Lorain County Transit

Lorain County Transit

Founded	1974
Headquarters	226 Middle Avenue Elyria, Ohio
Service area	Lorain County, Ohio, United States
Service type	Bus service, demand responsive transport, microtransit
Routes	5
Annual ridership	30,271 (2016) [1]
Website	Official website

Lorain County Transit(LCT) is a public transit agency for Lorain County, Ohio, United States. A division of the Lorain County Commissioners, LCT currently operates primarily demand-responsive bus service along with a few fixed routes. The headquarters are located in Lorain County's county seat in Elyria.

History

In 1974, Lorain County board chairman, Robert Wickens successfully led the effort to launch public transit service within the locale of Lorain County, Ohio.

LCT began operating several fixed bus routes across several municipalities throughout Lorain County, majority of which served as an established terminal as a transfer point adjacent to Midway Mall. A secondary terminus for some of the routes were by a shopping plaza in downtown Lorain. In addition, LCT eventually began operating a few inter-county bus routes; an express route (Route 33) from downtown Oberlin to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was, courtesy of funding from Oberlin College. It also provided a stop at a park and lot in Elyria; LCT also provided a weekday-only rush hour express bus route (Route 70) from Elyria to the RTA park and ride lot in Westlake, providing a connection to RTA bus routes into downtown Cleveland. Additionally, LCT provided a local route from Elyria to the Lorain Country line in North Olmsted via North Ridgeville, providing connections to RTA bus routes into downtown Cleveland.

LCT eventually began launching connecting demand-responsive "Community Connector" service, where riders connected to and from fixed routes. The Community Connector provided the service within Oberlin, Amherst, South Amherst, Avon, and Avon Lake.

In 1992, LCT launched a weekday-only run service between Elyria and Cleveland Clinic in Lorain via Amherst. The route was primarily a flag stop route in the corporate limits of Amherst. Around the mid-1990s, LCT provided service at the Super Kmart in Lorain.

In the mid-2000s, LCT announced that the bus routes no longer be a flag stop route citing safety concerns for other riders. Designated bus stop signs were eventually installed.

On June 1, 2009, the Lorain County Commissioners had approved $300,000 in service reductions as a result of funding shortfalls and economical struggles. Around the same, LCT discontinued the 33 and 70 routes. LCT additionally discontinued service running on Sunday. On September 1, 2009, LCT also discontinued providing connections to RTA routes in Avon Lake. ^[2]

On December 31, 2009, LCT suspended service systemwide, and on January 14, 2010, LCT shut down majority of the routes due to funding issues, following a failed tax levy. ^{[3] [4]} At the same, LCT combined 4 routes into 2 combined routes; routes 1 and 51, and 2 and 52, respectively, leaving the system with only 4 routes, and demand-responsive transport operating only on weekdays.

On September 10, 2012, LCT launched the Cleveland Commuter express route from Elyria to Downtown Cleveland, but was later discontinued on August 16, 2013, due to low ridership.

In 2017, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency awarded funds to LCT to develop a plan for service evaluations to help increase ridership awareness and improve marketing. In November and December of the same year, LCT held public meetings in Elyria for local residents of a proposed new redevelopment plan. However, the plans have not come to fruition. ^[5]

In July 2024, LCT launched "ViaLC", a demand-response microtransit service under partnership with Via Transportation providing service within Elyria and Lorain. ^[6] On December 18, 2025, LCT received a federal grant of $2.7 million for transit expansion; officials have currently planned to expand service hours on the microtransit service and resurrect weekend service. ^[7]

Other services

In addition with the fixed routes, LCT also operates a demand-response dial-a-ride service along with an "Oberlin Connector" service, the latter of which is required to have their trips begin and/or end within Oberlin's city limits. LCT also operates demand-response microtransit service under partnership with Via Transportation providing service within Elyria and Lorain. ViaLC currently operates weekdays only from 6 AM to 6 PM.

Fares

Oberlin Connector, ViaLC, and all fixed routes cost $2 for a one-way trip. Dial-A-Ride service outside of Oberlin costs $9 one way. Seniors, children 3 through 12, and disabled can receive a discount of $1, while veterans and children 2 and under can ride for free. Transfer tickets to allow riders to transfer to other routes are free of charge and must be requested upon boarding; riders were originally allowed 2 transfers with a transfer ticket. Due to the current downsized network of fixed routes, only 1 use is currently allowed. Monthly and all-day passes and passes are also available.

Riders on fixed routes, Oberlin Connector, and Dial-A-Ride must provide exact change in cash upon boarding, while ViaLC accepts cash, credit, and debit.

The now-defunct Cleveland Airport Express route costed $6 one-way, with student discounts available at $4. Transfer tickets or monthly passes were not accepted on the Cleveland routes. ^[8] The now-defunct Cleveland Commuter route fare was $4.25 each way.

Routes

As of January 2010, LCT currently operates 4 routes. The current routes currently operate every 2 hours on weekdays. Each of the routes are served as a transfer point at the Black River Career Prep High School in Elyria.

Current routes

Route		Terminals	Notes
Loop	Downtown Elyria Loop	Lorain County Transportation & Community Center	Some select buses stop at the Port Authority Complex Some buses connect with routes 51 and 52
1	Lorain/Elyria via Washington	Black River Career Prep High School Meridian Plaza in Downtown Lorain (Routes 1 & 2 only); West 5th Street & Reid Avenue	Combines with Route 51
2	Lorain/Elyria via Broadway		Combines with Route 52 Request deviations - Sacred Heart Manor apartment complex; Lorain County Health & Dentistry in Lorain Formerly provided limited weekday service to Midway Mall
51	East Elyria/Broad Street Loop		Combines with Route 1 Serves Lorain County Community College Request deviations - corner of Bell Avenue & Furnace Street; Regal Cobblestone Square, and Schadden Road Formerly provided service to Midway Mall
52	East Elyria/Abbe Road Loop		Combines with Route 2 Request deviations - Taylor Woods Industrial Park; corner of Taylor & Ternes; Chestnut Commons; and Colonial Oaks mobile home park Formerly provided service to Midway Mall

Defunct routes ^[9]

Route		Terminals		Notes
3	Sheffield Lake/Abbe Road	Transfer Point (Griswold Road in Elyria)	Meridian Plaza in Lorain	Formerly provided a transfer point to route 55 at the corner of Lake Road & Abbe Roads. Served Lorain County Community College
11	North Ridgeville/Center Ridge Road		RTA Connection (Lorain & Barton Roads in North Olmsted)	Provides local bus service to the Lorain County line to connect with former RTA routes 63F and 75X [10]
21	Oberlin / Wellington		Downtown Oberlin (South Pleasant & East College Streets) Downtown Wellington (South Main Street & West Herrick Avenue) Splash Zone (limited terminus) Discount Drug Mart	Limited service to Wellington provided on weekdays Operated daily to Oberlin, making several in-demand stops across the city. Provided request deviations to Oberlin Industrial Park (Artino Street), and to Walmart for Wellington-bound runs.
31	Cooper Foster Park Road / North Ridge Road		Super Kmart in Lorain	Formerly provided request deviations to Nord Center in Lorain, and at Lorain County Job & Family Services. Served Sheffield Center in Lorain
32	Cleveland Clinic, Lorain/Amherst Loop [11]		Cleveland Clinic - Lorain Family Health and Surgery Center	Operated weekdays only Launched in 1992 [12] Transfer to routes 31 & 41 at Super Kmart Originally served Amherst Hospital Discontinued sometime in the mid-2000s
33	Cleveland Hopkins Airport Express	Downtown Oberlin (South Pleasant & East College Streets)	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport	Additional stop at the Park & Ride lot in Elyria. Formerly provided a limited weekday stop at the "RTA Connection" stop at the Lorain County line in North Olmsted Connection to the RTA Rapid Transit's Red Line Previously named Cleveland Link Direct express service buses operated to/from Oberlin and the airport for the college's holiday breaks, special events, and beginnings and ends of semesters. In spring 2009, a supplemental service was provided on 47-55 passenger motorcoaches by Brecksville Road Transit. Discontinued on June 5, 2009
41	Oberlin Avenue	Meridian Plaza in Lorain	Super Kmart in Lorain	Originally named West Lorain Loop [13] Formerly West Loop; originally served Amherst Plaza
42	West Erie			Terminus at the now-defunct Super Kmart Service provided at the Lorain Hospital. Originally consolidated with route 41
43	Central / West Lorain Loop	Meridian Plaza in Lorain		Operated hourly on weekdays only Served Sheffield Centre
53	West Elyria/West Ridge Road Loop	Transfer Point (Griswold Road in Elyria)		Operated Monday-Saturday
55 [14]	Avon Lake / Avon Commons	Abbe Road & Lake Road (Sheffield Lake)	Avon Commons - Target Lodge at Avenbury Lakes	Operated Monday-Saturday Provided a Transfer point to and from route 3 at the corner of Abbe Road & Lake Road in Sheffield Lake Discontinued sometime in the mid-2000s
70	Westlake Express	Transfer Point (Griswold Road in Elyria)	Westlake Park-N-Ride	6 rush hour trips in both directions on weekdays only; 3 morning trips to Westlake and 3 evening trips to Elyria. Allowed riders to connect to RTA bus routes to downtown Cleveland. Stopped at a park & ride lot in Avon, near the corner of Chester Road & Middle Street. Connection to RTA bus routes to Downtown Cleveland. LCT planned to extend this route to downtown Cleveland but due to lack of funding and equipment, the modification did not come to fruition. Discontinued on June 1, 2009
Commuter [15]	Cleveland Commuter Express	Lorain County Port Authority Complex (limited service) Lorain County Transportation & Community Center	West Side Market (West 25th Street & Lorain Avenue) Public Square (South Roadway & Ontario Street)	Operated weekdays only; provided 8 trips daily Also stopped at the county's Board of Elections lot

See also

• List of bus transit systems in the United States

References

1. "Lorain County Transit Redevelopment Plan Final Report". Lorain County. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
2. "$300,000 in LCT cuts approved: Greater Cleveland RTA connection in Avon Lake to end". Morning Journal. May 22, 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
3. "Lorain County Transit bus routes will be eliminated after Dec. 31". Cleveland. December 4, 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
4. "County bus routes cut drastically". Morning Journal. January 12, 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
5. "LCT Redevelopment Plan | Lorain County, OH". www.loraincountyohio.gov. Retrieved 2025-12-22.
6. "'We see the need today:' On-demand transit service ViaLC rolls out in Elyria, Lorain". News 5 Cleveland. 15 July 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
7. Hannah Drown, cleveland com (2025-12-18). "Federal grant to bring major transit expansion to Lorain County". cleveland. Retrieved 2025-12-22.
8. "Cleveland Hopkins Airport Express". Archived from the original on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
9. Lorain County Commissioners. "Lorain County Transit". Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
10. "Operational Analysis of LCT Fixed Route Services". Archived from the original on October 3, 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2025.}
11. "LCT - Route 32 - Cleveland Clinic, Lorain/Amherst Loop". Lorain County Transit. Archived from the original on 10 October 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
12. "County Transit bus route incorporates local plaza". Ohio Memory. Amherst News-times. August 26, 1992. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
13. "Oberlin Avenue". Lorain County Transit. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
14. "Route 55 - Avon Lake/Avon Commons". Lorain County Transit. Archived from the original on 13 September 2003. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
15. "Lorain County, OH - Commuter Route". Lorain County. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2025.