Public transit in Columbus, Ohio
Local mass transit efforts began three years later, in 1854, with the founding of the Columbus Street Railroad Company.
In the 1930s, as automobiles grew in popularity and track maintenance suffered, the streetcars were all converted to trolleybuses, taking place from 1933 to 1948.
COTA operated traditional local bus service until the 2010s, when it began modernizing its fleet with compressed natural gas-fueled buses, redeveloped its route network, and added a downtown circulator, bus rapid transit line, wifi connectivity, contactless payments, and other modern amenities.
A portion of the arcade was saved and is the focal point of the McFerson Commons park in the nearby Arena District.
[3] First formed in 1854, the Columbus Street Railroad Company (CSRC) was authorized by the city to build a number of lines, but nothing came about initially.
When traffic dropped off after the war, the Columbus Street Railroad Company faced financial difficulties, but started making a profit by 1868.
From the period of 1863–1892, more than a dozen horsecar companies set up shop in the city, and total trackage was expanded to 34.5 miles (55.5 km) prior to electrification.
The advantages in speed and cleanliness quickly made equestrian power obsolete, and the last horse drawn car ran in 1892, when service fully transitioned to electric streetcars.
The idea behind the purchase was to increase ridership on the line during non-peak hours by providing an attractive destination at the terminus.
[9] However, the delays in loading and unloading gave the bi-level design no advantage over its standard counterpart, and the cars were quickly retired.
Total trackage reached 71 miles (114 km) by 1916, and the system carried 66,000,000 paying passengers with an additional 16,000,000 people riding on transfer tickets that year.
[10] By 1927, streetcars ran to Bexley, Gahanna, Green Lawn Cemetery, Minerva Park, Marble Cliff, Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Worthington.
[12] Building non-standard gauge was sometimes used as a way to keep long distance passenger and freight railroads from accidentally or intentionally running their cars on city streets.
The 1910 Streetcar Strike began as peaceful protests, but led to thousands rioting throughout the city, injuring hundreds of people.
The Columbus Chamber of Commerce, anticipating conflict, hosted a mandatory meeting between the union and company in June 1910.
They also hired a special policing force, supplied by the local John J. Mahoney Detective Agency, to protect the streetcars and facilities.
It led to the National Guard returning, and the union and public moreso aiming for a peaceful end to the riots.
[13] Similarly, in 1933, a decision was made to gradually convert the entire streetcar system to trolley buses (trackless trams).
[7] The company was subsequently replaced by the government agency the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), which still operates today.
Around 2017, the company Hopper Carts began serving downtown and the Short North with a free ridesharing service paid for by businesses and with ads on the sides of the vehicles.
[19] Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA).
The Central Ohio Transit Authority began operating in 1974, and has made gradual improvements to its fleet and network.
The demolition and replacement of Union Station dates to a 1969–1975 lawsuit against the Columbus-based Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI).
[27] By 6 pm on the next day, a temporary restraining order secured by the Ohio Historical Society halted the demolition.
A second proposed loop would cross the Scioto River to connect to the Ohio Penitentiary, Veterans Memorial, and Central High School.
[29] A committee formed to study the proposal, led by Upper Arlington Mayor Priscilla Mead, rejected it in November 1987.
The committee recommended an automated peoplemover solution like those used in Detroit and Miami, with a daily ridership of 6,000 to 8,000 people, at a cost of $60–80 million.
A third-party organization known as Greater Central Ohio Public Transit Project (https://www.facebook.com/groups/GCOPTP) was founded late 2019 with a goal of getting an elevated monorail system to be considered for Columbus again.
[42] Other proposals submitted to Amtrak by 2022 include services to Athens, Chillicothe, Toledo, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Two months earlier, Virgin Hyperloop announced it would lay off half of its staff and refocus its efforts to transporting freight instead of passengers.
