The Central Ohio Transit Authority wants to make transportation equitable and accessible to all. Its latest venture into microtransit, a digital technology system called COTA//Plus, is its solution to meet the modern needs of an expanding client base.
For more than a year, COTA has provided residents and visitors with an on-demand mobility service not unlike Uber or Lyft. That program, COTA//Plus, came to Westerville starting in August 2020.
The on-demand option for transportation helps fill in the gaps where fixed routes aren’t available as service moves outside the city and into suburban areas. Following the lead of Grove City, where the on-demand feature debuted in 2019, areas including Westerville, northeast Columbus and the South Side have added service zones for COTA//Plus.
Photos courtesy of COTA
“The population is growing out instead of up in central Ohio,” says Jason Yanni, senior director of product management and innovation for COTA. “So how do we support that population that’s growing outward from those other counties that are connected into our jurisdictions to make sure that they have a pleasant experience as well?”
COTA’s solution is a hybrid system of fixed routes and on-demand service, blanketing the area in transportation options and connections. In other words, even clients who may not live or work near a fixed route can now access transportation through COTA – all they need to do is pick up the phone.
Vaughn Francis, superintendent of transportation for COTA, says that a fixed route service doesn’t make sense to run in all areas due to variations in customer needs by location. On-demand can provide access to less-frequented routes and eliminate the need for travelers to make their way to and from bus stations as part of a trip.
“With our transit system redesign, along with implementing COTA//Plus, we’re able to fill in those gaps in public transportation,” Francis says. “I call it a hybrid of public transportation.”
COTA//Plus operates 5:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday in Westerville. Using the COTA//Plus mobile app, riders can request service and a COTA driver will arrive to the location within 15 minutes to take the traveler to any location within the service zone.
Rides cost $3 per trip, $2 for people 65 years of age or older. A single-day pass can be purchased for $6 and a five-day pass for $20. Rides do not require a fee if the start or stop location is a COTA fixed-route bus stop.
The zone of service includes Otterbein University, Uptown Westerville and Polaris.
According to Yanni, the two fixed lines in Westerville are the 43, on Main Street, and the C-Max, on Cleveland Avenue, which makes gaining access to public transportation a challenge for many Westerville residents who live more than half a mile from those stops.
“What we wanted to do, and what Westerville wanted to do, is make more of Westerville available to get on a fixed route without having to expand fixed routes in an area,” Yanni says. “We put the system in there with the partnership with the City of Westerville to allow those that needed public transportation to still be able to access it.”
Devayani Puranik, mobility development director for COTA, says Westerville is a very supportive community to COTA’s mobility services. User uptake, however, did face a slow initial launch during the height of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
“For about six months that we launched service, everybody was working from home, so it took a while,” Puranik says. “Over the summer they have lots of special events, farmers’ markets and pool parties and we saw a huge bump in ridership (with) people trying to get to events.”
More than just a way to get to and from pre-existing routes, COTA//Plus increases transportation options for the workforce and can give older adults greater independence.
“That is also the focus,” Puranik says. “People who are not able to drive and who will age in place gracefully. That’s another focus of these solutions.”
Francis says a significant amount of their positive feedback in Westerville comes from senior centers due to the services COTA//Plus is able to provide to older adults and those with mobility issues.
“(The service) operates on what we call a corner-to-corner service, so the goal is to not have you walk more than 500 feet,” Francis says. “That’s just for efficiency and routing purposes, but if you are a senior or someone that needs mobility assistance, there’s a timer in the app that, once you flip that timer, it converts it to door-to-door service, so that way we’re not asking someone with mobility issues to walk close to 500 feet to get to the next stop.”
The COTA//Plus app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play store. Riders who do not have access to a smartphone or mobile apps can instead call 614-308-4400 to request a ride.
Claire Miller is the assistant editor. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.
