Greater Dayton RTA - Proudly Serving Fleet

Target Audience: The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority is Proudly Serving Montgomery County and is doing so by rolling out 22 community buses. The project is the culmination of a vision RTA CEO Bob Ruzinsky had to honor the communities the agency serves and how RTA's buses can connect people to these places. The buses started hitting the streets in October 2021. In total, 11 of the 22 have hit the streets.

Strategy Objective:Each bus was designed to emphasize points of interest in a specific community where the RTA takes riders. The buses also feature a fun fact, estimated population and the year the city or township was founded. The objective of these buses is to highlight places in the community that the RTA serves, and to connect people to these places. The buses have since been used to help spread the word about RTA services to elected leaders. When RTA rolls out a new community bus, the agency feels the excitement from local leaders. In some cases we've been asked to debut the bus in community events, or have had our community bus attend community events. We have even had communities reach out to us asking if they will get a bus and how they can help with the design.

Situation Challenge: The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority is using these buses as a way to honor the communities the agency serves, but also to connect people to places in the communities. Each bus design was carefully crafted to emphasize points of interest in a specific community where the RTA takes riders. Once a bus debuts the RTA takes the bus to the city council or trustee meeting of the community the bus honors. That's where the RTA team has the chance to tell local elected leaders about the services the RTA provides their community.

Results Impact: The Greater Dayton RTA's Proudly Serving buses have our communities excited about essentially having a rolling billboard highlighting places in each community where the RTA can take you. The buses have been used to attend local council and trustee meetings where the RTA can talk about the bus, as well as present and future services the RTA offers each community. Communities have also called to request our buses at different community events; such as touch-a-truck and cooling centers for free concerts in the park. Seeing our vehicles being used in this way creates a positive image of RTA to potential voters.

Why Submit: I believe this entry should win an award because its such an innovative way to connect public transit to the community. People who never ride RTA, see our buses and understand the importance of public transit. The buses have given the agency a way to reach more than the customers we serve. The excitement from our local elected leaders and community members regarding their community bus is rewarding in itself. What started out as a project to highlight different places in the communities we served has turned into so much more. The buses are now serving as a way for RTA to let our local leaders know about our future and present services.