The indoor concourse, located on the first block of East Third Street, remains closed to the public, but the space has the front part of a diesel bus on display that passersby can see through the building’s glass doors and windows.
The bus has an electronic destination sign that says, “Something special coming 2026.”
That special something is a children’s learning center that will serve young kids in elementary school, said Bob Ruzinsky, CEO of the Greater Dayton RTA.
The center will have stations and displays where kids can design their own buses and bus routes, learn the history of the transit agency and see how electric buses work, he said.
“The wires (at a station) will spark when they push a button,” Ruzinsky said. “We’ll have a diesel engine that will make noises.”
The learning center also will have a full trolley bus inside with a middle section cut out, plus an RTA Connect bus. Kids will be able to touch and explore the vehicles.
The learning center will have murals and historical information on the walls, and storefront spaces on Third Street may be repurposed into “mini-museums” filled with memorabilia and historical and educational information and items.
Ruzinsky said the RTA plans to pick up students from their schools and teach them how to ride the bus. He said the learning center will be by appointment only, for scheduled school groups.
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