It’s 9 pm! English 101 has just finished. It’s time to go home. There’s only one way to get there: PARTA (Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority).

Students such as Neda Kasim seem to be satisfied with PARTA’s services. “I like how they have shuttles after they shut down,” she said.

However, some students such as sophomore Amanda Morrow, a broadcast major at Kent State University, said, “Sometimes you get a good bus driver that will drop you off closer to your stop. Other than that, it kind of sucks.”

Ashley Falkowksi agreed. She said, “I feel like there are alternative ways of getting places, you don’t need to have that.”

Kent State University sophomore Frank Yonkof is neutral, saying, “I don’t think they’re too bad, but I can see why people are fed up with it!”

In a Kent State University online article, “Counting on PARTA to Make Transit Easier,” John Drew, PARTA general manager was quoted, saying, “It is an exciting opportunity for PARTA to be part of the great Kent State University experience. Our goal is to make transit a real option for university students, faculty, staff and visitors. We are focused on the customer, to improve services in a simple and straightforward manner.”

However, this is not the case to some students such as Yonkof. “A lot of people do get fed up with it [PARTA],” he said.

In 2005, PARTA completed its first-year partnership with Kent State University as a transit contributor. In the PARTA article online, Bryan Smith, PARTA operations manager, said, “We want the PARTA service to be intuitive to our customers. By this, I mean, we need to offer a service you count on and at such frequency of service that no schedules are needed on campus.”

PARTA defines itself as a “multimodal alternative transportation network that sustains the region's economic vitality and air quality.” The PARTA is committed to provide safe, well-mannered reliable and within your means transportation services to students, faculty, and visitors. PARTA also provides mobility and accessibility to all constituencies of the inhabitants.

PARTA is committed to providing transportation services to all of Portage County without regard to race, color, or national origin according to the PARTA website.

PARTA has grown in ridership throughout the years. In 1996, PARTA began with only 68,451 trips according to the PARTA website, and by 2006 PARTA went over a million trips.