday and more than 12 hours a day each Saturday.
In 2016, WRTA transported more than 1.5 million passengers.