Doug Adkins, community revitalization director of Middletown, said the service will be open to anyone interesting in traveling between the three cities.
“The idea originally came from the university, but it’s really for everyone,” Adkins said. “We saw this growing need to connect Middletown, Trenton and Oxford and decided to do something about it.”
Included in the ordinance is the establishment of evening bus service within Middletown, between the hours of 6 p.m. and midnight Monday through Friday on a reservation basis. Riders will have to pay $5 per person one-way for the evening service.
The total cost of the new routes is expected to be more than $1.1 million. Funding for the services will be handled by a combination of Federal Transit Authority grants and a local match of $586,480 from the Butler County Regional Transit Authority.
BCRTA Executive Director Carla Lakatos said increased demand in Oxford for more public transit access helped spur the Middletown-Oxford route.
Existing shuttle service between Middletown and Hamilton averages close to 60 trips per week, according to Lakatos.
Claire Wagner, a spokeswoman with Miami, said 347 undergraduates at the Oxford campus take at least one class in Middletown. Another 86 students from Middletown take at least one class in Oxford, she said.
Council meets at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers on the lower level of the Middletown City Building, One Donham Plaza.
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