Akron Metro RTA will use a $3 million grant funding from the state to upgrade bus stops and pay for maintenance of its bus fleet.
The public transit agency said the funds will also be used for a new program known as Flex Ride that is slated to launch next year and connect suburban job centers with workers in need of transportation.
“This money is mainly focused on capital improvement projects,” said Metro RTA Planning Director Valarie Shay of the grant from the state.
“And by getting grant money to put towards capital projects it also frees up some money in our budget to be able to put towards service. So it all kind of ends up coming together.”
The funding comes from the Urban Transit Program and the Ohio Transit Partnership Program.
In other news, Metro said it will offer free rides on election day on Nov. 5 and Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
The transit agency has also rolled out a cashless ticketing operation through the EZfare mobile app.
Riders who download the EZfare app can set up an account with an email address and credit or debit card.
They can use their mobile device to purchase a bus pass and show it to the bus operator.
Passengers will need data or Wi-Fi to buy a bus pass, but do not need data or Wi-Fi to activate the pass when boarding.
After Metro launched EZfare in August on its Northcoast Express routes it determined that 20 to 30 percent of passengers were using the mobile ticketing feature.
Thirteen Ohio and northern Kentucky transit agencies use the EZfare app, including PARTA in Portage County, MCPT in Medina County, Laketran in Lake County and SARTA in Stark County.
Passengers can access tickets and passes from any of the agencies through the same app, making it easier to transfer to other buses and travel to different counties.
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