RTS - City of Gainesville Regional Transit System

Did you know the City of Gainesville Regional Transit System was ranked the No. 1 transit agency in Florida in 2008 by the Florida Public Transportation Association? Or that RTS completes more than 9 million passenger trips each year, serving both city residents and students? Since 1974, RTS has grown from a small transit system with only two city routes to one of the 10 largest systems in Florida. RTS is a successful transit agency constantly working for our community, implementing innovative programs and campaigns throughout the year to make travel easier and to help protect our environment.

For 35 years RTS has focused on enhancing the quality of life in our community by providing safe, courteous and reliable transportation to the greater Gainesville area. In that time, RTS has flourished in both size and achievement. In addition to being ranked the top Florida transit system in 2008, RTS has won several other safety, operations, maintenance, and marketing awards from the Florida Public Transportation Association, the American Public Transportation Association and the Advertising Federation of Gainesville.

RTS also has a variety of programs geared toward more convenient and socially responsible transportation. From its Gator Locator vehicle tracking system to “Greening the Gator Nation” with its partnership with UF to launch a biodiesel program, RTS is always striving toward a better mass transit experience for students, residents and visitors alike.

Advertising

RTS offers local and national businesses a variety of options to drive their messages to customers. With RTS completing more than 9 million passenger trips a year, interior advertising reaches a large audience. Exterior advertising, like the RTS bus wrap, will reach customers on the bus and in the community. Traditional online and print advertising are also available. Find more information on rates and details here.

RTS Employee Bus Pass Program

The RTS Employee Bus Pass Program provides unlimited fixed route access for employees of participating organizations. The program was created in 2000 to mitigate traffic and parking problems at UF and downtown Gainesville and to encourage employees to use public transit. Now, more than 29,000 employees the University of Florida, City of Gainesville, Alachua County, The North Florida and South Georgia Veterans Health System, and Shands Hospital benefit from the program. Any employer with 100 or more employees is eligible to participate. The current annual cost per employee is $6.75. For more information click here.

Biodiesel Fuel

RTS and UF are “Greening the Gator Nation” with their biodiesel program. In October 2008, UF and RTS launched their biodiesel pilot program to power 22 RTS buses on UF campus shuttle routes entirely with biodiesel fuel. This project helps RTS reduce carbon dioxide emissions and decrease its dependency on oil. Each bus running on biodiesel is labeled with a decal proclaiming that the bus is “Greening the Gator Nation” by using a cleaner-burning and more sustainable fuel source.

Gator Locator

The location of RTS buses is no longer a mystery to riders thanks to Gator Locator. In June 2008, RTS added the Gator Locator automatic vehicle locating system feature to its services. Gator Locator is powered by TransLoc and allows users to go online and get the real time locations of RTS buses. Knowing the exact location of buses helps RTS with safety and service reliability, enables riders to use time more efficiently and provides reassurance to those waiting at bus stops at night or in inclement weather.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

RTS is partnering with the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether the City of Gainesville would benefit from Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service. RTS has added a link to its Web site exclusively for BRT project updates to make information about this project more readily available to the public and to encourage public participation. RTS is very excited about this opportunity to involve the city’s residents in the future of their public transit.

Google Transit

RTS has been working with Google for the last several months to join Google’s new online trip planning service. The Google Transit online trip planner is a service similar to Google Maps that Google is providing to transportation systems around the world for free. Once RTS launches Google Transit, the online trip planner will be invaluable to transit users and will enable RTS to save money and resources spent on printed schedules.