March 31 METRO RTA Board of Trustees meeting
Covered by Documenter Kelley Sayre (see the notes here)
The number of trips taken by Akron’s METRO RTA riders increased in 2025, said CEO Dawn Distler during a recent board meeting.
METRO had more than 5.6 million trips and its drivers logged more than 6.1 million miles last year. In comparison, there were 5.3 million trips and 5.7 million miles traveled in 2024, according to the agency’s annual report.
This is the highest level of trips since 2009, which saw 5.5 million trips by riders, according to a May 4 METRO press release.
Also last year, METRO increased peak hour services to every 15 minutes for Bus Route 8 which serves Barberton, and every 30 minutes for Route 29, S. Main St. to Manchester Road. METRO expanded Sunday service hours, with service now beginning at 8 a.m.
Last year, the agency launched METRO NEXT, which connects southern Summit County residents with METRO Direct fixed-route service. It will continue to expand throughout other portions of the county this year.
For the first time in the agency’s history, 98% of Summit County is served by some form of public transportation, Distler reported to the board.
Other 2025 highlights for METRO include being $9.4 million under budget and winning the American Public Transportation Association’s Outstanding Public Transportation System of the Year.
Areas of improvement also identified by Akron METRO
Despite the achievements cited in the report, METRO did not meet all of its goals last year. Board members shared data and areas for improvement at the agency’s March 31 board meeting.
METRO Direct’s on-time performance was 81% in 2025, short of its 95% goal.
METRO Select, which provides specialized transportation options in Summit County — including SCAT shared-ride service for seniors and disabled people as well as the Call-A-Bus service in specific areas— increased by 600 rides compared to 2024. It also came closer to its goal with 93% on-time performance, board member John Valle said during the March 31 board meeting.
Routes 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10 had the best on-time performance, while Routes 61, 31, 23, 32 and 1 had the most problems.
Preventable accidents decreased by 11% on METRO Direct, while preventable accidents on the METRO Select service increased by 10%.
There were no onboard accidents last year. In the last two years, there have only been two onboard accidents in the 11.1 million miles driven, said Board Member Renee Greene during the March 31 board meeting.
“Everybody has a KPI [key performance indicator] that, you know, maybe we’re not really proud of internally, that, you know, we’re putting out to the board to say this is an area where we need to measure and do better,” said Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer Jarrod Hampshire during the meeting.
Read Documenter Kelley Sayre’s notes here:
