Stark County Ohio Public Transit Dates Back to 1884
By Kristie Petty
Public Transportation began in the City of Canton with Canton Street Railway Company in 1884. They had five routes that transported riders by horse drawn cars on a four foot gauge track. Then in 1888, the Alliance Street Railway was formed to service the Alliance area. The next area to expand and utilize public transit was Massillon in 1892 with the Canton & Massillon Electric Railway. Over the past 131 years, public transportation in Stark County has evolved and modernized from serving specific cities to the entire county.
In 1997 with the passage of a 1/4% sales tax levy, Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) was established. SARTA now has service covering Canton, Alliance, Akron, Cleveland, Hartville, Jackson Township, Louisville, Massillon, North Canton and Uniontown via 34 established routes and 4 transit centers. ProLine service provides smaller buses and is utilized by people that have disabilities that cause them to be unable to utilize the established routes. As an approved Medicaid provider SARTA provides rides through PASSPORT to Adult Day Centers and to employment, Adult Day Support and Vocational Training for people that have specific waivers through the county Board of Developmental Disabilities. SARTA also provides transportation to medical appointments through Job and Family Services’ Non-Emergency Transportation service as well as transportation to medical appointments and employment for veterans. PinPoint which has an app for your cell phone and can be used on desktops, tablets or traditional phones allows riders to track a bus at any time, view bus routes, and check fees and schedules. Student travel passes are also available. Travel training is available to acquaint anyone interested in using the SARTA system with their services. Currently providing 2.8 million rides each year, numerous buses in the fleet are powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which results in lower emissions. In December 2015 SARTA will add a fuel cell bus to their fleet.
For the past 18 years, SARTA has been providing quality, reliable transportation to Stark County residents. For additional information about services visit the website at www.sartaonline.com or call 330-477-2782.
Stark County Ohio Public Transit
