Allen County Regional Transportation Authority’s decision to bring five weekday bus routes to Bluffton starting on Monday, June 7, is not the first time this community has experience inter-city bus travel.

Click here for the story announcing this new service, which was posted yesterday on the Icon.

On Saturday, residents may see the bus working its route between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., as it makes final preparations for service on begin next week.

Once upon a time it was Greyhound
Greyhound served Bluffton for decades, leaving town after no downtown business was willing to serve as the stationmaster. That final Greyhound stop in Bluffton was 36 summers ago, in July of 1985.

And, 115 years ago it was an electric trolley
And, would you believe that 115 years ago an electric trolley traveled down Main Street offering 14 passenger trains a day from early morning to late evening. The Western Ohio Railway operated that service. Its station is today Ten Thousand Villages retail shop.

The Western Ohio offered passenger service from Bowling Green to Findlay, Rawson, Mt. Cory, Bluffton, Beaverdam, Lima and on to Piqua. It also offered connections in the north to Toledo, and in the south to Cincinnati. It operated here from 1906 to 1932.

And, now ACRTA
The new Bluffton route one of nine routes offered by ACRTA. In addition to its expansion to Bluffton, service is also expanded from Lima to Delphos.

Brian Wildermuth, ACRTA operations director, told the Icon that it carries an average of 18,000 passengers each month.