‘It’s just not the right environment;’ Dayton RTA does not want high schoolers on buses

DAYTON — Greater Dayton RTA leaders are speaking out and making it clear they do not want high school students to use their buses to get to school.

>>PHOTOS: Dayton RTA does not want high schoolers on buses

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell spoke with the transit company’s leader about that issue on Friday.

Bob Ruzinsky, RTA CEO, says from RTA’s standpoint they are no longer set up to transport high school students and almost all of the estimated 2,500 students that ride have to transfer buses at the Downtown Dayton hub.

RTA does not think that it is good for them or their regular riders.

“Trying to mix those two really doesn’t work,” said Ruzinsky. “It didn’t work 20 years ago, it doesn’t work now.”

He told Campbell the bottom line is students belong on the yellow buses.

“Forcing them on to public transit, where they have to transfer and there’s opportunities for other things to happen, it’s just not the right environment,” Ruzinsky said.

He added it’s too easy for students to decide not to transfer and skip school.

It can also be intimidating for regular RTA riders with additions of large groups of high energy, high noise students, according to Ruzinsky.

“We’ve seen and heard from riders changing their travel patterns to avoid the concentration of students,” said Ruzinsky.

Campbell reached out to Dayton Public Schools Friday but received no response.

However, the superintendent has said in years past they don’t have enough buses or drivers to transport high school students.

News Center 7 has reported several times this year the problems the Dayton school district has had transporting kindergarten through eighth grade students to their schools and charter schools.

“I rode the bus the other day,” said Tiffany Montgomery. “The kids come on there cussing, older people were looking, really made them uncomfortable too.”

She told Campbell she can see both sides of the issue.

Her elementary school age students ride the bus but when she was in high school, she rode RTA buses that were limited-stop (LS) bus service. They were designed to take kids from neighborhoods to school.

“They’re high school kids,” Montgomery said. “They don’t want to be on yellow buses but the LS buses was for us.”

RTA leaders say they longer have the infrastructure to run LS routes. They sold buses and moved drivers after the school district backed out of a contract when Covid forced remote learning.

“Public transportation is not really designed to handle school transportation,” said Ruzinski.

Campbell reports RTA leaders say Dayton Public Schools have added some of their school-based security to the Dayton RTA Hub at transfer times for students.

Dayton Police have also sent their Bicycle Response Team on a daily basis to respond to reports of juvenile crimes and trouble, according to police reports.

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