The Richland County Transit company started in 1978 with one bus and one route–Park Avenue West, out to the mall and back. That first month it transported about 1,740 people.
“Now on our trips, we’ve gone from one bus to sixteen buses,” stated General Manager Willia Leer. “I’ve gone from one route, to almost fifteen routes. We’ve gone from about four employees to a total of twenty-nine. Lots of changes,” she added.
“When I first started it was a chauffeur license, now it’s a CDO, a lot more requirements, and background checks. It’s a more, thorough type of individual that they’re trying here,” she said of the bussing staff.
There are 21 part time drivers. Their services are what Willia Leer calls, “a public muscling around.” She believes her “older workforce is more responsible, more dedicated, and more in-tune to the people that they transport.” Among their services is a Senior Citizen Grocery Run to get groceries on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of their elderly program.
RCT has also partnered with Shelby in recent years, to transport between communities, and accommodate more students coming to Mansfield colleges. Seniors citizens and students account for the majority of riders.
“Forty-six percent of the people now riding the bus are using it to go to work,” Leer stated. “We also offer Dial-a-Drop.”
The dial-a bus service, is most often used for someone handicapped. “A lot of times, we offer the door-to-door service, where we come to your door and we assist you onto the dial-a-ride.” Leer said, “We charge you three dollars for a ‘dial-a-ride.’”
Routes carry passengers to Stuart Road, as far as Mansfield Lahm Airport, and to Village Mall Drive. Another location is 13 and I-71 and Possum Run Road. “We have a city bus route out there. And so we run that far out, to those locations,” stated Leer.
They also have service out to Shelby. That started with a partnership with Ohio State University and NC State College. They had a need to have students, especially North Central State College, and at Keyhoe. “We were already providing service to the Mansfield campus. But the Ashland University came aboard, they had to make some changes out there. So they moved a lot of business courses to the Keyhoe,” she said.
“There are a lot of medical courses at the Mansfield Campus, and we developed a route there,” said Leer. “And Mayor John said, ‘Well if you’re coming that far to Shelby, I’ve got people here that would like to know.’”
This is their third year running the route from Shelby. “And the first month we started it we only had, 62 people,” director Leer stated. “Now that route is almost up to 700 a month. The route in Shelby, has done very well, it’s done very well.”
“I don’t want it to seem like I’m up here in some Ivory Tower,” Leer stated. “I used to drive bus, and I know a great many people through RCT. I want to be out serving the public.”
