Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

"SORTA" redirects here. For other uses, see Sorta.

Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
Overview
Owner	City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Area served	Hamilton County (in addition provides commuter routes from Butler County, Clermont County, and Warren County into Cincinnati)
Transit type	Bus, Express bus service, Paratransit
Number of lines	26 local 1 limited 20 express
Number of stations	3,800 bus stops
Daily ridership	44,600 (weekdays, Q3 2024)
Annual ridership	13,091,500 (2023)
Chief executive	Darryl Haley
Headquarters	525 Vine Street, Suite 500 Cincinnati, Ohio
Website	go-metro.com
Operation
Began operation	December 30, 1952 (as Cincinnati Transit Commission)
Number of vehicles	353 transit buses, 46 paratransit vehicles

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) is the public transport agency serving Cincinnati and its Ohio suburbs. SORTA operates Metro fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services. SORTA's headquarters are located at the Huntington Building in Cincinnati’s Central Business District. The agency is managed by CEO and General Manager Darryl Haley along with a 13-member board of trustees. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 13,091,500, or about 44,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

Downtown Cincinnati is also served by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), whose transit services extend over the Ohio River into Northern Kentucky.

History

SORTA replaced the Cincinnati Transit Commission, which operated buses from 1952 to 1973. In 2012 SORTA Metro released its schedule information in the General Transit Feed Specification, making schedules more easily available to customers. The Cincinnati Bell Connector was operated by SORTA until 2019; the City of Cincinnati has since owned and operated the streetcar. Until 2021, SORTA Metro was funded primarily by Cincinnati's city earnings tax, second by fares, and third by federal sources, with some other minor sources. This stood 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 was about 0.3%.

Reinventing Metro

On May 14, 2020, Hamilton County voters passed Issue 7, which switches the source of SORTA funding to a sales tax levy of 0.8 percent. The sales tax in Hamilton County raised to 7.8% and the Cincinnati earnings tax was eliminated. The levy is projected to generate $130 million a year, which will be split 100/30 between Metro and road infrastructure respectively. The new sales tax rate went into effect on October 1, 2020. The new funding will be used to implement Reinventing Metro, which is a transit network redesign of its fixed-route services, but also introduces Mobility on Demand and Bus Rapid Transit to the region.

An example related project is the Northside Transit Center, which is located in Northside and replaced a basic bus stop. The new transit center, which opened in 2020, features eight boarding bays, each with an architecturally designed shelter and enhanced streetscaping, lighting and amenities. In addition, the transit center features artwork designed by winners of the transit agency's art contest for Northside residents. The contest asked residents to submit designs following the theme, "What does Northside mean to me?”. The artwork is displayed prominently on installations at the transit center's entrance and exit. The Northside project was a partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and other local stakeholders.

Services

Metro

SORTA Metro operates about 40 major fixed bus routes, as well as a demand-responsive paratransit service. Of the major routes, roughly half run only at rush hours and are essentially commuter services, some of them serving the reverse commute. The other half operate throughout the day, and some offer increased frequency during rush hours. Approximately 90% of all trips are made on the all-day routes, and 10% on the express commuter routes.

Routes 29X and 82X extend into neighboring Clermont County under an arrangement with the Clermont Transportation Connection.

Routes 71X & 72X extend into neighboring Warren County under an arrangement with Warren County Transit.

Route 42X was a route that extended into neighboring Butler County under an agreement with Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA). The route was discontinued at the end of 2023. On January 1, 2024, BCRTA started their own route and brand it as CincyLink that will run from Middletown to Downtown Cincinnati.

Routes as of January 8, 2025

Number	Route name	Service type	Service days
1	Mt. Adams	Local	Weekdays
2	Madeira Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
3X	Montgomery Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
4	Montgomery Road	Local	Every day
5	Blue Ash	Crosstown	Every day
6	Queen City Avenue	Local	Every day
11	Madison Road – Oakley	Local	Every day
	Erie Avenue – Hyde Park
12	Madisonville Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
16	Spring Grove – Daly	Local	Every day
17	Hamilton Avenue – Seven Hills	Local	Every day
	Hamilton Avenue – Mt. Healthy
19	Colerain Avenue	Local	Every day
20	Winton Road	Local	Every day
21	Harrison Avenue	Local	Every day
22	Glenway – Madison	Crosstown	Rush hour weekdays
23X	Forest Park Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
24	MLK – Beechmont	Crosstown	Every day
25	Mt. Lookout Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
27	Beekman – Linn	Local	Every day
28	East End	Local	Every day
29X	Milford Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
30	Beechmont Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
31	Taft – McMillan	Crosstown	Every day
32	West 8th Street	Local	Every day
33	Glenway Avenue	Local	Every day
36	Price Hill – Uptown	Crosstown	Every day
37	MLK – Westwood	Crosstown	Rush hour weekdays
38	Uptown Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
40	Montana Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
41	North Bend Road	Crosstown	Every day
43	Reading Road – Sharonville	Local	Every day
	Reading Road – Evendale
46	Avondale	Local	Every day
49	Fairmount	Local	Every day
50	River Road Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
51	Uptown Connector	Local	Every day
52X	Harrison Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
61	Galbraith Road	Crosstown	Every day
64	Westwood	Local	Every day
65	Western Hills	Crosstown	Rush hour weekdays
67	Kemper Road	Crosstown	Every day
71X	Kings Island Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
72X	Kings Island Direct	Express	Seasonal
74X	Colerain Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
	Colerain Express via Banning
75X	Anderson Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
77	Delhi	Local	Every day
78	Springdale – Vine	Local	Every day
	Lincoln Heights
81	Mt. Washington Commuter	Commuter	Rush hour weekdays
82X	Eastgate Express	Express	Rush hour weekdays
90	MetroPlus	Limited stops	Weekdays

MetroNow!

Throughout 2021 and early 2022, Metro worked on developing an accessible, on-demand and localized mobility service, including connections to Metro's network of more than 40 fixed bus routes.

Previously referred to as "Mobility On-Demand," this service is now called MetroNow!, with two zones that launched pilot service in Sping of 2023. Metro plans to roll out several additional service zones in the future.

Stops and stations

Located on Fifth Street between Walnut and Main in Cincinnati, Government Square serves as Metro's downtown transit hub.

Most of SORTA's roughly 3,600 stops are simply marked with a sign on a pole listing routes the stop serves, and are fairly infrastructure-light. Several dozen stops include bus shelters and covered benches. Several suburban stops are park-and-rides. Government Square is the main transit station, located downtown near Fountain Square. SORTA owns and operates several transit centers across the region including the recently constructed Northside Transit Center, Oakley Transit Center, and Glenway Transit Center. SORTA operates the Riverfront Transit Center though it's only used for a layover point for the Metro*Plus route and a stop for route 85.

Fares

On April 4, 2021, Metro introduced a simpler fare structure. With this new fare model, base fare increased 25 cents to $2 per ride on all local routes. Express buses are $2.65 within Hamilton County. Certain express routes turned into commuter routes and have a $2 fare. Express routes that go into Butler, Clermont, and Warren County have a fare of $3.75. Zone fares and paper transfers were eliminated. Transfers are only available to those using the Transit app and to 5-ride ticket users. There are several day pass options available to purchase. Mobile fares must be purchased through the Transit app. Refer to the charts for more information. Transfers to higher-cost service require payment of the fare difference. Children under 36 inches ride for free with a fare-paying rider; a limit of 2 children applies.

Metro fares are available for mobile payment via Transit, an app that has been adopted for such purposes across several cities.

SORTA fares

Fare type	Price	Half fare	Routes
Hamilton County Local	$2	$1	1, 4, 5, 6, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 41, 43, 46, 49, 50, 51, 61, 64, 65, 67, 77, 78, 90 (M+).
Hamilton County Commuter			2, 12, 22, 25, 30, 38, 40, 81
Hamilton County Express	$2.65	$1.30	3X, 23X, 29X, 52X, 72X, 74X, 75X
Suburban County Express (Clermont, Warren)	$3.75	$1.85	71X, 82X
Access Fare	$4
Metro*NOW Fare	$2 per ride.		No discounted fare.

SORTA passes

Fare type	Price
Hamilton County Local & Commuter 24-Hour Pass	$4
Metro/TANK 24-Hour Pass	$5
Hamilton County Express 24-Hour Pass	$5.30
Suburban County Express 24-Hour Pass	$7.50
5-ride Hamilton County Local & Commuter Service Ticket	$10
Half Fare 24-Hour Pass (Child Fare, Fare Deal, UC, Cincinnati State)	$2
Hamilton County Local 30-day Pass	$80
Hamilton County Express 30-day Pass	$105
Metro/TANK 30-day Pass	$105
Suburban County Express 30-day Pass	$150

Garages and fleet

SORTA operates about 350 buses on fixed routes, and about 50 smaller vehicles as part of their 'demand responsive services'. All vehicles in SORTA's fleet are ADA accessible. On average, vehicles in the fixed route fleet are 6.9 years old, and in the demand-responsive fleet 1.4 years. Vehicles in the fixed route fleet are rated, on average, for a capacity and 65 passengers, both sitting and standing.

All fixed-route buses have a bike rack mounted on the front with room for two bicycles.

Garages

• Queensgate Garage 1401 Bank Street, Cincinnati, OH 45214
• Bond Hill Garage 4700 Paddock Road, Cincinnati, OH 45229

For more information about the history of Metro's fleet, including current and retired buses, go to CPTDB: Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

Current buses in fleet

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Fleet numbers	Bond Hill	Queensgate	Notes
2011–12	Gillig	Low Floor	1201–1245	1207, 1210-1212, 1218-1220, 1225, 1228-1230	1231, 1233–1245	1201 is a 2011 model. In the process of being retired. 1201-1206, 1208-1209, 1213-1217, 1221-1224, 1226-1227, 1232 retired.
2013	Gillig	Low Floor BRT Plus	1301–1310	None	1301–1307, 1309–1310	Former METRO*PLUS buses. Now used on any route. 1308 retired in 2021.
2013	Gillig	Low Floor	1321–1343	1331–1334, 1336–1343	1321–1330	1335 retired due to fire in August 2022.
2015	Gillig	Low Floor	1501–1537	1501–1510	1511–1525, 1527–1537	1526 retired in August 2022 due to fire damage.
2016	Gillig	Low Floor Commute	1601–1622	1601–1607	1608–1622	Mostly used on express/commuter routes. Can occasionally be seen on local routes.
2018	Gillig	Low Floor	1801–1819	None	1801–1819
2018–19	Gillig	Low Floor	1820–1830	None	1821–1829	1824–1830 are 2019 models. 1830 out of service, possibly retired. Last seen 12/10/22.
2019	Gillig	Low Floor	1901–1934	1901–1914	1915–1934	1934 has two different seat types.
2020	Gillig	Low Floor	2001–2021	2001–2008, 2010–2011	2012–2016, 2018–2021	2009 was renumbered to 2020. 2017 was renumbered to 2021. 2018 out of service, possibly retired after being hit by another driver on 4/3/23.
2020–21	Gillig	Low Floor	2022–2031	2027–2031	2022–2026	2028 out of service, possibly retired. Last in service on 7/15/2023
2021	Gillig	Low Floor	2140–2170	2140–2154	2155–2170
2022	Gillig	Low Floor	2201–2225	2201–2215	2216–2225
2023	Gillig	Low Floor Hybrid	2301–2310	2301–2310	None
2023	Gillig	Low Floor	2311–2325	None	2311–2325
2024	Gillig	Low Floor	2401-2412	2401-2412	None	All in service as of 10/31/24. Will begin to replace 1200 series buses.
2024	Gillig	Low Floor Hybrid	2421-2427	None	2421-2427	All in service as of 11/14/2024. Will replace some 1200 series buses.

Future bus orders

Year	Manufacturer	Model	Series #'s	Notes.
2025	Gillig	Low Floor Hybrid	TBA	4 buses due to be placed in service in 2025 to replace 4 1300 series buses.
TBA	TBA	Electric buses	TBD	Received $5.5 million grant towards 11 electric buses.

See also

Adjacent public transit agencies:

• Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), serving Butler County, Ohio
• Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC), serving Clermont County, Ohio
• Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), serving Northern Kentucky
• Warren County Transit, serving Warren County, Ohio

Other major public transit agencies in Ohio:

• 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

External links

• go-metro.com
• Media related to Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority at Wikimedia Commons