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One of the most frequently requested COTA upgrades on Columbus Underground would have to be the addition of a late night weekend bus route serving High Street that runs until the bars close down. It sounds like COTA has been listening to your requests.
On September 11th, COTA will be launching a new route (numbered appropriately as the #21) that will run a loop from the Clintonville area down High Street to the Arena District from 8pm to 3am on Friday an Saturday nights. Buses will run every 30 minutes.
The only thing the line needs now is a catchy nickname. Any suggestions?
Update (7/31/09) – The #21 bus route will officially run every 30 minutes from 8pm to 3am (previously reported as 7pm to 2:30am). The route will run from the Park of Roses to Downtown on High Street where it loop clockwise at Spring, Front, and Nationwide before heading northbound again. The new route will begin running on Friday, September 11th.
Update (8/24/09) – The #21 bus route is going to be starting service early, as requested by the SNBA. The first weekend of service will take place on September 4th and 5th, in time for Gallery Hop.
Good start. I hope this creates demand for more.
@jamesqua
hippie
This is great but they NEED to publicize it to people. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to at OSU who say “gee I’d love to ride the bus but I have no idea where it goes or when it arrives”
@Analogue Kid … that’s what I was getting at with my first concern above. If they had a campaign with a slogan like “Look for the Bright Blue Bus to get you home at night” people would see it and know exactly where it was going.
Will the route include a taco bell drive-thru?
Love it. What is really needed is to have electronic signs or a mobile web service at the key bus shelters that tell you when the next bus is coming, like http://www.nextbus.org. Looks like they have it at Case Western. I realize that COTA has this realtime info on their website, but try to view this when you’re outside waiting for a bus.
@jamesqua – It had better, because believe, me brother – you can not just walk up to one of those.
This sounds like it could turn into a bad night of “it sounded like a good idea at the time.” I like the idea of running it less often in the middle of the night and more often when people are leaving the bars. However, this is not exactly a cash city, so unless you are already a frequent bus rider with a pass (or a BuckID) the chances of some drunk girl with no pockets who blew all her cash on the $20 cover at Sugar bar having bus fare is slim to none. As for a name, I like the Booze Bus!
How about extended hours for the #5 bus to and from Grandview? I take it all the time to Clippers games and/or dinner in the Short North. I hope this really takes off!
Just heard the #21 will run 9PM-3AM FRI and SAT with 30 min headways.
That’s awesome if they are running it until 3am. Will make it a real possibility for service industry workers who usually don’t get off until after cleaning up after the bars close at 2:30am.
The only other piece that worries me is safety. Put a bunch of drunk d-bags in a tight place and I’ll bank on at least one fight per night.
That seems to already be my experience when I ride the #2, so I’ll take it.
I really wish they would have had this when I was living in Clintonville – since COTA is free I would have saved a fortune on cabs during my college career.
appropriate because you must be 21 to legally drink or because the last bus that ran a similar route/hours was the 20?
From a COTA press release:
N. High St./Arena District (NEW Night Owl) #21 – Weekdays – Late Friday evening service is being added between downtown Columbus and the Park of Roses on N High St. Service will travel south on High St., west on Spring St., north on Front St., east on Nationwide Blvd. and north on High St. to the Park of Roses. Service will operate at 30 – minute frequencies from approximately 8 P.M. until 3 A.M.
N. High St./Arena District (NEW Nigth Owl) #21 – Saturday – Late Saturday day evening service is being added between downtown Columbus and the Park of Roses on N High St. Service will travel south on High St., west on Spring St., north on Front St., east on Nationwide Blvd. and north on High St. to the Park of Roses. Service will operate at 30 – minute frequencies from approximately 8 P.M. until 3 A.M.
Also: All new seasonal service updates will take effect on Mon, Sept 7th, which means that this new route will begin on Friday, September 11th.
Never forget… to take exchange change for fares!
COTA would be smart to either allow bars on the route to sell single use passes or invest in some automatic fare machines strategically located along the route.
A module on public transit should be a session at OSU orientation!
As a kid from the ‘burbs, I had no idea how to use my free COTA pass once I got to Columbus. In my second year, I started driving for CABS on campus. After a couple of weeks of learning how to read timetables, I became a functional COTA rider. I still prefer my bike, but the #5 and select #84s stop right at my front stoop, and I find them very useful.
+1 for extending service on the #5. We don’t have the density out here for overnight service, but 10:30 seems early for a last weekend run to a neighborhood with so many young people.
Not to rehash this, but it would help if OSU did more to promote other ways of getting around. Keep the majority of traffic on the edges of campus, restrict student usage and promote car share, COTA and cycling.
I hope this route gets used and helps COTA keep expanding into 21st century transit.
Note from Ryan Manczak on Facebook:
COTA is starting a New Bus Route #21 in September that runs along N High St, from the Park of Roses to the Arena District and runs Friday and Saturday from 8:00pm to 3:00am. This is a route to get people to and from entertainment in Columbus. The problem is that this route doesn’t yet have a good, catchy name, and our marketing department hasn’t determined one yet. Right now it’s called the N High/Arena District, so here’s my idea. COTA should call it the COLBERT BUS! The complete name being:
Central
Ohio
Late night
Bus
Encouraging
Responsible
Transportation
I need everyone’s input on this. Is this a good idea? Would you ride it? Would Stephen Colbert come to Columbus? This could actually happen, with your support!!
Update (8/24/09) – The #21 bus route is going to be starting service early, as requested by the SNBA. The first weekend of service will take place on September 4th and 5th, in time for Gallery Hop.