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RTA CEO To Retire after 45 Years of Public Transit Service

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From bus driver to executive of an urban transit system, Greater Dayton RTA’s CEO has spent his entire career in public service. After 45 years—15 of which were in Dayton—Mark Donaghy will retire, effective April 1, 2021.

 

Donaghy began his transit career in 1976 as a driver for the Omaha Public School system in Nebraska. At the time, the system was in turmoil as a federal court mandated busing of Black students to predominantly white schools in Omaha in order to desegregate schools. Donaghy was one of the first to drive a school bus for the new system as part of the desegregation process. Throughout his career he’s held various leadership positions at other transit agencies, including Columbia Transit, Manchester Transit Authority, Missoula Urban Transportation District, and the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, or TANK, where he eventually became CEO. He went to First Transit Inc. before joining Dayton RTA as CEO in 2006.

 

During his tenure, Donaghy successfully fought for equal access for bus service in Beavercreek, a battle which was the basis for the award-winning “Free to Ride” documentary produced by The Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. He helped shepherd innovative partnership programs such as Dayton’s downtown circulator bus The Flyer, the LINK bike share program, and RTA Connect On-Demand where traditional service is limited.  One of his greatest achievements was the rebuild of Dayton’s electric trolley system through infrastructure upgrades and the creation of the new NexGen dual-mode trolley bus, which can run off-wire for 15 miles, expanding RTA’s electric bus service without increasing overhead wire.

 

“It has been a privilege to serve with many great employees, board members and stakeholders in the Dayton Region over the past 15 years,” Donaghy said. “I am proud of my 45 years of service in the transportation industry and have been fortunate to have worked in nearly every aspect of it, starting as a bus driver in 1976 in Omaha and as a CEO for more than 30 years. The Dayton region is a special place where the public and private sectors collaborate in a determined effort to improve the quality of life for every citizen and being part of that regional infrastructure has been the highlight of my career. RTA is well prepared to serve the Miami Valley for generations to come as it has for more than 100 years thanks to the collective efforts of our employees, board of trustees and our regional partners.”

RTA’s board of trustees thanks Donaghy for his service, especially during the unprecedented COVID-19 health crisis, in which Donaghy maintained full service levels to ensure essential workers could get to their jobs, and RTA employees maintained employment.

“Mark has been an extraordinary leader in extraordinary times. Recently, Mark has kept access to reliable transportation available through an unprecedented health crisis, devastating tornadoes, a horrific mass shooting, and civil unrest,” said David Williamson, president of the RTA board of trustees. “Mark championed expanded service for employees to get to work, for the underserved, and for innovative ideas like The Flyer. The Board of trustees fully appreciates Mark’s resolve to keep the buses running and his firm and steady hand on the wheel. He will be missed.”

The board will recognize Donaghy’s extraordinary achievements for public transit at their regularly-scheduled meeting set for Tuesday, March 2.

RTA honors Rosa Parks and others during Black History Month

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It all started with a bus. The Greater Dayton RTA will honor civil rights icon Rosa Parks by reserving a seat in her name at the front of every bus as part of a celebration for Black History Month. All RTA fixed-route buses will have a seat reserved in honor of Rosa Parks through the month of February.

On Dec. 1, 1955, Mrs. Parks was sitting in the “colored” section toward the back of a bus in Montgomery, Ala. As the bus began to fill up, the driver ordered Mrs. Parks to give up her seat to a white passenger but she refused. The 42-year-old was arrested and briefly jailed for this refusal—which sparked an expansive bus boycott by the Montgomery Improvement Association. The MIA, led by civil rights newcomer Martin Luther King Jr., began the boycott on Dec. 5, 1955 when Mrs. Parks was found guilty of disorderly conduct and violating a local ordinance. Blacks were encouraged not to ride the bus, and many walked as far as 20 miles in support of the movement. The bus boycott lasted 381 days and officially ended when the city repealed its law requiring segregation on public buses, prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that this segregation was unconstitutional.

Mrs. Parks became an international symbol for civil disobedience and resistance to racial segregation, dedicating her life to the cause of civil rights. Her quiet strength made a seat available for everyone, everywhere. The agency would ask passengers to respect the sign reserving this seat, and also honor Mrs. Parks during Black History Month by choosing another place to sit in the interim.

A mural featuring lesser-known African Americans who helped shape the United States throughout history is also displayed for the month of February in the passenger concourse of Wright Stop Plaza at
4 S. Main Street in downtown Dayton.

Included on the mural are:

Amelia Robinson: “Bloody Sunday” marcher in Selma, Alabama

Bessie Coleman: First black female pilot

Claudette Colvin: Civil rights activist who helped end segregation on buses

Doris Miller: World War II and Pearl Harbor hero

Dr. Rebecca L. Crumpler: First black female doctor

Gladys West: Inventor of GPS

Irene Morgan Kirkaldy: Activist who helped end segregation on Greyhound buses

Matthew Henson: Explorer who was among first to reach the North Pole

Robert Smalls: Former slave who stole a Confederate ship; first black U.S. Congressman

 

 

RTA Book Drive

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Summer is almost here and at the Greater Dayton RTA that means the return of the “Read on RTA” program. To kick off the fourth year of RTA distributing books to children across the Greater Dayton area, we’ll be offering a Read on RTA Free Ride Day on Friday, June 2 for any RTA riders who donate a new or gently-used children’s book when they board the bus.

Collection boxes will be aboard every bus—including all fixed-route and Project Mobility buses—for donations. Each person can receive one free ride per book donated, per trip. A book must be presented for each ride if a customer wants to receive more than one free trip on the Read on RTA Free Ride Day. This promotion is only for books donated on Friday, June 2. The RTA asks that all books be in good condition and are appropriate for children ages 0-18 years. No textbooks, please.

Riders will receive a free ride on the trip they donate. A book must be presented each ride if a customer wants to participate on more than one bus trip during the Free Ride Day.

Beginning Monday, June 5, Read on RTA will begin distributing books for children across all five transit centers:

• . Wright Stop Plaza, 4 S. Main St., Dayton

• . Northwest Transit Center, 2075 Shiloh Springs Rd., Trotwood

• . Eastown Transit Center, 1218 Falke Dr., Dayton

• . Westown Transit Center, 122 Elmhurst Dr., Dayton

• . South Transit Center, 2730 Lyons Dr., Miami Township

Read on RTA aims to battle the “summer slide” –the academic backslide children can experience while they’re not actively learning in the classroom during summer months. Kids of all age levels are encourage to take a book and enjoy!

RTA and Read on RTA partners such as Dayton Metro Libraries, Half Priced Books in Beavercreek, Project Read and more, plan to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of children across the Greater Dayton area this summer.

Bike Share to Roll Into Dayton Spring 2015

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Community leaders gathered at Second Street Public Market today DSCF0919to announce the required $1 million in capital funding has been secured to launch a bike share program in Greater Downtown Dayton in 2015.  Earlier this month, Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC) approved 2014 funding from the Federal Highway Administration Surface Transportation Program to cover capital costs for 22 bike share stations.  Mayor Nan Whaley announced that the City of Dayton has committed to providing $250,000 which includes a needed local match to secure the capital funds and partial operating support to launch the program.

bikeshareDayton’s bike share, which will launch in spring 2015, will feature 22 strategically located stations, all within an approximate two mile radius of downtown Dayton. Each station will contain six to ten bikes, totaling more than 200 bikes. Stations will be placed within 1/4 mile of one another so it users will not have to walk more than 5 minutes to find an available bike. All bikes are securely locked, require a membership or credit card to access and will allow for GPS tracking. Customers – who range from one-day users to annual subscribers – are able to take unlimited trips on the bikes. Trips may be up to 30-45 minutes in length and may go to any other station or back to the original location.

Brian Martin, Executive Director of MVRPC shared, “The role of alternative transportation modes—such as bike share—in enriching their communities is extremely important, and our own bike share program will enable Dayton to keep pace with similar cities who already enjoy the benefits of bike share.”

The Downtown Dayton Partnership has seen evidence that that bike share programs bolster urban vibrancy, are a major factor in downtown livability, and maximize the connectivity of existing public transit infrastructure. Dr. Michael Ervin, DDP Co-Chair said, “Advancing Dayton’s cycling culture is an important strategy in the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan.”  But it’s not just the Downtown Dayton Partnership who want to see this happen. Ervin continues, “Organizational partnerships have been crucial to the establishment of a viable strategy for Dayton’s bike share program, and they are a testament to the community’s enthusiasm for this initiative.”

The organizations that have stepped up to implement the bike share program include Greater Dayton RTA, Bike Miami Valley and MVRPC. Bike Miami Valley be securing staff over the next year to oversee customer management, sponsorship outreach, customer memberships, organizational partnerships, and marketing and promotions with plans to hire an Executive Director in late summer or early fall. Once the program is launched, RTA will maintain the bike share equipment and balance the distribution of bikes across the station network.  MVRPC identified the capital funding source and will provide additional support, including office space for bike share staff. Combined, these partnerships will lower the annual bike share operational costs by more than $135,000 each year.  Immediate next steps will be to issue an RFP (a required step since bike share will be run by a public agency) to select an equipment vendor and develop the program branding and name.

Mark Donaghy, Executive Director of Greater Dayton RTA sees bike share as a “last mile connector” and a long-anticipated asset DSCF0938in better serving RTA patrons and promoting bus ridership. Users can ride the bus into downtown and pick up a bike to get to their exact destination with fewer transfers and more convenience; bike share adds to a system of transportation options within the downtown area. Donaghy says, “We look forward to seeing this important community asset grow.”

Andy Williamson, with Bike Miami Valley shared, “Bike Miami Valley is excited that Dayton will join the collection of more than 25 cities across the U.S. with bike share transportation systems.”

Although bike share is growing in popularity across the nation, Dayton is the second city to announce that they’ve completed the process of securing the needed capital funds. An appropriate fit since Dayton was designated in 2010 as a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists (with the goal to reach platinum level by 2020). Cincinnati is currently fundraising with hopes to launch Cincy Bike Share in the near future, and both Cleveland and University of Toledo are in research/planning modes with hopes to create their own bike share program.

But is Dayton ready? Scott Murphy with Bike Miami Valley says yes. Murphy explained, “We set out about a year and a half ago to study the feasibility of bike sharing in the Dayton region by benchmarking our community against others of similar size who have done bike sharing successfully. We looked at factors that correlate to actual bike share usage in other cities; things like population density, job density, where young people are clustered in our community.  What we found surprised us; not only does Dayton measure-up to these communities, we actually outpace other bike share cities of similar size for key bike share design factors.  The community is ready to do this.”

The idea is there, the plan is set, the money is confirmed: the reality of bike share roll out for Dayton in spring of 2015.