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METRO Facts

METRO Regional Transit Authority enhances the quality of life for our community by providing innovative transportation that is safe, dependable, cost-effective and customer-focused ... now and into the future.

METRO Fleet

METRO’s overall revenue-producing fleet totals 231 vehicles: 140 large buses and 91 smaller paratransit vehicles. Some passenger vehicles are equipped with a hydraulic lift to accommodate scooters or wheelchairs; others kneel by lowering the front passenger corner of the vehicle to curb level so passengers can roll aboard on a slide-out ramp.

METRO’s fleet is 100% accessible for mobility devices measuring a maximum of 30”x48” with a combined maximum weight of 800 pounds for passenger and chair or scooter.

The average age of large buses is 7.36 years. For small buses, the average age is 3.34 years. All fixed-route buses are equipped with bike racks.

Funding

METRO’s 2021 total expenses were $62.4 million and total revenues were $90.4 million. Labor accounted for 37.3% of total operating expenses. Other expenses included fringe benefits at 27%, materials and supplies were 6.2%, purchased transportation was 2.2%, and casualty and liability insurance was 1.5%.

METRO’s total 2021 income included 23.4% from federal revenue, an increase attributed to American Rescue Plan Act funding due to COVID-19; state revenue was 1.2%, and fare box and ticket sales amounted to 2%. Sales tax generated $63.7 million, or 70.4% of total revenue.

Employee Engagement

METRO is governed by a 12-member Board of Trustees: eight are appointed by the City of Akron, two by Summit County, and one each from the cities of Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, and Stow.

METRO’s Employee Engagement Center performs the following job functions: staffing, drug and alcohol program, employee and labor relations, training, benefits, workers compensation, and unemployment.

In 2021, team members received 8,415.75 hours of training through a combination of hands-on and classroom settings in such diverse areas as operator training, safety, wellness, diversity, and compliance trainings.

Customer Care

In 2021, METRO’s Customer Care staff responded to 260,981 inquiries about fixed-route and demand response service, with an average of 21,748 calls per month. Seventeen of those calls utilized Language Line, a system that provides language access in more than 240 languages through spoken interpretation and written translation. This tool enhances METRO’s ability to interact with customers who do not speak English.

Other diverse requests for information are related to such topics as lost and found, school field trips and group trips, ticket orders, and schedule requests. Customer Care also provides travel training for passengers, teaching them how to read bus schedules and use the METRO transit system.

Maintenance

METRO’s Maintenance Department consists of 63 team members, including mechanics, vehicle detailers and vehicle service employees who wash and fuel the entire METRO fleet on a daily basis. The department covers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Fixed-Route

Fixed-route service consists of buses traveling along predetermined routes on a set schedule, including:

  • 36 local routes
  • Neighborhood circulator routes (these buses do not travel into downtown Akron)
  • One Northcoast Express route to downtown Cleveland, making limited stops in order to help passengers reach their destinations in the shortest reasonable time
  • Current per-ride fare on fixed-route within Summit County is $1.25 for adults and children age six and over. The fare is $.50 for passengers age 62 or older, or with a disability, within the Akron-Summit County area. To be eligible for the $.50 fare, a passenger must show the operator proof of age, a Medicare card, METRO Drives I.D. or Disability and Senior (D&S) card.

Also available:

  • $2.50 / 1-Day general fare pass
  • $15.00 / 7-Day general fare pass
  • $50.00 / 31-Day general fare pass
  • $30.00 / 31-Day D&S pass
  • $5.00 / Northcoast Express one-ride fare
  • $40.00 / Northcoast Express 10-ride ticket
Check out reasonable modifications here.

METRO Select

METRO Drives (formerly SCAT) is an origin-to-destination, shared ride service designed for older adults and persons with disabilities. METRO Drives transports individuals to and from medical appointments and work throughout Summit County during designated hours of operation.

The service is broken down into two categories: METRO Drives Temporary and METRO Drives Senior.

  1. METRO Drives Temporary Service is designed for eligible Summit County residents who cannot utilize fixed-route service and may not be able to utilize ADA service due to unavailability of fixed-routes for ADA routing purposes.
  2. METRO Drives Senior Service is available for eligible Summit County residents who are age 62 and older. METRO Drives Senior is available for one round trip per day. Grocery trips within a six mile radius from the passenger’s home and nursing home visits are offered.

METRO Drives operates Monday through Friday and hours vary based on location. METRO Drives fare is $2.00 per ride. A companion may accompany the primary METRO Drives passenger for an additional $2.00 per ride.

ADA Complementary Paratransit

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Complementary Paratransit is transportation for qualified persons with disabilities, complementing regular fixed-route service. ADA Complementary Paratransit service is available during the hours METRO’s fixed- routes operate, and when the origin and destination of all ADA trips are within ¾ mile of an active fixed-route bus stop.

The fare for ADA Complementary Paratransit is $2.50 each way and a personal care attendant may also ride along at no extra charge. There are no limits on a passenger’s daily trips, but travel must be scheduled at least one to three days in advance. ADA service is dependent upon completion of an application and a functional assessment to determine the applicant’s ability to ride fixed-routes.

This service ensures persons with disabilities have equal access to public transportation. All METRO revenue vehicles are fully accessible in accordance with ADA law.

Community Outreach

METRO offers free travel training for groups, individuals, and organizations. The program offers bus familiarization and teaches skills such as reading a bus schedule, purchasing mobile tickets, using the bike rack, and more.

Prearranged group tours of METRO’s Transit Center as well as its Kenmore Blvd. bus garages and maintenance area are available to teach guests about METRO and employment opportunities in public transit.

METRO also provides speakers for meetings, civic organizations or classrooms. METRO develops informative, entertaining, customized presentations for groups and organizations featuring METRO’s evolution from mule-drawn carriages to the complex system serving Summit County today. Speakers educate organizations about METRO’s supporting role in Akron/Summit County’s economic development, providing transportation for over 5.4 million passengers annually. Employees traveling to/from work, shoppers, students, patients in need of medical care... all of these and more look to METRO for safe, efficient travel throughout Summit County.

Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center

The October 22, 2007 ground-breaking ceremony, January 5, 2009 dedication, and May 16, 2012 renaming of the Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center at 631 S. Broadway Street in downtown Akron launched METRO into a new level of service.

METRO fixed-route service from the facility began January 18, 2009. Greyhound Bus Lines began operating from the Transit Center in late January 2009.

The Wi-Fi enabled Transit Center features travel amenities and improved security with more than 90 cameras and a METRO Transit Police substation. METRO Customer Care representatives are on-site to assist passengers with their travel plans and additional office space was added for METRO staff to work closer to the front line operation. Public restroom facilities, indoor and outdoor seating areas, a climate-controlled environment, cafe, ATM, and vending machines for food and beverages are available to passengers. Two community rooms for meeting space are available for METRO functions as well as nonprofit organizations.

The Transit Center was certified as a Gold LEED building in 2010. The Transit Center uses geothermal energy for heating and cooling, gets electricity from its solar-paneled roof, and recycles rainwater, among other environmentally-friendly features.

2021 STATS

  • Demand response vehicles traveled 1,401,605 revenue miles in 361 days of operation.
  • Demand response passengers totaled 174,813.
  • Demand response vehicles were on time 91% of the time.
  • METRO’s fixed-routes transported 2,872,167 passengers and traveled 3,425,508 revenue miles.
  • The METROZip program generated 67,587 boardings during 2021.
  • The Akron Public Schools program generated 104,170 boardings during 2021.
  • Call-A-Bus transported 2,249 passengers in 2021.

METRO Goes Green

It’s time someone sat down for the environment.

Yes. You read correctly. We all take a stand for the things we believe. Sometimes all that standing can get a little tiring, no? So, rest up on a METRO bus, help Mother Earth and plan how you’ll change the world from your bus seat.

Did you know public transportation saves the U.S. the equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gas annually? This is more than three times the amount of gasoline refined from oil we import from Kuwait!

Our Industry

Green with EnviRiding public transportation is a significant way to cut passenger transportation energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Each year, transit passengers reduce their own use of fuel by the equivalent of 1.8 billion gallons of gasoline and reduce their own carbon dioxide emissions by 16.2 million metric tons.

Combined with savings from improved traffic flow due to transit’s impact on reducing congestion and secondary land use and travel reduction impacts, transit reduces annual fuel use by the equivalent of 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 37 million metric tons. That’s pretty impressive.

Our Transit Center

Speaking of impressive, METRO uses some pretty nifty technology to green it’s Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center.

transit center picture
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Completed in January 2009, the Transit Center in downtown Akron uses 435 solar panels to generate energy. By April, 2010, the panels had generated almost 150,000 kilowatt hours worth of power. That’s roughly the energy you’d need to run a television set for about 190 years.

Lest you think our solar purpose is only concerning our Transit Center, in September 2010, we flipped the switch on 2,080 solar panels installed on the roof of our Kenmore Blvd. bus garages.

Sunk 305 feet into the ground, geothermal wells – 45 of them to be exact – keep the property nice and toasty in the winter and cool in the summer. We recycle rainwater and use it for landscaping and non-potable purposes in our rest rooms.

In addition to recycling rainwater, we recycle just about everything we can. Where feasible, recycled materials, like concrete, were used in the Center’s design. You’ll also notice recycling receptacles in key locations around the Transit Center. Pitch in your bottles and cans. But, please empty them first. We can’t recycle your soda or juice!

Our Passengers

Each day, METRO passengers make more than 22,000 trips to work, school, medical appointments & other places. Can you imagine the traffic snarl if all those trips were made with cars instead?

On average, the typical public transit rider consumes half the oil an automobile owner consumes. That’s good news.

Nearly 90 percent of METRO passengers get to their buses using good old fashioned foot power, either walking or riding a bike. Your ridership helps METRO help the environment. So, we’ll see you on the bus!

Here are some quick facts on how METRO and public transportation are the environment’s best friends:

  • We’ve incorporated diesel-electric hybrid buses into our fleet. These buses use regenerative braking systems to power up. 
  • Our bus garages house more than 2,000 solar panels, one of the larger arrays in our tri-state area.
  • Not only are the bus garages going green, our Transit Center is built from recycled materials, runs on sunshine, warms up with geothermal power and stays hydrated with recycled rainwater.
  • Compressed natural gas and low-sulfur diesel fuels run METRO buses. These fuels release fewer hydrocarbons than gasoline.
  • METRO buses are equipped with bike racks, so you can reduce your emissions on the way to your bus stop.

Our Alternative

For those of you who don’t ride the bus, you can still help the environment by fueling your CNG-powered vehicle or electric car at the public CNG Fueling Station and Electric Car Charging Station, located at 310 Kenmore Boulevard.

Operated by Trillium Energy, both stations are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The CNG Fueling Station accepts all major credit cards, and those using the Electric Car Charging Station can register at chargepoint.com or download the ChargePoint app to start charging.

Several area industries utilize the public station to fuel their CNG-powered vehicles, such as garbage trucks, airport shuttles, heavy duty trucks and buses from other transit agencies.

The station alone has helped METRO contribute to avoiding 4,310 kilograms of greenhouse emissions. That’s like planting 138 trees and letting them grow for 10 years!