Ozark Regional Transit

Ozark Regional Transit is the provider of mass transportation in the Northwest Arkansas region, including Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville.

Ozark Regional Transit
ParentArkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT)
Founded1982
Headquarters2423 East Robinson Ave
LocaleSpringdale, Arkansas
Service areaWashington County, Arkansas
Benton County, Arkansas
Service typeBus service
Routes13
Stations1
Daily ridership1,157 (2014)[1]
Annual ridership202,060 (2022)[2]
Fuel typeDiesel
WebsiteOzark Regional Transit

History

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The roots of the organization are in a 1974 project by the Economic Opportunity Agency of Washington County to provide rural transportation. By 1978, two fixed routes had been established and, in 1982, after being designated as an urban area, northwestern Arkansas formed Ozark Regional Transit and acquired federal funding. Currently, 5 local routes serve the interconnected Fayetteville and Springdale communities and two routes travel through the Rogers-Bentonville area. A commuter route travels once per day in each direction to provide a peak connection between Fayetteville and rural Washington County, while another commuter route travels all day between the four major cities.

Fire

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In January 2017, an explosion and subsequent fire destroyed 20 ORT buses, leaving only six functional buses in the fleet.[3] In the subsequent weeks, transit services from around the country donated buses to ORT to restore their fleet, including Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Key West Transit, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Razorback Transit, and Rural Transit Enterprises Coordinated, with many other lending buses until the fleet could be restored.

 
ORT Bus formerly of Duluth Transit Authority

Routes

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Fixed route ridership

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The ridership statistics shown here are of fixed route services only and do not include demand response services.[4]

50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Route Summary 2014" (PDF). www.ozark.org/. Ozark Regional Transit. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Ozark Regional Transit 2022 Agency Profile" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Gill, Todd (January 10, 2017). "Fire destroys 20 Ozark Regional Transit buses". Fayetteville Flyer. Bear State Media. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "The National Transit Database (NTD)". Retrieved April 24, 2024.