Service modifications for April 8 announced

Lake County, OH – Laketran is making service modifications and encouraging residents who typically rely on their door-to-door Dial-a-Ride service to avoid traveling on Monday, April 8 due to substantial traffic congestion expected from solar eclipse visitors and local activities.

Being in the path of totality for the solar eclipse, Lake County is expected to double in population for the days surrounding the event. With a sudden influx of visitors to our area, roadways are expected to be clogged and telecommunications may be impacted due to heavy use.

“We just don’t know what the local road and highway traffic is going to be that day, so we have to plan for anything,” shared Laketran CEO Ben Capelle. “We don’t want to be in a grid lock situation where people get stuck on buses for hours, so we are encouraging only essential trips that day, especially for our Dial-a-Ride service.”

Laketran will have buses staged throughout the county to support any public safety needs and to add additional service to its Local Routes should they become excessively delayed.

Laketran’s commuter Park-n-Ride service is adding an additional mid-day return from Cleveland to its regular weekday schedule. The Route 10X mid-day return will depart Cleveland at 12:30 p.m.

“We surveyed our Park-n-Ride customers and 40 percent still need to get to work, so we are adding a mid-day return to Lake County, should they be able to return early for the eclipse,” said Capelle.

Park-n-Ride is also an option for people to get downtown if they plan to enjoy the eclipse in Cleveland with morning departures from 5:25 a.m. until 9:25 a.m. and return trips back to Lake County from 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.

If road safety permits, Laketran buses will pull over during the totality phase of the solar eclipse from 3:13 p.m. until 3:17 p.m. and Laketran will provide eclipse glasses on-board buses for anyone riding at that time.

Laketran is also closing its Eastlake Transit Center on April 8 due to an eclipse event at the Eastlake stadium. Riders can access Routes 6 and 12 along Vine Street. 

“We traditionally close the transit center when there’s a special event at the Eastlake stadium and more cars are using the parking lot. This allows up to keep our buses operating on-time,” explained Capelle.

Taking lessons learned from the 2017 Nashville solar eclipse and Cleveland’s own NBA Championship victory parade in 2016, Laketran anticipates massive travel immediately after the total solar eclipse is complete which happens to occur simultaneously during evening rush hour.

Laketran encourages all transit passengers to bring snacks and critical medications with them on-board especially if traveling just before or after the eclipse.

“Laketran is part of the Lake County’s Emergency Management Agency so we have to plan for any situation. We want to get our customers where they need to go that day, but also make sure they are prepared should their bus trip exceed normal travel times,” expressed Capelle.

Due to construction and limited parking, the Painesville Township Park-n-Ride at Laketran’s Headquarters will be closed to the public and reserved for employees only on April 8.

Laketran Service Changes for Monday, April 8: