WILMINGTON, OH--- Wilmington Transit has had a very big year of growth and opportunity. Transit started January 1, 2024, with a new direction and a new Director, Jonathan McKay. Director McKay’s first task was making sure the employees and community of Wilmington knew that a new day had come to Wilmington Transit. Going forward, Transit would return to focusing on its main priority: transporting people in a timely manner to and from their destinations. This is the fundamental reason why Wilmington Transit is in operation.
Once this task was accomplished, Wilmington Transit worked with the State, who is the main funding source for Transit’s operations. Communications between Transit and the State had been lacking, and a new relationship was in order. Just five days after starting his new role, Director McKay joined Mayor Pat Haley and Transportation Coordinator Chasity Williams in a meeting with the State of Ohio and the representatives from ODOT. In this first meeting, Wilmington Transit reassured the State that a new day had come with the start of a new Director, and going forward Transit was going to do as it said. Since then, Wilmington Transit has stood by this commitment.
Before the initial meeting with the State took place in January 2024, Wilmington Transit had received a high-risk assessment from the State, and the department was on the verge of losing key funding from ODOT. Since then, thanks to Transit’s diligence and hard work, the department is now in the low-risk assessment category, and ODOT could not be happier with the program. This substantial progress is a testament to the team at Transit, who have been assembled to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.
Wilmington Transit is currently on pace to serve well over 100,000 riders by the end of the year. With an average of 318 riders per day, and over 9,500 riders per month, Transit certainly keeps its 50+ employees and fleet of 20 vehicles busy. Wilmington Transit operates from 6:30am - 7:30pm Monday-Friday and 9:00am - 3pm on weekends.
Article Submitted by Jonathan McKay