OH: ‘Reserved for Rosa’ ride connects Rosa Parks’ legacy to Lake County transit
A Laketran bus rolling through Painesville and along Mentor Avenue on Friday morning will carry more than passengers.
It will carry stories.
Laketran, alongside the NAACP of Lake County and the Willoughby Western Lake County Chamber of Commerce, is hosting its “Reserved for Rosa” ceremonial ride-along to honor the legacy of civil rights icon Rosa Parks and spotlight Black history rooted in Lake County.
The public is invited to climb aboard Laketran Route 1 for the 20-minute ride, which departs at 10 a.m. from the Painesville Transfer Center, 70 N. St. Clair St.
During the ride, local storyteller and speaker Rhonda Osagie-Erese will guide passengers through a moving, place-based history lesson, pointing out key locations along Mentor Avenue and in Painesville tied to the area’s Black history and cultural legacy.
The ride is designed to feel conversational and accessible — less lecture, more shared story — fitting the spirit of a community gathering rather than a formal ceremony.
Reserved for Rosa is a weeklong national initiative that commemorates Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, a moment that helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.
Read more: Laketran, Geauga Transit honor Rosa Parks with reserved bus seats during Black History Month
Locally, organizers say the ride is also about recognizing the role public transit plays in daily life, connecting neighborhoods, jobs, schools, and services, and how equitable access remains a civil rights issue today.
Laketran officials say Route 1 was chosen intentionally. It’s one of the system’s busiest lines, linking communities west toward Mentor and returning east to Painesville later in the morning, offering a living snapshot of how public transportation weaves through everyday life in Lake County.
After arriving at the Meijer stop around 10:22 a.m., riders can remain in the area or catch the eastbound Route 1 back to Painesville at 10:50 a.m., returning by about 11:12 a.m.
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