SORTA unveils bus and rail service plan

The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), which operates Metro in Cincinnati, introduced the final plan, call MetroMoves, for regional bus and rail service to Greater Cincinnati. The plan integrates an expanded bus plan with a regional rail plan, which would create more than 36,000 jobs and attract $2.7 billion in development. The current Metro service would be expanded to create a grid of transit hubs across the county and link them using crosstown and cross-regional routes. The regional rail plan would connect all independent rail corridors and add rail service to western Hamilton County. Rail lines would connect to bus and shuttle services at hubs to provide easy transfers to destinations not on the rail line. The cost to build the bus expansion plan is approximately $112 million, with an estimated cost of 42.6 billion to build the 30-year rail plan.