New Orleans Regional Transit Authority

The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA or NORTA) is a public transportation agency based in New Orleans. The agency was established by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1979, and has operated bus and historic streetcar service throughout the city since 1983, when it took over the city's mass transit system after nearly six decades' control by New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (now Entergy New Orleans). In Template:American transit ridership, the system had a ridership of Template:American transit ridership, or about Template:American transit ridership per weekday as of Template:American transit ridership, making RTA the largest public transit agency in the state of Louisiana.

History

NORTA was established in 1979.

Hurricane Katrina

NORTA buses were used to transport people to the Superdome before Hurricane Katrina hit. Much of the city flooded due to the storm. The NORTA Administration building on Plaza Drive appears to have been in of water. Almost eighty-five percent of the fleet was rendered useless and inoperative; 146 city buses were visible outdoors in the flood at the 2817 Canal St. facility, while only 22 were at 3900 Desire Pky. The 8201 Willow St. facility was one block within the flood but was built above street level. The buses at the flooded facilities were mostly written off.

All but one of the streetcars built in the 1990s and 2000s were severely damaged in the flooding resulting from the hurricane. The historic Perley Thomas-built streetcars of the St. Charles line were undamaged in the disaster. The damaged streetcars, which had been built by hand on the property by local workers, were repaired in the same facility with components from Brookville Equipment Co.

Post-disaster recovery

Transit service was restored to areas as they became habitable again. However, there was no 24-hour service on any bus or streetcar line, except for the St. Charles streetcar line. Streetcars were returned to the full length of Canal St. and the Riverfront, initially using the historic St. Charles Line streetcars, which had not been damaged, as had the red Canal cars. In 2008, the St. Charles streetcar resumed running the entire length of its route. By early 2009, the red Canal streetcars were repaired and had taken over service on the Canal and Riverfront Lines.

File:FEMA - 48805 - RTA Street Cars (Before).jpg

St. Charles Streetcar tracks after Hurricane Katrina

In 2015, transit service was still at 45% of pre-Katrina levels, with buses being at 35% of original service levels while streetcars were fully restored.

Service was changed again on October 2, 2016, with the extension of the Loyola/UPT streetcar line to Elysian Fields Avenue via Rampart Street and adjustment of other streetcar lines and bus routes.

In May 2020, agency operations shifted from private operator Transdev, back to in-house staff.

New Links bus routes

On September 25, 2022, NORTA launched a bus network redesign. The changes were made after a survey was conducted containing 3,000 people saying that the old lines had been outdated and were not convenient for everyday use. For 4 days after the new routes started, RTA offered free boarding on all buses, streetcars, and the Algiers Point Ferry.

The changes were part of the New Links network, a project designed to upgrade the transit authority to service the people of New Orleans. Upgrades aimed to improve access to jobs and landmarks, reduce wait times, extend service hours, and speed up transfers/connections. No changes were made to the streetcars or ferries.

Services

Buses

NORTA is the primary bus operator in New Orleans, running 28 routes as of 2025. In Template:American transit ridership, the NORTA bus system had a ridership of Template:American transit ridership.Template:American transit ridership

#	Name	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Length	via	Notes
3	Tulane - Elmwood	Downtown Saratoga & Tulane	Elmwood Jefferson Hwy & Spur	Template:Cvt	Tulane Ave, S Carrollton Ave, Jefferson Hwy	24-hour service (Except west of Jefferson & Causeway)
8	St Claude - Arabi	Downtown Main Library	Arabi St Claude at Parish Line	Template:Cvt	Rampart St (Saint Claude Ave)	24-hour service
9	Broad - Napoleon	Irish Channel Napoleon & Tchoupitoulas	New Orleans East New Orleans East Hub	Template:Cvt	Napoleon Ave, Broad St, Chef Menteur Hwy	24-hour service
11	Magazine	Downtown Tulane & Loyola	West Riverside Children's Hospital New Orleans	Template:Cvt	Camp St, Magazine St
27	Louisiana	St. Thomas Dev Rousseau & St Andrew	Navarre Orleans & Navarre at Delgado Community College	Template:Cvt	Tchoupitoulas St, Louisiana Ave, Toledano St (Washington Ave)
31	Leonidas - Gentilly	West Riverside Children's Hospital New Orleans	Gentilly Woods Gentilly Woods Hub	Template:Cvt	Leonidas St, Carrollton Ave, Gentilly Blvd
32	Leonidas - Treme		Downtown Main Library	Template:Cvt	Leonidas St, Carrollton Ave, Orleans Ave
45	Lakeview	Navarre Cemeteries Transit Hub		Template:Cvt	Canal Blvd, Pontchartrain Blvd	Operates in a loop
51	St. Bernard - Claiborne	St. Bernard St. Bernard & Senate	Fontainebleau Claiborne & Carollton	Template:Cvt	Saint Bernard Ave, Claiborne Ave	Evening/overnight service on Claiborne Av provided by 53-O
52	Paris - Broadmoor	Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks University of New Orleans	Dixon Palmetto & S. Carrollton at Xavier University	Template:Cvt	Paris Ave, Washington Ave	Evening/overnight service on Paris Av provided by 53-O
53-O	Paris-Claiborne Owl	Fontainebleau Claiborne & Carrollton	Lake Terrace/Lake Oaks University of New Orleans	Template:Cvt	Claiborne Ave, Paris Ave	Runs evening/overnight service on portions of Routes 51 and 52
55	Elysian Fields	Downtown Main Library	Gentilly Woods Gentilly Woods Hub	Template:Cvt	Elysian Fields Ave, Press Dr (SB), Congress Dr (NB)	24-hour service (Except east of University of New Orleans)
57	Franklin - Freret	Pontchartrain Park Press & Emmett Bashful at SUNO	Audubon Audubon Zoo	Template:Cvt	Franklin Ave, N Claiborne Ave, Freret St, Broadway
61	Lake Forest - Village De L'Est	Downtown Main Library	Village De L'Est Chef Menteur & Old Gentilly at Gulfway Terrace Apartments	Template:Cvt	I-10, Dwyer Rd, Lake Forest Blvd, Chef Menteur Hwy	24-hour service
62	Morrison - Bullard		New Orleans East New Orleans East Hub	Template:Cvt	I-10, Morrison Rd, Bullard Rd	Overnight service provided by 62-O
62-O	Morrison Owl			Template:Cvt	I-10, Morrison Rd, Bullard Rd	Runs overnight service on portions of Routes 62 and 68
66	Hayne Loop	New Orleans East New Orleans East Hub		Template:Cvt	Leon C. Simon Dr, Hayne Blvd	Operates in a loop
67	Michoud Loop			Template:Cvt	Lake Forest Blvd, Bullard Rd, Old Gentilly Rd, Michoud Blvd	Operates in a loop
68	Little Woods Loop			Template:Cvt	Hayne Blvd, I-10 Service Rd	Template:Unbulleted list
80	Desire - Louisa	Gentilly Woods Gentilly Woods Hub	Marigny Elysian Fields & Decatur	Template:Cvt	Louisa St, Desire St
84	Galvez - Lower 9th	Downtown Main Library	Arabi St Claude at Parish Line	Template:Cvt	N Galvez St, N Miro St
86	St. Maurice - Chalmette	Arabi St Claude at Jackson Barracks	Chalmette Nunez Community College	Template:Cvt	Tupelo St, Judge Perez Dr, Paris Rd, Fats Domino Ave	Operates in a loop
91	Jackson - Esplanade	St. Thomas Dev Rousseau & St. Andrew	Navarre Cemeteries Transit Hub	Template:Cvt	Jackson Ave, Esplanade Ave
103	General Meyer Local	Downtown Tulane & Loyola	New Aurora General Meyer & Carver	Template:Cvt	Pontchartrain Expy, L.B. Landry Ave, General Meyer Ave
105	Algiers Local	Gretna Wilty Terminal	Tall Timbers-Bretchel Tullis & Woodland	Template:Cvt	Holiday Dr, Tullis Dr
114A	Garden Oaks - Sullen	Downtown Tulane & Loyola	New Aurora General Meyer & Carver	Template:Cvt	Pontchartrain Expy, General DeGaulle Dr, Sullen Dr	24-hour service
114B	Garden Oaks - Woodland		Tall Timbers-Bretchel Tullis & Woodland	Template:Cvt	Pontchartrain Expy, MacArthur Blvd, Woodland Dr
202	Airport Express	Kenner Louis Armstrong International Airport	Downtown Canal St. Ferry Terminal	Template:Cvt	I-10

Streetcar

New Orleans currently has five operating streetcar lines travelling over of tracks. In Template:American transit ridership, the streetcar system had a ridership of Template:American transit ridership.Template:American transit ridership

#	Name	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Length	Notes
Template:Rint	St. Charles	Canal St & Carondelet St	Carrolton Av & S. Claiborne Av	Template:Cvt	24-hour service
Template:Rint	Rampart/Loyola	Elysian Fields Av	New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal	Template:Cvt
Template:Rint	Canal/Cemeteries	Canal St. Ferry Terminal	Cemeteries Transit Terminal	Template:Cvt	24-hour service
Template:Rint	Canal/City Park		Museum of Art	Template:Cvt	24-hour service
Template:Rint	Riverfront	French Market	Julia Street	Template:Cvt

Ferries

File:Algiers Point Canal Street Ferry.jpg

Algiers Point–Canal Street Ferry "RTA1" at the Canal Street terminal

New Orleans currently has two operating ferry routes, both crossing the Mississippi River.

#	Name	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	Length	Notes
1	Algiers Point Ferry	Canal St. Ferry Terminal	Algiers Ferry Terminal	Template:Cvt	Pedestrian Only
4	Chalmette Ferry	Lower Algiers Ferry	Chalmette Ferry	Template:Cvt	Vehicles & Pedestrians

Fares

Basic rates for all modes, except ferries, are $1.25 per boarding (or $0.40 for 65 and up, disabled and Medicare, $0.50 for 5–17). 24-hour Jazzy Passes are $3, or $1 for youth and $0.80 for seniors, good for all modes including ferries. There are free transfer cards, good for next 120 minutes of unlimited use (round-trips/stopovers prohibited).

On July 18, 2022, the authority released Le Pass, a new trip planner and ticket app. It includes tickets and tracking for both RTA and Jefferson Transit buses. On August 29, 2022, RTA shut down ticket buying on the old RTA GoMobile app. Le Pass updated from the old routes on September 25, 2022.

Governance

The RTA Board of Commissioners is in charge of making major decisions for the authority. The board consists of appointees by the Mayor of New Orleans and the President of Jefferson Parish. Its overall authority for transit in New Orleans includes setting fares, overseeing service and operations, developing operating budgets, approving each year's annual transportation development plan, and deciding upon capital purchases and expansions.

Under contract to the RTA Board of Commissioners, Transdev formerly managed all day-to-day aspects of the transit agency on behalf of the RTA Board. Transdev handled operations and service, safety issues, vehicle maintenance, customer care, route design and scheduling, human resources, administration, ridership growth, capital planning, grant administration, communications, purchasing, and other agency functions. Transdev was under contract to and reported to the RTA Board of Commissioners. The company operates public transportation for some 5,000 transit authorities around the world. Transdev (then Veolia Transport) was hired in 2008.

As of December 20, 2020, Transdev no longer manages the RTA. All bus, streetcar, and paratransit operators, and also maintenance personnel, are now employees of RTA. Ferry services continue to be operated for RTA by LabMar Ferry Services.

See also

• Streetcars in New Orleans
• List of light-rail transit systems

External links

• Ride New Orleans, a not-for-profit transportation policy and research organization.