History

Beginning in the mid to late 1970’s, Ashland and many other communities our size in the State of Ohio developed a growing need for some form of Public Transportation.

Recognizing this need our State and the Federal Government got together and appropriated funds to fill this need. These funds were made available to communities like ours in the form of grants.

To qualify for these grants, transportation had to be made equally available to all segments of our population and the City of Ashland had to agree to provide a local share of funds.

When all of the criteria were met, the grant was approved. Ashland City’s Transportation System began on February 1, 1987. The system is funded mainly through grants provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration.

The Transition Phase:

In the past, Ashland Public Transit ran like a “taxi service.” While a “taxi service” provides many advantages to the passengers such as individualized service, it is by its nature, not very efficient. Now the system needs to be in compliance with the grant from ODOT as it strives to become more of a Public Transit System.

The Ohio Department of Transportation, Office of Transit, has provided the City of Ashland and Ashland Public Transit technical assistance to conduct a Transit Developmental Plan to improve efficiency and productivity to provide cost effective transportation.