The new facility will be used for research and development efforts such as new products and technology, and will hold engineering offices, said Tom Williams, Kenda USA’s vice president of engineering. The new 50,000-square-foot facility was purchased and supported in part with the help of a 10-year grant from Ohio and 7-year income tax incentive from the city of Green. METRO is also offering a free online tool for riders to easily figure out how to get to their destinations under the new routes, she said.“We feel that Akron is a good town of operation and historically Akron has been the center of our tire business and tire industry,” said Ying-Ming Yang, chairman of Kenda Rubber Ind. METRO staff will be at some of the bus stations and stops early next week to assist riders with the changes, Distler added. “There’s always a little fear in change.” Others are excited and welcoming it, but we’ll see,” Cole said. “Change is difficult sometimes for some people. Wayne Cole, a bus driver and president of the local transit union, Transport Workers Union of America Local 1, said drivers are having mixed feelings about learning and operating the new routes. METRO bus drivers are adapting to the change as well. ![]() “You got to give it time, and give people time to get used to it, but we’re going to continue to change it and make it better.” ![]() ![]() We’re going to look, we’re going to see what works we know there’s some things that are going to need tweaked,” Distler said. METRO is planning to expand those options after the rollout of the Reimagined Network, she added.Īdditionally, METRO officials will continue to gather feedback from riders and may make changes depending on what they hear, Distler said. “What we did is we took one bus, made it run more often, so it’ll run, like, every 15 or 20 minutes, but you have to walk an extra block to get there,” Distler said.ĭistler said riders who have a disability blocking them from taking fixed routes can take advantage of the agency’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transit options, as well as SCAT, a shared-ride service. She said on the other hand, officials are adding more stops across the county, which will result in most riders being within a quarter-mile walk to a stop.Įliminating stops on routes that run parallel to each other allows buses to come more frequently, she said. He’s heard concerns from seniors and individuals with disabilities about the elimination of certain stops resulting in farther walks.ĭistler acknowledged that it may take longer for some to get to their new stops. The route changes have been a heated topic of discussion on the buses lately, Wilson said. Ideastream Public Media Akron resident Brent Wilson waits for a bus at the RKP Transit Center in Downtown Akron Wednesday, May 31, 2023. Birdsong Terry, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s CEO.Īll Akron METRO bus service, except for the three regional routes, will be expanded through Saturdays and Sundays, Distler added. ![]() “I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Akron METRO RTA in providing integrated and innovative transportation solutions that increase service across the region, and enhances the riding experience for our customers,” India L. Those routes will run through Hudson, Twinsburg, Stow, and Macedonia and continue on to Northfield, before ending at Greater Cleveland RTA’s Southgate Transit Center in Cuyahoga County. “There’s a huge employment area that goes up through the northern part of Summit County, and we’re going to take a bus up there and then connect that with the southern part of Cuyahoga County and connect that with Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.” “This is going to allow more people to have more access to jobs, have more access to higher education, as well as some of the high schools and even middle schools that we didn’t serve before,” she said. METRO will also launch new regional connecter routes that will take riders to and from Kent, Brimfield and parts Cuyahoga County.ĭuring the redesign process, METRO officials learned there’s a demand for these routes because riders are frequently traveling to these areas for work or school, Distler said. Starting June 4, the agency will add five new routes with 15-minute bus service: West Market Street, South Arlington Street, East Exchange Street, Grant and Brown Street and Euclid Avenue, Diagonal Road and Vernon Odom Boulevard. Ideastream Public Media Dawn Distler, CEO of Akron METRO RTA, shakes hands with bus driver Wayne Cole at the RKP Transit Center on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
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