TRAVEL TRAINING

Everyone knows someone who needs PARTA… but have you ever been interested in riding yourself? We understand that riding a bus for the first time can be daunting – reading a schedule, finding your way home, or even figuring out how to purchase and use fare.

That is why our Travel Training Program teaches how to:

• Use PARTA fixed route and Dial-A-Ride services

• Read schedules and plan and book a trip

• Locate and transfer to other buses

• Pay fares and purchase tickets and passes

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HOW TO RIDE

HOW TO FIND YOUR ROUTE

HOW TO READ A SCHEDULE

Finding the Right Schedule
Schedules are available at Kent Central Gateway, PARTA Main Offices, Portage County Administration Building, UH Portage Medical Center (formerly Robinson), and our website.

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• Schedules show maps of the individual routes and detailed timing information.

• Schedules list the cities where they will be traveling, as well as service areas and stops. Use these as a guide to help determine which schedule(s) you will need.

 
Reading a Schedule
Once you have a schedule, find your route, day of travel, and direction of travel.  For instance, Suburban South, Route 45.  The column headings in each schedule are timepoints or major destinations along the route. In addition to these places, the bus does stop at other locations along the route. Find the timepoint closest to your destination. Look down to see when each trip arrives at that location.

For instance, you’re riding the Raven West, Route 80, on a weekday and you need to arrive at the Social Security Administration Office by 11:45 a.m.  Look in the appropriate column and see that a trip arrives there at 10:45 a.m.  Look left in the same row to see when that trip leaves from the points before the Social Security Administration.

If there’s a bus stop, but no timepoint, use the timepoint before your bus stop to determine the time of the pick up. For example, you’re boarding the Raven West, Route 80 at W. Main Street and Sycamore Street.  Simply use the timepoint immediately before your bus stop to estimate the time.  On the trip shown above, the bus is not likely to get to The ROC (which is the stop immediately before) until 10:38 a.m.  Therefore, you should be at your bus stop at 10:33 a.m. – 5 minutes before your bus is scheduled to arrive.

Coordinating a Transfer
If you need a transfer, you’ll need the details for all the routes you’ll be using.  To arrive at your destination on time, work backwards.  In other words, plan the last leg of your ride and then figure out the other legs of your trip.  For instance, it’s Friday, you are starting at the Villages at Franklin Crossing and you want to get to Akron by 10:45 a.m.  You’ll need to use the Interurban West, Route 30, and then transfer to the Akron Express, Route 90.

1. First, find an Akron Express, Route 90, that arrives on time. There’s a trip that arrives at Akron's RKP Transit Center at 10:30 am. Look left, and see that trip leaves Kent Central Gateway (your transfer point) at 9:30 am.

2. Now, find an Interurban West, Route 30, that arrives at Kent Central Gateway in time to make the transfer.  There’s a trip arriving at 9:05 a.m., leaving a 25 minute window for the transfer.  That trip departs the Villages at Franklin Crossing at 8:53 am.

Determining your Fare
On most routes, a one-way ride costs $1.00.  If you need to make a transfer to more than one bus, you will be required to pay an additional $1.00. If you believe that you will be traveling a lot in one day, it would be best to purchase an all-day pass from your driver for $2.00.  This will allow you to travel all day (except on Akron and Cleveland Express Routes, which are a set fare). Visit our Tickets & Passes page to learn more about fares and information about reduced fare pricing.

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HOW TO USE THE FAREBOX

PARTA offers a variety of ways to pay your fare through our electronic farebox.