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Press Release:
More Central Ohioans Turning to Public Transit in 2011
The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) has seen a sustained increase in ridership in 2011. As of mid-October, COTA ridership was up 9 percent year-to-date. For the week ending Aug. 7, ridership spiked 15.5 percent over the same week in 2010. Total weekly ridership was 352,229.
For the week ending Oct. 16, average weekday ridership was up 9.7 percent from the prior year. The Ohio State University average weekday ridership was 16.8 percent above the prior year.
COTA provided over 17 million rides in 2010 and is on pace to provide over 18 million rides in 2011.
COTA officials attributed much of the increases earlier in the year to surging gas prices. However, as fuel prices have retreated, ridership has continued to grow.
“People are continuing to try public transit,” said Bill Lhota, COTA President/CEO. “We are especially pleased that once they realize using COTA results in significant cost savings when compared to driving, they remain transit customers.”
In addition to COTA’s overall ridership, Ohio State University (OSU) student ridership has seen steady increases. OSU weekday ridership was over 4,300, a 17.8, percent increase over the prior year.
“To meet the increased demand, we are continuing to put resources into improving and expanding our service, investing in new buses and providing a convenient and comfortable experience for our customers,” said Lhota. “Once we’ve welcomed new riders to public transit, our goal is to keep them as customers.”
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