The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) is the public transport agency serving Cincinnati and its Ohio suburbs. SORTA operates Metro fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services. SORTA's headquarters are located at the Huntington Building in Cincinnati’s Central Business District. The agency is managed by CEO and General Manager Andy Aiello along with a 13-member board of trustees. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

Downtown Cincinnati is also served by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), whose transit services extend over the Ohio River into Northern Kentucky.

History

In 1973, SORTA was established after the city of Cincinnati purchased the Cincinnati Transit Commission, which operated bus service from 1952 to 1973, and streetcar service from 1873 to 1952 as the Cincinnati Street Railway. SORTA took over bus service in 1973 under the name Queen City Metro, which was later shortened to Metro to reflect increased regional service. In 2012 Metro released its schedule information in the General Transit Feed Specification, making schedules more easily available to customers. The Cincinnati Bell Connector was operated by SORTA until 2019; the City of Cincinnati has since owned and operated the streetcar. Until 2021, Metro was funded primarily by Cincinnati's city earnings tax, second by fares, and third by federal sources, with some other minor sources. This stood in contrast to other Ohio transit agencies, such as COTA and GCRTA which are primarily funded by sales tax. The portion of Cincinnati's earnings tax going to Metro's budget was about 0.3%.

Reinventing Metro On May 14, 2020, Hamilton County voters passed Issue 7, which switches the source of SORTA funding to a sales tax levy of 0.8 percent. The sales tax in Hamilton County raised to 7.8% and the Cincinnati earnings tax was eliminated. The levy is projected to generate $130 million a year, which will be split 100/30 between Metro and road infrastructure respectively. The new sales tax rate went into effect on October 1, 2020. The new funding will be used to implement Reinventing Metro, which is a transit network redesign of its fixed-route services, but also introduces Mobility on Demand and bus rapid transit (BRT) to the region.

An example related project is the Northside Transit Center, which is located in Northside and replaced a basic bus stop. The new transit center, which opened in 2020, features eight boarding bays, each with an architecturally designed shelter and enhanced streetscaping, lighting and amenities. In addition, the transit center features artwork designed by winners of the transit agency's art contest for Northside residents. The contest asked residents to submit designs following the theme, "What does Northside mean to me?”. The artwork is displayed prominently on installations at the transit center's entrance and exit. The Northside project was a partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and other local stakeholders.

Services Metro Bus routes Metro operates about 43 major fixed bus routes, as well as a demand-responsive paratransit service. Of the major routes, roughly half run only at rush hours and are essentially commuter services, some of them serving the reverse commute. The other half operate throughout the day, and some offer increased frequency during rush hours. Approximately 90% of all trips are made on the all-day routes, and 10% on the express commuter routes. Routes 4, 17, 19, 33, 43, 51, and 78 run at all times.

Routes 29X Milford Express and 82X Eastgate Express extend into neighboring Clermont County under an arrangement with the Clermont Transportation Connection.

Route 71X Kings Island Express extends into neighboring Warren County under an arrangement with Warren County Transit.

Route 20 Winton Road-Forest Park has a layover at the Fairfield Meijer in neighboring Butler County with connections to Butler County Regional Transit Authority's Route R3 Oxford-Forest Park Connector at the Forest Park Park and Ride.

+ Current routes Number Route name Route type 1 Mt. Adams Local 2 Madeira Local (Rush hour) 3X Montgomery Express Express 4 Montgomery Road Local (24/7) 5 Blue Ash Local (Crosstown) 6 Queen City Avenue Local 8 Blue Ash – Silverton Local (Rush Hour) 10 Erie Avenue Local 11 Madison Road Local 12 Madisonville Local (Rush Hour) 16 Spring Grove/Daly Local 17 Hamilton Avenue Local (24/7) 19 Colerain Avenue Local (24/7) 20 Winton Road Local 21 Harrison Avenue Local 22 Glenway - Madison Local (Rush Hour Crosstown) 23X Forest Park Express Express 24 Beechmont - MLK Local (Crosstown) 25 Mount Lookout Local (Rush Hour) 27 Beekman – Linn Local 28 East End Local 29X Milford Express Express 30 Beechmont Local (Rush Hour) 31 Taft – McMillan Local (Crosstown) 32 West 8th Street Local 33 Glenway Avenue Local (24/7) 36 Price Hill – Uptown Local (Crosstown) 37 MLK – Westwood Local (Crosstown) 38 Uptown Commuter Local (Rush Hour Crosstown) 40 Montana Local (Rush Hour) 41 North Bend Road Local (Crosstown) 43 Reading Road Local (24/7) 46 Avondale Local 47 Avondale - Oakley Local (Crosstown) 49 Fairmount Local 50 River Road Local (Rush Hour) 51 Westwood – Avondale Local (24/7 Crosstown) 52X Harrison Express Express 53 St. Bernard – Oakley Local (Crosstown) 61 Galbraith Road Local (Crosstown) 64 Westwood Local 65 Western Hills Local (Rush Hour Crosstown) 67 Kemper Road Local (Crosstown) 70 UC Connector Commuter 71X Kings Island Express Express 74X Colerain Express Express 75X Anderson Express Express 77 Delhi Local 78 Vine Street Local (24/7) 81 Mount Washington Commuter 82X Eastgate Express Express 90 Metro*Plus Local (Limited stops)

MetroNow! Throughout 2021 and early 2022, Metro worked on developing an accessible, on-demand and localized mobility service, including connections to Metro's network of more than 40 fixed bus routes.

Previously referred to as "Mobility On-Demand," this service is now called MetroNow!, with two zones that launched pilot service in Spring of 2023. Metro has rolled out several zones, including Springdale/Sharonville, Northgate/Mt. Healthy, Forest Park/Pleasant Run, and Blue Ash/Montgomery.

Access Paratransit In compliance with federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Metro operates a paratransit service called Access for individuals with disabilities. ADA-accessible vans provide on-demand service within 3/4 miles of Metro bus service, during Metro's bus service hours. Riders must apply with Metro and receive certification of ADA eligibility before using Access service. Trips on Access are scheduled in advance, either by phone or through the Metro MyAccess app. As part of the July 16, 2025 fare changes, single ride Access trips are $4.40.

Stops and stations

Most of SORTA's roughly 3,600 stops are simply marked with a sign on a pole listing routes the stop serves. Several dozen stops include bus shelters and covered benches. Several suburban stops are Park and Rides. Government Square is the main transit station, located downtown near Fountain Square. SORTA owns and operates several transit centers across the region including the Northside Transit Center, Oakley Transit Center, and Glenway Crossing Transit Center. SORTA operates the Riverfront Transit Center, currently used as a layover point for the Metro*Plus route.

Fares As of July 16, 2025, local and commuter routes fare is $2.20 and express routes fare is $3.00. Commuter routes will now be known as local routes. Children under 55 inches ride free with an accompanying adult with a max of up to 2 children per adult.

Metro introduced their Tap&Save program, which is their version of fare capping. Users of the Transit app can preload money onto their accounts to pay for their fares. The system will track their spending and once they reach the equivalent price of day pass or 30 day pass, they will not have to pay any additional fares until the cycle resets.

+ Fares (as of July 16, 2025) Fare type Price Half fareLocal Routes$2.20$1.10Express Routes$3$1.50Access Fare$4.40Metro*NOW Fare$2.50No discounted fare.

+ SORTA passes Fare type PriceLocal 24-Hour Pass$4.40Metro/TANK 24-Hour Pass$5Express 24-Hour Pass$65-ride Local Ticket$11Half Fare 24-Hour Pass$2.20Local 30-day Pass$88Express 30-day Pass$120Metro/TANK 30-day Pass$105Suburban County Express 30-day Pass$150

Garages and fleet SORTA operates around 300 Gillig buses with on fixed routes out of 2 garages, and about 50 smaller vehicles as part of their 'demand responsive services'. All vehicles in SORTA's fleet are ADA accessible. Vehicles in the fixed route fleet are rated, on average, for a capacity and 65 passengers, both sitting and standing.

All fixed-route buses have a bike rack mounted on the front with room for two bicycles.

SORTA has introduced 20 next-generation hybrid buses since 2023 and recently introduced their first set of all-electric buses on Earth Day 2026. 6 are currently in service with another 7 expected in 2027.

SORTA recently approved an order of 12 New Flyer Xcelsior articulated diesel buses for their BRT service called MetroRapid, which is set to launch in 2028 along Reading Road and Hamilton Avenue.

Garages Queensgate Garage is located at 1401 Bank Street, Cincinnati, OH 45214 Bond Hill Garage is located at 4700 Paddock Road, Cincinnati, OH 45229

Present fleet

As of 2026, SORTA’s bus fleet consists of the following:

Gillig Low Floor Gillig Low Floor HEV Gillig Low Floor Plus EV Gillig BRT Plus

See also Adjacent public transit agencies: Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), serving Butler County, Ohio Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC), serving Clermont County, Ohio Connector, light rail system serving and operated by the City of Cincinnati Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK), serving Northern Kentucky Warren County Transit, serving Warren County, Ohio

Other major public transit agencies in Ohio: Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), serving Columbus, Ohio Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), serving Cleveland, Ohio Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (formerly the Miami Valley RTA), serving Dayton, Ohio

References

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