The average Metro RTA bus is 5.8 years old, but that figure will drop when 10 more arrive this year.
Compressed natural gas powers 28 percent of the current fleet and all of the new ones that will arrive.
Metro’s latest demographic study from 2007 showed almost 58 percent of riders were female. About 46 percent were white and 44 percent were African-American. Almost 70 percent were employed and 46 percent of the trips were work-related.
Of those who use the bus, 43 percent said they use it four or five days a week. More than 26 percent say they use it several times a day.
Almost half of the riders are between 25 and 54 years old.
Metro averages 1.4 preventable accidents for every 100,000 miles traveled by large buses. That figure was 2.3 accidents per 100,000 miles for SCAT vehicles.
With as many as 7,000 people traveling through the Pfaff Transit Center daily, an average of 6.6 arrests are made monthly.
Metro’s operating expenses are $38,443,911 a year. Fares raise $4,207,746 with a county sales tax raising $36,279,210. Federal grants and reimbursements account for $5,998,391 and state grants/special fare assistance raise an additional $629,962. The transit agency has local contracts for service that raises $857,768.
New Executive Director Richard Enty is developing even more data like this to form benchmarks for Metro performance in the future.
The master plan is available at: www. akronmetro.org/20-year-transit-master-plan.aspx.
Source: Metro RTA