Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (abbreviated "SORTA"), is the public transport agency serving Cincinnati, Ohio and its suburbs. The agency operates transit bus services under the name Metro. SORTA replaced the Cincinnati Transit Commission, which operated buses from 1952 to 1973.

Metro is funded primarily by Cincinnati's city earnings tax, secondarily by fares, and third by federal sources; other sources of income are insignificant. 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 and Northern Kentucky Kentucky are also served by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK). TANK also offers a Southbank Shuttle route.

In 1993, SORTA began experimenting with the use of biodiesel. In 2001, SORTA operated about half of its bus fleet on a biodiesel blend. Since September 2005 (initially because of Hurricane Katrina), SORTA has continuously operated its buses with a biodiesel blend. In 2006, SORTA consumed almost 1.8 million gallons of biodiesel made from soybeans grown in Ohio [http://www.sorta.com/news/2007/nr1.html] .

In the first quarter 2007, SORTA was among the 25 largest bus agencies in the U.S. It averaged almost 75,000 unlinked passenger trips per weekday. [http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/07q1bus.pdf]

As of April 30, 2007, SORTA began a partnership with the University of Cincinnati to provide free rides to its students, staff, and faculty. The partnership is scheduled to last for two years. Initial response to this offer has been positive. [http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=6071]

In Fall 2008, University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University students, staff, and faculty will get to ride both Metro and TANK free of charge. [http://www.go-metro.com/news/2008/nr28.html]

Bus routes

ee also

* Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), serving Columbus, Ohio
* Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), serving Cleveland, Ohio
* Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (formerly the Miami Valley RTA), serving Dayton, Ohio
* Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), serving Northern Kentucky

External links

* [http://www.go-metro.com/ Go Metro] , SORTA official website
* [http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/imageSnag/sortabiodiesel.jpgPhotograph of a biodiesel-powered Metro bus]