Athens, Ohio — Athens County bus shelters and bus stops recently received an information upgrade. The county’s seven bus shelters now include system-wide maps, and 151 individual bus stops now have signs that tell riders which bus line stops there, bus arrival times and other critical ride information.
What started as a project aimed at increasing public transit education and resources for Athens County seniors grew in scope to address gaps in transit resources and information that would benefit riders of all ages.
The new informational signs are the result of a collaboration between Athens Public Transit, Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Program Mobility, and the Athens City-County Health Department’s Age-Friendly Athens County and Creating Healthy Communities, aka CHC, programs.
In 2025, the organizations conducted a transportation survey of older adults in Athens County, hosted bus ride field trips and travel training events for seniors, held a focus group, and conducted a bus shelter assessment. That work helped the organizations better understand where people had questions about using public transit and what information was available to riders.
“We learned that people want more information about how the bus schedules work and where the buses stop. We were pleased to be able to use CHC funds to produce new informational signage that HAPCAP Mobility is installing at shelters and stops system wide,” said Meredith Erlewine, CHC coordinator.
Supporting public transit is one way the CHC program works to promote active living. Public transit can help people incorporate physical activity into their daily lives because many riders walk or roll to and from bus stops.
CHC is an Ohio Department of Health program that funds 31 local health departments throughout Ohio to implement policy, system and environmental changes to increase access to healthy foods and opportunities for active living.
Anyone with questions about the project can contact Meredith Erlewine at merlewine@athenspublichealth.org or by calling the health department at 740-592-4431.
