A brand new bus line and two revised routes created by TARTA add connectivity for people living downtown, in South Toledo, and in the Central City.
Route 33 is the first new route to be provided by the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority in years.
Clearly it is the outgrowth of TARTA’s new, better-funded contract with the community.
When they agreed in 2021 to grant TARTA countywide status, Lucas County voters also agreed to fund the public bus system with a half-cent sales tax.
The new sales tax raises almost twice as much money as the old system did — based on property taxes — and it distributes the cost more widely.
The new line, Bus 33, will go from downtown, through UpTown to the Junction neighborhoods, to the Arlington neighborhood, the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College Hospital, and to Southland Shopping Center, ending at Walmart on Glendale Avenue.
And there will be transfer points along the way to reach other destinations — including, for the first time ever, Springfield Township.
This connectivity will enliven Central City neighborhoods, bring communities closer, supply customers to stores and clinics, and generally get people moving better around central and South Toledo.
Time will tell whether the circuitous route established for Bus 33 serves a significant local need, or just checks off a lot of popular boxes, for example, connectivity with the Junction neighborhood.
Public transit needs to be fast and direct in Toledo, where any trip longer than 20 minutes is an eternity.
First Published March 30, 2023, 4:00 a.m.
