Growing up in a rural area, I’ve often been confused by our local COTA system. I’ve experimented with it, and with public transit in other cities. But what I found was it was too confusing to figure out how to get from one place to another. In Columbus, I tend travel from east to west, and most buses seem to go north and south. The Internet documentation is confusing and paper maps are not readily available.
Now there’s a change for the better in making COTA more usable. As of July 4, Columbus’ leaders are opting into Google’s transit maps. By inputting a starting point, destination, and travel time, you’ll be able to see where and when to catch the bus, and which routes make sense.
Ideally, I would like to see fewer subsidies from taxpayers who don’t use the service. But for now, I think this is going to have a big impact on the use and usability of public transit in Columbus. If ridership increases and they maintain fiscal responsibility, COTA could be independently profitable. They have seen ginormous increases in ridership this year as gas prices have soared. Read that story here: COTA business increases, along with costs
Who knows, you might even see me on the bus again one day!
