Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) is a

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

transit agency A transit district or transit authority is a government agency or a Statutory corporation, public-benefit corporation created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region. A transit district may operate bus, Rail ...

servicing

Stark County, Ohio Stark County is a county located in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John S ...

. In addition to its regular line service within Stark County, SARTA runs one bus route (with multiple times) between Canton and downtown

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, connecting to Akron's METRO RTA bus system and also serving the Akron-Canton Regional Airport from both cities and one route to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

starting March 4, 2013. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . SARTA's administrative office and bus garage are located in Canton. It is managed by CEO/Executive Director Kirt Conrad, as well as a 9-member board of trustees. SARTA is primarily funded by a county 0.25% sales tax which was first approved in 1997 and renewed in 2002, 2006 and 2011.

History

On December 1, 1997, the Canton Regional Transit Authority became the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) and service to all of Stark County was established. SARTA is governed by a nine-member

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

with the Executive Director/

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

serving as Secretary/Treasurer. The members are appointed to a three-year consecutive term. Appointments are made by the Stark County Council of Government, Stark County Commissioners, and the cities of Canton, Massillon and Alliance. SARTA employed approximately 190 individuals as of June 15, 2012. The position breakdown is approximately 63% Coach Operators, 12% Mechanics and Service Personnel (who service a fleet of 80 revenue buses and 12 non-revenue service vehicles), 25% Administrative Staff and a couple Part-time Employees and/or Interns. As SARTA grew, satellite offices were added to better serve the county's public transportation needs. SARTA established four transfer stations and customer service offices. The Alliance Transfer Center was created to serve northeastern Stark County. The Massillon Transfer Center was created to serve the southwestern part of the county. The downtown Canton Transfer Center (also known as Cornerstone) was created to serve the heart of Stark County. The Belden Village Transit Center was opened to serve the Belden Village shopping area, as well as businesses and local colleges.

Transit Centers

Canton Cornerstone Transit Center in downtown Canton is the main transfer hub for SARTA. It is located in downtown Canton at 112 Cherry Avenue SE at the corner of Cherry Avenue and East Tuscarawas Street. Operations began on August 6, 2003. The center is named Cornerstone. The new transit center includes both an indoor customer service center and an outdoor bus-boarding plaza that accommodates 16 SARTA buses per hour. The facility also provides interior and exterior amenities for Lakefont Lines (previously

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

) through an occupancy agreement with SARTA. Approximately 200 guests attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the intermodal facility. Canton Cornerstone Routes - 4, 81, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 113, 114, 117, 118, 119, 139, 151, 152, 153, 157 The Alliance Transfer Center is located at 10 Prospect Street in

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

. It replaced an older, smaller facility a few blocks away and officially opened on November 23, 2008. Alliance Routes - 130, 131, 132, 133, 139 The Massillon Transfer Center is now being constructed at a new location at 227 Tommy Henrich Drive NW off of Lincoln Way East and State Route 21. The original Massillon Transit Center at 41 Erie Street South had opened November 24, 2001 and now closed on December 17 2021. Massillon Routes - 102, 122, 124, 125, 126, 128, 152, 157 The Belden Village Transfer Center opened on September 1, 2011, and is located at 4700 Whipple Avenue NW in Canton. The $2.5 million facility replaced an outdoor transfer point at Higbee Avenue NW and Munson Street NW. The building features improved amenities such as a climate-controlled interior, restrooms, vending machines, free wireless internet service, a passenger drop-off lane and interior and exterior waiting areas. The building is also anticipated to be LEED Silver certified and incorporates many energy saving features such as geothermal heating. Belden Village Routes - 45, 81, 105, 106, 121, 125, 151
Route List * 4 - Downtown Cleveland/Wade Park Veterans Hospital * 45 - North Canton/Belden Village/Stark State College & Kent State Stark * 81 - Downtown Akron/Akron Canton Airport/Belden Village (VIA I-77) * 101 - Harrisburg/Harmont/Route 62/Walmart (NE Canton) * 102 - Downtown Massillon/Perry Township/Downtown Canton (VIA State Route 172-West Tuscarawas Street) * 103 - Plain Township/GlenOak High School (NE Canton) * 105 - Belden Village/North Canton (VIA Cleveland Ave & Everhard Rd) * 106 - Belden Village/Meyers Lake Plaza/Aultman Hospital * 107 - East Canton (NE Canton) * 108 - Washington Square (VIA Market Ave N - State Route 43) * 110 - Sherrick Rd/Warner Road (SE Canton) * 111 - Gross Ave/Maple Ave/Route 62/Walmart/Stark County Jail * 113 - Southway/Perry (Perry Township/SW Canton) * 114 - Southgate Plaza (Canton Township/SE Canton) * 117 - Stark County Fairgrounds/Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital (NW Canton) * 118 - Navarre Rd/Perry Hills Colony/Sterilite & Shearer's (SW Canton) * 119 - Frazer Ave/44th St/Plain Township (NW Canton) * 121 - Whipple Ave/The Strip * 124 - SE Massillon * 125 - Massillon/Belden Village/Jackson Township * 126 - NW Massillon * 128 - Erie St/Route 21/Massillon Marketplace/Navarre YMCA/Sterilite & Shearer's * 130 - Alliance North * 131 - State Street/Union Ave * 132 - Alliance East * 139 - Downtown Canton/Downtown Louisville/Downtown Alliance * 151 - North Late Night Loop * 152 - West Late Night Loop * 153 - Canton Late Night Loop (SE SW NE Canton Only) * 157 - Massillon Success Express (Navarre Nickles Bakery/Sterilite & Shearer's/Freshmark Massillon * 158 - Canton Community Circular (Route Walmart Tuscarawas and Walmart Route 62 via Mahoning Road )

Service

SARTA transported over 2.4 million riders in 2011, up 300,000 from 2010. All vehicles in SARTA's fleet can operate as fixed route buses. Thirty-seven vehicles are demand-response/paratransit (Proline) vehicles. SARTA operates 33 fixed routes as of June 2012. Both fixed route and Proline service operate more than 20 hours each day except Sundays and certain holidays. The fixed route service fleet covers an average of 7,500 miles per day and reaches within ½ mile of 79% of Stark County's population. Proline (countywide demand-response/paratransit service) provides on average 140,000 trips a year for customers who meet ADA requirements.

CNG fueling station

On May 18, 2012, SARTA opened a public/private

Compressed Natural Gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...

(CNG) fueling station at the company headquarters in Canton. The facility is the first public CNG station in Stark County and

Northeast Ohio Northeast Ohio is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that comprises the northeastern counties of the U.S. state of Ohio. Definitions of the region consist of 16 to 23 counties between the southern shore of Lake Erie and the foothills ...

with the next closest located outside of Columbus. The grand opening for the facility was attended by dozens of guests including

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown ( ; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2007 and the 47t ...

and Canton

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

William J. Healy II. The CNG fueling station was certified by the Stark County Auditor's Office Division of Weight and Measurements on June 12, 2012. As of October 9, 2012, the CNG price was $1.89 per gallon equivalent for public fueling. SARTA plans to convert 50% of its fleet to CNG over the next two years. CNG vehicles are quieter, require fewer oil changes and reduce emissions by over 80% when compared to traditional diesel buses. SARTA also expects to save up to 40% a year on fuel costs by switching to CNG.

Accomplishments

* SARTA won the

American Public Transportation Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United ...

's 2006 "Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award" for bus companies serving 1 million to 4 million riders a year. * SARTA provides extensive shuttle service for the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

activities. * On September 12, 2011, SARTA was recognized as a Three-Star Ohio Green Fleet by Clean Fuels Ohio.

References

External links

SARTA website

Lakefront Lines

Akron METRO RTA

Portage Area RTA
(also runs Kent State Campus Bus Service) {{Ohio public transit Bus transportation in Ohio Companies based in Canton, Ohio Transportation in Stark County, Ohio Alliance, Ohio Massillon, Ohio Transit agencies in Ohio 1997 establishments in Ohio