MANSFIELD, Ohio – This Christmas season, the Richland County Transit (RCT) does not just carry county residents from point A to point B; it also picks up toys. During the first week of December, the RCT accepted new or lightly used toys in exchange for a free bus ride–a toy for a ride.
According to Office Manager Elaine Buzzard, RCT wanted to contribute to the community’s joy during the Christmas season – so they supported the Toy Time effort. They’ve been doing it for at least 15 years, said Buzzard.
“We’re the public transit system. We want to be involved in the community in whatever it is experiencing. We don’t want to just serve adults, we want to serve children, too. And one of the hardest things to experience in life as a parent is not being able to provide Christmas for your children,” said Buzzard.
Buzzard said there are years the RCT has collected over 200 toys for children within the week it picks them up. Last year they received 106. After the week is up they combine the yellow drop-off bags filled with toys and donate them to Toy Time – a local non-profit organization dedicated to giving every child in Richland County a toy for Christmas.
“The program’s done very well over the years. I’ve been here 15 years and they’ve been doing it since then,” said Buzzard. RCT also works hard providing affordable public transportation, something which Richland County seems to be taking advantage.
The RCT transported a total of 239,171 individuals just last month using their 17 buses, according to their records. Of those, the largest demographic served is that of the Senior Citizens and Disabled (128,990), shown in the graph below.
There are 15 bus routes in Richland County, most of them traversing through Mansfield and Ontario. For many residents, the RCT is their only means of transportation and is an inexpensive alternative to owning a car.
Sherri Rodriguez has been disabled and out of work without a vehicle for four years. She uses the RCT every day for running errands like picking up groceries, doing laundry; she even moved her whole apartment’s belongings in one of the buses.
“Oh yeah. It took like a whole week, but we got it done. You’d be surprised what they can do for you,” laughed Rodriguez. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at a young age and just four years ago, put her on disability status. Rodriguez has been living in Mansfield for 18 months. She hopes to start classes at North Central State College (NCSC) in January so she can improve her chance of being able to land a job.
Chevelle Adkins, a student at NCSC, also rides the bus every day. “I use the bus everyday. I don’t think most students from OSU or NCSC know they can ride the bus for free,” said Adkins. It’s true. Both campuses offer free bus fare as part of their tuition package for students.
Art Novel said he likes the convenience of the bus system, but he said he would like to see them running routes on the weekends.
“Without the bus, I probably would have been out of a job this past summer. It always runs on time but it doesn’t go on the weekends. I think that would benefit them,” commented Novel.
To this comment, the driver of bus route 13 Tim Brummage, the route that runs to campus and locations in Shelby, said RCT will be running all routes except 11 and 15 on the Saturdays leading up to Christmas from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
An unnamed man also credited the bus as his only means of transportation. He described himself as a felon currently on probation. He does not have a job and he does not have a vehicle to use, but he has a fiancee that he tries to see daily.
“I have no family except for my fiancee. So I ride the bus,” he said. His probation office grants him bus tickets.
Bus routes and fares can be found on RCT’s website or by calling 419-522-4504. They also have a Facebook page.
“I use the bus everyday. I don’t think most students from OSU or NCSC know they can ride the bus for free,” said Chevelle Adkins.
