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Lorain County Transit Seeks Employer Input on Workforce Transportation Barriers

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  Published in Automotive and Transportation on Wednesday, December 10th 2025 at 8:09 GMT by Cleveland.com

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Lorain County Transit Seeks Employer Input on Workforce Transportation Barriers
Published by Cleveland.com, December 2025

In a bid to keep the county’s workforce mobile and its businesses competitive, Lorain County Transit (LCT) has launched a new outreach campaign to gather employer‑specific insights on the transportation hurdles that keep workers from getting to their jobs. The initiative—announced in a press release last week—calls on local companies, from manufacturing plants in Lorain to tech startups in Elyria, to share the details of their employees’ commuting challenges, whether they stem from inadequate public‑transport coverage, high costs, or schedule mismatches.

The Problem: A Patchwork of Barriers

LCT’s own data shows that almost 12 % of county residents who work outside of the Cleveland metro area travel more than an hour each way, while 35 % of workers in the region say that transportation costs eat up more than a quarter of their take‑home pay. These figures are consistent with broader trends across the Ohio mid‑state, where public‑transport ridership has plateaued despite a growing emphasis on sustainable mobility.

“In Lorain, the public‑transport network is still primarily a “point‑to‑point” system,” said Sarah Nguyen, LCT’s director of operations. “We’re seeing a lot of “last‑mile” gaps, especially for people who work at the Port of Lorain, the Steelworks in Avon, or the newly opened data center in Parma. Employers want to know how they can help their staff move through those gaps without sacrificing productivity.”

The county’s workforce is also facing demographic changes. The workforce demographic reports released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services show that Lorain’s working population is aging, with a median age of 42, and that a significant portion of new entrants to the labor market are Millennials and Gen Z workers who are more likely to favor flexible commuting options such as ride‑share or micro‑transit services.

A Call to Action for Employers

LCT’s initiative is part of a broader “Workforce Mobility Strategy” that the county council adopted in 2024. Under this framework, the transit agency is tasked with improving service reliability, extending operating hours, and ensuring that buses serve high‑growth employment corridors.

The agency has therefore issued a public request for information (RFI) that invites employers to submit detailed briefings on their workforce’s commuting patterns. These briefings will cover:

1. Employee Demographics – number of employees, age distribution, and typical home locations.
2. Transportation Costs – average fare per commute, proportion of employees who currently use personal vehicles versus public transport.
3. Schedule Alignment – how current bus schedules align with typical shift times, especially for shift workers.
4. Infrastructure Needs – parking availability, on‑site shuttle services, or potential for employer‑sponsored ride‑share programs.
5. Technology Adoption – interest in mobile ticketing, real‑time ride‑tracking, or integrated mobility‑as‑a‑service (MaaS) platforms.

Employers can submit their responses through an online portal that links directly to a standard template provided by LCT. The agency assures that the data will be anonymized in any public-facing reports.

Potential Solutions and Pilot Programs

In the past year, LCT has piloted several experimental services that may be scaled up if the employer input justifies them. Among these are:

• Express Bus Routes: A new “Lorain Express” corridor that connects the port and industrial parks to downtown Cleveland in 30 minutes, skipping most intermediate stops.
• Micro‑Transit Pods: On‑demand van services that operate during peak hours for employees in underserved neighborhoods.
• Employer‑Sponsored Passes: Programs where companies purchase discounted transit passes in bulk, covering up to 50 % of employees’ fares.
• Telecommuting Partnerships: Incentives for companies that allow flexible working arrangements, thereby reducing daily travel demand.

“We’re not looking for a one‑size‑fits‑all solution,” Nguyen emphasized. “What we need is a data‑driven map of where the biggest pain points are, so we can tailor our services—whether that means adding a new route or negotiating a better fare structure with our partners.”

Links to Additional Resources

The original Cleveland.com article includes links to several supporting documents that provide deeper context:

• Lorain County Workforce Development Report 2025 – A PDF that charts employment growth by sector and identifies geographic clusters.
• Ohio Department of Transportation – Regional Mobility Plan – A web page outlining funding opportunities for small‑scale transit projects in mid‑state counties.
• Translink Partnership Overview – A link to a page that details how LCT collaborates with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority for fare integration and shared infrastructure.
• Employee Survey Tool – An online questionnaire that employers can deploy to gather real‑time feedback from their workforce.

These resources are essential for stakeholders who want to dive deeper into the data and understand how Lorain’s transit strategy aligns with broader state and regional goals.

Moving Forward

LCT has scheduled a town‑hall meeting for January 10, 2026, where representatives from the workforce, transportation experts, and city officials will discuss the RFI results and outline the next steps. The agency plans to release a preliminary findings report in February, followed by a revised service blueprint by spring.

“We’re excited to partner with employers in this next phase,” Nguyen said. “By listening directly to those who are actually riding our buses or using our rideshare partners, we can create a mobility system that is efficient, affordable, and, most importantly, truly useful for people who power our county’s economy.”

The initiative underscores a growing trend in regional transit agencies: shifting from purely service‑delivery roles to being active collaborators with the private sector to solve mobility challenges. For Lorain County’s workforce, the hope is that a more responsive, data‑driven transit network will not only cut commute times but also make the county a more attractive place to work and invest.