Geauga Transit started 50 years ago with a $25,000 state and federal grant, an older sedan and a station wagon.

Today, the rural transit system provides door-to-door transportation across Geauga County, has added propane-powered buses and a work-ride program and is preparing for an expansion that could allow more direct trips between Geauga and Lake counties.

The system will mark the milestone with a free open house scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 30, according to a previous story published on cleveland.com.

Geauga County commissioners contracted with Lake County-based Laketran to operate Geauga Transit beginning July 1, 2023. Commissioners’ meeting records say the arrangement was intended to improve access to grant funding and expand services for residents.

The system operates demand-response service rather than fixed bus routes.

Geauga Transit recorded 32,542 rides in 2024, a 16% increase from 2023, according to its 2024 annual report. The increase came during the first full calendar year of Laketran management, although the report does not establish why ridership rose.

The annual report says Laketran had secured $3.5 million in state and federal funding for fleet and facility improvements and the Wheels to Work program.

Geauga Transit purchased six propane-powered buses in 2024, installed a propane fueling station and made improvements at its Merritt Road facility, including security cameras, signage and work on concrete, the roof and windows.

The agency also launched Wheels to Work on Oct. 18, 2024, using funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation through its workforce mobility program.

The program provides shared rides for workers. Geauga Transit reported 687 work trips during its first two months, according to the annual report.

Wheels to Work currently serves employees who live within 2 miles of Middlefield and Parkman and need transportation to jobs in Chardon or along state Route 422, according to Geauga Transit’s current service information.

The next expansion would cover more ground.

In November 2025, Laketran and Geauga Transit announced about $2.3 million in Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership funding through two awards, including about $2 million for a three-year initiative to improve transportation between Lake and Geauga counties and additional money for two propane-powered vehicles.

The project has since cleared a major regional planning step.

On March 13, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, or NOACA, approved the project for addition to the regional transportation plan and Transportation Improvement Program.

The approved amendment lists an estimated project cost of about $3 million, including $2.39 million in federal money and $597,455 locally.

The three-year initiative calls for two additional propane-powered vehicles, six new drivers and higher Geauga Transit driver wages to help create a shared driver pool between the two systems.

NOACA says the service would expand demand-response transportation across Lake and Geauga counties for work, training, education and health care.

The planning approval does not mean the new service is already running. NOACA’s project description does not list a passenger-service launch date.

Current service remains more limited across county lines.

Geauga Transit provides transportation throughout Geauga County and travels up to 2 miles outside it, according to its current service page. Riders can also connect with Laketran at University Hospitals TriPoint Medical Center in Concord and with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority at SOM Center and Mayfield roads in Mayfield Heights.

The Lake- Geauga initiative would go beyond those existing limits by allowing broader demand-response trips across both counties.

The expansion plans are the latest turn for a system that started with two vehicles.

Geauga Transit was established in 1976 with a $25,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration and began with an older sedan and a station wagon headquartered on Chardon Square, according to the agency’s history. The system built its Merritt Road facility in 1986 and 1987, introduced computerized scheduling in 1998 and expanded the building in 2002.

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