The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) will start Sunday and holiday service beginning March 27, marking the first time since 2019 the authority has been able to provide seven-day service.
A commitment to returning service on Sundays and holidays was a component to Issue 12, a successfully passed ballot initiative that will institute a sales tax to help fund TARTA. The half-cent sales tax will go into effect later in 2022 and TARTA plans a network redesign later in the year, but the return of Sunday and holiday service has been accelerated as it was the top customer request.
“When we had the successful ballot initiative in November, we promised to the community that Sunday and holiday service would be returned,” said TARTA CEO Laura Koprowski. “It was critical to us to do that as soon as possible.”
At a press conference March 24, Koprowski was joined by several of the authority’s board of trustees and community stakeholders from the Toledo NAACP and Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the return of Sunday and holiday service as part of the authority’s round of Spring Service Changes.
“We know how much this community needs to get to work, people work seven days a week, we certainly learned that during the pandemic,” said Koprowski. “But it’s about all those other things that are so important in life: Going to church, visiting with friends, family [and] Sundays at the park.”
Koprowski also acknowledged the dedication of the TARTA team for which the new service would not have been possible.
Sara Swisher, vice president of the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce noted the city’s businesses, like many others in the nation, are challenged with retaining employees and recognized access to seven-day a week transportation can be a solution.
“A modern, efficient, public transit system helps remove barriers that often prevent employment opportunities for individuals,” said Swisher.
Looking to the future of transit in the area, which will begin with a comprehensive operational analysis dubbed TARTA Next, Toledo NAACP President Rev. Willie Perryman added the groups he represents are not only excited to see service return on Sundays, but for the vision represented in TARTA Next.
“If TARTA Next is anywhere where the current progress has taken us to this point that Toledo, Lucas County and its suburban communities will entertain one of the best transportation systems in the country,” said Rev. Perryman.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
