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New bus routes, Amtrak train station come to Oxford

Oxford will soon be home to an Amtrak train station, which will include stops in New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago.
Oxford will soon be home to an Amtrak train station, which will include stops in New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

For students and residents who use public transportation, getting around Oxford has gotten new updates. 

Among these additions is the continuation of an Amtrak station project in Oxford and the beginning of operations on Butler County Regional Transit Authority’s (BCRTA) new bus routes this semester, overhauling several old lines and adding new stops.

New bus routes

Changes in BRCTA include revamped O routes that run bidirectionally, separate routes for the previously connected Walmart to Kroger line and new stops at Level 27 and The Annex.

Anna West, a junior individualized studies and religion double major, said that these new routes make it more convenient to get to her off-campus housing. 

“​​Last year, they didn't have stops by my apartment complex,” West said. “Now that they have every bus stop by me, other than one, it's pretty easy for me to get everywhere.”

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Others, like Ella Fretchling, a sophomore English major, said the new routes are confusing for those used to the old ones.

“Last year was easier for me to use,” Fretchling said. “I feel like it’s gotten more complicated. I used U3 every single time last year, and now it’s like I don’t know what bus I’m taking, and you have to get off at this stop to get to this place and they’re all different.” 

Students can find bus routes near them by downloading the Transit app, which tells them the approximate distance of stops, departure times and length of routes. By signing in with a Miami ID, the app automatically brings you to Oxford.

After the initial learning curve, West said the Transit app was “pretty easy to use.” However, the Transit app can’t account for situations like late buses, a frequent issue for bus riders. James Nippa, a junior electrical engineering major, said that his biggest concern with BRCTA is just that.

“Sometimes they’ll come on time, sometimes they don’t, and you just have to wait,” Nippa said. 

West has run into similar problems. She said she’s waited 15-2o minutes for a bus to arrive before, and sometimes they never show up.

“There have been times when the bus has just been canceled and I've had to walk to class, and I was late,” West said. “They can be a little bit off on their Transit times.”

New Amtrak Station

Beyond busing, Oxford will soon be home to an Amtrak train station, as part of the Cardinal Line. This line includes stops in New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Douglas Elliott, the city manager of Oxford, said that the city is going through with the project, but that an additional appropriation was needed.

“We had originally budgeted $250,000, and I think we had $73,000 remaining, so we were asking for an additional $126,000 on this contract, given the estimates we have for the design engineering,” Elliott said.

He said construction on the project must be completed by Dec. 31, 2027; while there is no official timeline, there is at least an end date.   

As far as student and resident impact, Elliott said he thinks it’s a good investment. 

“The advantage of riding a train is that you can read a book, relax, whatever,” Elliott said. “There are a lot of students who come from the Chicago area to Miami University, as well as other locations along the Cardinal Line.”

Nippa said he also thinks the Amtrak train is a good idea.

“Especially for people who live in Chicago and New York, they can hop on a train instead of having to pay for a plane ticket – I think it's a cool thing,” Nippa said.

The train stop is under construction at Chestnut Fields, with funding coming from Oxford, Miami and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

 “This is an exciting project; an investment in the future for Oxford,” Elliott said. 


greenpt@miamioh.edu

hagooda@miamioh.edu