DAYTON — Dayton Public Schools will begin buying RTA bus passes for high school students once again after a Franklin County judge issued a temporary restraining order to the state law that prohibits the district from doing it.
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News Center 7’s John Bedell is digging into the court ruling and getting reaction from parents and community leaders. He’ll have a LIVE report on News Center 7 at 5:00 and 6:00.
The district filed a lawsuit last week seeking to have the state law preventing the practice of buying RTA passes for DPS high school students struck down.
>>RELATED: School district now buying bus passes for students despite state law against it
By using RTA buses, many students would need to change buses at the downtown hub. This has led to many safety concerns from city leaders, lawmakers, and community members especially after violent acts like the shooting death of Alfred Hale, an 18-year-old Dunbar High School student killed near the hub in April.
>>RELATED: ‘It’s not safe;’ Leaders meet, discuss transportation changes after student killed near bus stop
In response to the judge’s ruling, an RTA spokesperson issued the following statement:
The Greater Dayton RTA has been informed of the court’s decision to grant the temporary restraining order of the provision in the state budget that prevents Dayton Public School District (DPS) from purchasing bus passes for their students. The RTA will comply with the ruling and sell bus passes to DPS upon request. Since the Dayton Public School board previously voted not to purchase RTA bus passes, RTA will do it best to address the influx of passengers expected because of DPS’s sudden change in transportation strategy.
RTA maintains that public transit is not the most effective solution for meeting the daily transportation needs of these students. RTA routes run across the entire county and focus on getting riders to work, medical appointments and other essential trips. The routing, frequency, and timing of public bus routes are not conducive to meeting the unique needs of students and the numerous schools across our service area.
At any given time during the school day, RTA has just over 75 buses on the streets serving the entire county. That is the same number of buses DPS officials indicated they would need to fully serve the needs of Dayton high schools alone. Redeploying those to meet the needs of just one school district would mean we could not provide other services to the rest of Montgomery County.
RTA will continue to work with community leaders, state reps, and DPS to develop a more student focused long-term transportation solution for the 2026-27 school year.
— Greater Dayton RTA Spokesperson
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News Center 7 has also reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce for a response to the judge’s ruling and we’re awaiting a response.
This story will be updated.
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