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Columbus Local News wrote
COTA bus ridership continues upswing
Published: Saturday, March 22, 2008
As gasoline prices are the highest Central Ohio residents have seen in recent memory, and more cyclists hit the road and trails, COTA ridership continues to increase.
In January, ridership was at 1.29 million, an increase of 4.7 percent from January 2007, he said. In February, the transit authority clocked in more than 1.2 million rides, an increase of 190,195 rides overall from February 2007, he said.
COTA customers also took advantage of the transit authority’s Bike n’ Bus program in greater numbers in 2007, with 39,930 bike riders boarding the bus — a 9.52 percent increase over 2006.
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COTA bus ridership continues upswing in 2008
By: Walker
Related Posts:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
By Ashley Brown
Nearly every morning, Clintonville resident Mark Noble walks to catch the number four bus on Indianola and Schreyer Place. He said it was a practical choice when he took a job in downtown Columbus. Lately, he said, it’s a little more crowded in line.
“It’s mostly during the rush hours,†Dan Liggett of COTA said. “Across our routes, ridership is up.†Liggett said Noble’s observation was right on the money. “Gas prices definitely have a connection to increased ridership,†he said.
Compared to this time last year, COTA said ridership is up by nearly 18 percent. The average number of passengers every day is almost 56,000.
READ MORE
They should have found a picture that was actually crowded. :roll:
I dont think I can recall one post that said “I dont want any more buses, just streetcars”. I agree with you most of the time, but for some reason when it comes to this point you just seem bitter.
I would so ride the bus if my boss would not already be upset that I am always 4 minutes late.
and had a guy in it that didn’t look like a drunk flasher…
Was standing room only on the 16 into downtown for a meeting this morning at 10am. Usually that line seems not quite that busy in the down time between morning and evening rush hours.
Anyway, it’s impressive that they’ve seen an 18% increase in ridership in the past year. Hopefully it translates into expansion in bus routes as well as other mass transit options. :D
Some big news on a national scale for both traffic and public transportation:
As gas goes up, driving goes down
March figures show steepest decline in driving since 1942
At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Americans have curtailed their driving at a historic rate.
The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded.
Compared with March a year earlier, Americans drove an estimated 4.3 percent less — that’s 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration said Monday, calling it “the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history.” Records have been kept since 1942.
According to AAA, for the first time since 2002, Americans said they were planning to drive less over the Memorial Day weekend than they did the year before.
Tracy and Adam Crews posted on iReport that their annual Memorial Day weekend has traditionally involved camping and fishing.
“Well, due to the continual rise in gas, we felt our only recourse was to nix the idea this year and stay home” in Jacksonville, Florida, they wrote.
Instead, the couple said they “decided to camp out in the backyard. We set the tent up, just finished installing our above ground pool, and cleaned up the grill. … We have ourselves a campsite! It’s been a blast!”
Nakeisha Easterwood of Smyrna, Georgia, said with gas prices on the rise, she sometimes catches rides with friends, and doesn’t drive into town more than once a day. “It’s crazy,” she said.
According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to a record $3.936. That compares with an average price per gallon of $3.23 last Memorial Day.
“With it being near $4 a gallon, you definitely have to drive slower and pick and choose when you’re going to do it,” said Steve Kahn of Roswell, Georgia, at a Memorial Day festival in Atlanta.
Some Americans have turned to public transportation. Ridership increased by 2.1 percent in 2007, in part because of rising gas prices, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, the group said.
The Energy Information Administration says gas consumption for the first three months of 2008 is estimated to be down about 0.6 percent from the same time period in 2007.
For the summer season, gas consumption is expected to be down 0.4 percent from last year.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/26/gas.driving/index.html [color=darkblue:73330fa507]
If there was a line of COTAs that drove on 270, and stopped at every exit along 270, I would ride it everyday. It seems silly that for me to get from 161 and Cleveland Ave to Tuttle Crossing, I have to go all the way downtown, and then come all the way back out. If there was a bus that hit all the exits on 270, it would be feasible for me to ride my bike to the bus stop, and then ride to work from Tuttle. And I’m sure I’m not the only one…
Agreed. I’m with you on that.
BRT would be great in this city as one option in a multi-modal system.
I like the concept. It’s similar to my plan for “Freeway BRT”.
To apply the concept to I-270 would require some infrastructure improvements (new ramps, sidewalks, etc…). There aren’t many places to get off I-270 and get back on quickly. The only diamond interchanges that permit this movement in both directions of travel are at Tuttle Crossing, Roberts Rd, and Morse Rd. New ramps could be added though.
Awesome idea John. That would be great to see here.
By Nicole Franks
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Central Ohio Transit Authority is reporting a double-digit percentage gain in ridership for the month of July.
“We are seeing some pretty phenomenal gains in ridership,” said Dan Liggett, Public Relations Manager of COTA. “For the weekend of July 20th ridership was up 14.5 percent over the same week a year ago. And that’s over 40,000 more trips recorded at this same time last year. “
Liggett credits high gas prices and COTA’s expanded services.
READ MORE
[color=indigo:bfd5d56be6]COTA ridership spikes 18 percent for July
Suburban News Publications
Published: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:45 AM EDT
The Central Ohio Transit Authority experienced an 18 percent increase in bus ridership on its fixed routes for the month of July.
Passenger boardings exceeded 1.4 million for the month, an increase of nearly 220,000 boardings during July 2007, COTA Media and Public Relations Manager Dan Liggett said in an information release.
So far in 2008, ridership on COTA’s local, express and crosstown lines has exceeded 92 million, compared with 8.4 million boardings for the same time frame in 2007.
Higher gasoline prices have led to increased ridership on public transportation systems nationwide, and COTA officials said they believe the trend is being repeated in Central Ohio, Liggett said.
Another factor, officials said, is the transit authority’s ongoing service expansion plan started in 2007, with more than 60,000 service hours added so far this year.
COTA will introduce a new express bus line, No. 50 Rickenbacker Express, serving the Rickenbacker area industrial parks, Sept. 1, Liggett said.
For more information, call COTA at 614-228-1776 or visit cota.com.
http://www.snponline.com/articles/2008/08/15/multiple_papers/news/allcota%208-_20080815_1035am_2.txt
Methinks there’s a decimal place missing in the first number. :oops:
Still…impressive!
Methinks there’s a decimal place missing in the first number. :oops:
Still…impressive!
“So far in 200.8″ doesn’t make any sense. ;)
Having ridden the bus for the first time ever it feels good to have added to those 92 million rides :lol: well 9.2 anyway… The one thing i wish COTA could do would be to add mid-day rides on some of the expresses or somehow link them with local routes because it is really stinks when you only have to option to leave at 7:00 and return at 5:30. I understand though that the demand might just not be there. It really stinks though when someone works from 9:00 to 6:00 or has class from 8:00 to 12:00. I guess I will just have plenty of time to actually study!
Friday, September 12, 2008
By Tim Doulin
Heeding the state’s call to help transit authorities, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission is allocating $2.1 million to COTA.
In a roundabout way, the federal money will allow the Central Ohio Transit Authority to deal with rising fuel costs, which have almost tripled since 2004.
“This helps mitigate the increased fuel costs that take funds away from other things that could have been done,” said William Lhota, COTA president and chief executive.
COTA is expected to spend about $8.7 million on diesel fuel this year, up from about $3 million in 2004.
At the same time, COTA’s ridership is about 10.7 million this year through the first week of September, up about 1 million, or about 10 percent, from the same period in 2007.
READ MORE
An elusive shot of the Airport bus that’s rumored to exist.
Can someone photoshop a unicorn’s horn on the front of that thing?