Employer buy-in, ridership remain low 5 months before end of Cleveland RTA microtransit pilot program

The shuttle service is part of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s ConnectWorks microtransit program, supported by funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The transit authority launched two short-term microtransit pilot projects in 2022 and 2023, an effort to get workers to job centers that lack access to frequent transit. This includes reducing “last-mile issues,” when riders have to walk a long distance from their bus stop to their destination.

A few participating employers and individual workers who take microtransit told The Land the service has been a major help, shortening commutes and getting employees to work on time. But ridership is low, and only a few companies have signed up. Both pilot projects end on June 14. If RTA decides to continue the service after that, it will work with the local transit union and determine how to build it into its current system, agency leaders said.