Public transit in Columbus, Ohio

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CNG
-fueled bus in 2020

Public transit has taken numerous forms in Columbus, the largest city and capital of Ohio. Transit has variously used passenger trains, horsecars, streetcars, interurbans, trolley coaches, and buses. Current service is through the Central Ohio Transit Authority's bus system, numerous intercity bus companies, and through bikeshare, rideshare, and electric scooter services.

Public transit began in Columbus with Union Station, built in 1851. The station was jointly operated by the

American Jobs Plan.[1]

Historical services

Intercity rail

The Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad Station (1895) is the last remaining station building in Columbus

Public transit began in Columbus with the creation of its first train station, the first Union Station. The station was located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, near The Short North neighborhood. Union Station and its predecessors served railroad passengers in Columbus from 1851 until April 28, 1977. The first station building was the first union station in the world, built in 1851. It was twelve years before any local mass transit was developed in the city. Its replacement was built from 1873 to 1875, just before demolition of the first station building. After traffic problems on High Street, as well as increased rail traffic became problematic, a new station was planned by Daniel Burnham beginning in 1893. The new station opened in 1897, and its arcade along High Street was finished in 1899. By 1928, part of the arcade was demolished. Passenger service significantly declined from the 1950s to the 1970s. The arcade was demolished in 1976 to make way for a new convention center, although it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places two years prior. Train service stopped at Union Station in 1977, and the remaining portions of the station were demolished in 1979. The demolished arcade was delisted in 1999. A portion of the arcade was saved and is the focal point of the McFerson Commons park in the nearby Arena District.

The Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad Station also served the city's Franklinton neighborhood, located near downtown. The station was built in 1895 and designed by Columbus architects Yost & Packard. It served the city from 1896, diverting services from the second Union Station, until 1930, when its services moved to the third Union Station. The Toledo and Ohio station is the only remaining rail station building in the city.[2]

Mass transit

The Columbus Interurban Terminal
One of two remaining Columbus streetcars, operated 1926–1948, and now at the Ohio Railway Museum

The first public transit in the city was the

horse-drawn omnibus, utilized in 1852 to transport passengers to and from the city's first train station, and in 1853, between Columbus, Franklinton, Worthington, and Canal Winchester.[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.[3] Its horse-powered streetcar line first ran along High Street on June 10, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War.[4][5] The initial line ran for 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Union Station to Mound Street. When traffic dropped off after the war, the Columbus Street Railroad Company faced financial difficulties, but started making a profit by 1868. Following the stabilization of the High Street line, the Friend Street Railroad Company was created in the same year, first reaching East Public Lane (now Parsons Avenue) and eventually reaching the Fairgrounds (now Franklin Park).

Subsequently, the North Columbus Railroad Company, East Park Place Street Railroad Company, State and Oak Street Railroad Company, and the Glenwood & Green Lawn Railroad Company were formed. The horse-powered cars were slow, but made it possible to travel to locations within the city that were beyond a comfortable walking distance. Mergers were frequent, and the Columbus Railroad Company (formerly CSRC) merged with the Friend Street Railroad Company and the East Park Place Railroad Company.[6] The new venture was known as the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company. The State and Oak Street lines were bought by the new company in the following years. Other transit companies came and went in the late 1800s, many of which never became operative.[7]

It was also during this era that long distance rail travel became quite popular. The High Street line faced delays of up to seven hours per day due to the level crossing of 10 heavy rail tracks across High Street at Union Station. To remedy the problem, subway tunnels were built under the tracks. They were dark, and the smell from the horse droppings made the trip unpleasant. 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.[8]

In 1888, the first electric powered streetcar ran on Chittenden Avenue from High Street to the

Clintonville. The idea behind the purchase was to increase ridership on the line during non-peak hours by providing an attractive destination at the terminus. Likewise, other transit companies built Indianola Park on North Fourth Street and Minerva Park
in the village of the same name.

Notable streetcar strikes took place in 1890 and 1892. In the 1890 strike, employees sought higher pay and shorter hours. Their one-week strike was supported by the public, and led to increased wages and hour reductions from 16-hour days to 12-hour days.[7]

The former Columbus Railway, Power & Light office in present-day Milo-Grogan, 2021

In 1893, the Columbus Railway Power & Light Company was formed, controlled by E. W. Clark & Co., the same entity that controlled the Columbus Street Railway Company. The Columbus Railway Power & Light Company eventually controlled all streetcar and electric lighting business in the city.[7]

Electric power ushered in the golden age of street traction in Columbus. In 1899, the High Street subway tunnels were replaced with a bridge which ran above the heavy rail tracks. The system was so popular that Columbus Railway Power & Light experimented with a double deck streetcar in 1914.

Green Lawn Cemetery, Minerva Park, Marble Cliff, Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Worthington.[11]

Most streetcar lines in Columbus used a

standard gauge width, such as the Worthington Line which ran long Summit Street, Hudson Avenue, Arcadia Avenue, and High Street. With the advent of the interurban, many sections of dual gauge[12] track were built to allow the streetcars and interurbans to use the same route despite their different widths
.

1910 streetcar strike

Main article: 1910 Columbus streetcar strike
Crowd during the 1910 strike

In the summer of 1910, the city experienced a large uprising. The 1910 Streetcar Strike began as peaceful protests, but led to thousands rioting throughout the city, injuring hundreds of people. Conditions for the streetcar workers were difficult. The operators worked for only 19–20 cents per hour, worked 60–65 hours per week, and worked for years without a day off. These conditions led to a high turnover rate. The Columbus Railway and Light Co. paid its riders to report on irregular employee activities, and the company wouldn't require hearings before firing employees for dishonesty. In early 1910, 35 employees of the company met with manager E.K. Stewart, requesting increased wages. The company fired the entire group as a result. In March, about half of the Columbus Railway and Light Company's employees formed a local chapter of the

Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees labor union. The union sought the reinstatement of the 35 workers, along with pay raises, better working conditions, and job stability. The streetcar company chose a hardline position, with no compromise offered.[5]

The public primarily sided with the union. The Columbus Chamber of Commerce, anticipating conflict, hosted a mandatory meeting between the union and company in June 1910. On July 23, its hearings concluded, finding that both parties were partly at fault, and that a peaceful resolution should be found. The meeting mostly added to tensions, however, and the strike began the next day at 4 am. The union's chapter had grown to 600 members by this point. They planned to not show up for work, instead selling union buttons around the city and picketing the company's streetcar barns. The streetcar company chose to hire strikebreakers at $30 per week, over double the standard wage of $12.50. They also hired a special policing force, supplied by the local John J. Mahoney Detective Agency, to protect the streetcars and facilities. The strike ended up more serious, as crowds barricaded streetcar tracks and threw bricks and rocks into the streetcars. The company police responded with gunfire. That night, 76 people were arrested, though riots continued on the following day. Mayor George Sidney Marshall called in about 5,000 members of the Ohio National Guard. The troops kept order in the city until their departure on August 7. More rioting then took place, with shootings, barricades, stonings, and streetcars blown up with dynamite. It led to the National Guard returning, and the union and public moreso aiming for a peaceful end to the riots. Still about 3,000 to 4,000 strikers, sympathizers, or disrupters continued to riot. It led to a bad public image of the city, hurting business activity, and worrying the city planning for a state fair in September. On October 18, the union admitted defeat, and its 570 striking workers either returned to work or moved to work elsewhere in Columbus, or for Cleveland streetcar companies.[5]

Further history

The interurban system in 1917

Only three years after the streetcar strike, the Great Flood of 1913 affected the transit system, causing millions in damage, destroying streetcar tracks and bridges, and stopping service west of the Scioto River for a month. Buses first began service in the city in 1926, with the Fifth Avenue bus line established that Christmas Eve. The first buses to operate were Mack gas-electric vehicles, which operated on crosstown feeder lines for people who lived far from streetcar routes. Buses began operation on former streetcar lines within the next several years.[7]

Interurbans declined quickly after World War I, with competition from buses and private vehicles. The last line to operate out of Columbus was the Cincinnati & Lake Erie, in 1938.[13]

trolley bus
in front of Columbus City Hall, c. 1936-55

Similarly, in 1933, a decision was made to gradually convert the entire streetcar system to

trolley buses (trackless trams).[14] Slowed by the effects of the Great Depression and World War II, the process took 15 years to compete. The Columbus Railway, Power & Light Company was renamed to the Columbus and Southern Ohio Electric Company in 1937.[7] On September 5, 1948, the last two fixed rail trams ran along Neil Avenue and Main Street. The electric company handed over its transit operations to the Columbus Transit Company in November 1949.[7] A lack of investment in maintenance of the tracks, as well as the age of the automobile had slowly brought the demise of the system. The buses were larger, more comfortable and powerful, and soon had air conditioning. The trolley buses did not last long either, being gradually replaced by diesel buses as well. The last trolley bus ran on May 30, 1965.[15] That last ride traversed the Main, Oak, and High Street lines, a 5.5-hour ride that culminated in a ceremony for pulling down a trolley pole and de-energizing the streetcar lines.[7]

Bus investment continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s, though ridership had been irreversibly declining since 1948, with a monumentous drop from then through 1972 – from 80.1 million passengers to 15.2 million. In 1973, the Columbus Transit Company went out of business.[7] The company was subsequently replaced by the government agency the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), which still operates today.

Despite some changes over the years, many current COTA buses run the same routes as the former streetcars. Bus lines 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13 deviate very little from the routes taken by their railed predecessors.

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. The company utilized several six-passenger

Smart Cars available to rent by the minute.[18]

Smart Columbus, a transportation initiative of the City of Columbus and the Columbus Partnership, operated two driverless shuttle pilots, in downtown Columbus and Linden, around 2018.[19]

Current services

COTA

Map
Interactive map of COTA bus routes
Note: not all frequent lines remain frequent throughout their entire routes; see the official map for details.
Main articles:
List of COTA bus routes

Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the

41 routes with a fleet of 440 buses, serving approximately 19 million passengers per year. COTA operates 23 regular fixed-service routes, 14 express services, a bus rapid transit route, a free downtown circulator, night service, an airport connector, and other services.[20]

COTA's administrative offices are located in the William J. Lhota Building in Downtown Columbus. It is managed by President and CEO Joanna Pinkerton along with a 13-member board of trustees.[21] COTA is funded by a permanent 0.25% sales tax as well as another 10-year 0.25% sales tax.[22] The agency was founded in 1971, replacing the private Columbus Transit Company. The Central Ohio Transit Authority began operating in 1974, and has made gradual improvements to its fleet and network. Its first bus network redesign took place in 2017. The 2010s have also seen noted service improvements, with the addition of the CBUS free downtown circulator in 2014, its AirConnect airport service in 2016, and the CMAX bus rapid transit service in 2018.

Intercity buses

Main article: Columbus Bus Station

Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines, Barons Bus Lines, Miller Transportation, GoBus, and other carriers.[23]

Intercity bus transit dates back to 1929 in Columbus. Numerous stations have been constructed in Downtown Columbus; the Columbus Bus Station was completed in 1969.

Alternative transportation

In partnership with UZURV, COTA provides on demand transportation for the elderly and disabled.

Along with most other US cities, Columbus has several private transportation options, including

Bird, Spin, and Lime.[24]

Ohio State University students, faculty, and employees are served by the Campus Area Bus Service, an Ohio State-run bus service around the Columbus campus.

Proposals

Former proposals

TransCenter

TransCenter was a proposed replacement for Union Station. The demolition and replacement of Union Station dates to a 1969–1975 lawsuit against the Columbus-based Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI). The institute was formed as a nonprofit and still operates as one, though its improper profit uses led to the lawsuit. As a result, BMI offered about $80 million for various causes, including $36.5 million to establish a convention center at the site of Union Station. BMI established the Battelle Commons Corporation in 1974 to handle the project.[25]

Battelle Commons Corporation applied for grants to create a transit center as part of the convention center, including from the

Department of the Interior, Community Development Block Grants, or General Revenue Sharing Funds.[26]

On October 19, 1976, Battelle's trustees decided to demolish the station, stating it would be an "imprudent use of Battelle's money", even though it was noted to be a small portion. The organization gave no warning to outside organizations. The State Historic Preservation was not advised, nor was COTA; COTA's executive director stated the public mistakenly blamed it for the demolition. The City of Columbus also stated it was not involved in the decision, but knew Battelle was considering it. Battelle believed the demolition would not block the pending federal funding.[26]

At 6 pm on Friday, October 22, 1976,

Ohio Historical Society halted the demolition. The order noted that improper procedures were followed in planning its demolition. Battelle then allowed the historical society 120 days to remove the remaining remnant of the demolition, a single arch left standing; Battelle offered no funds to help preserve or move the arch. COTA's director still expressed his desire for TransCenter to be built, despite the arcade's loss. Battelle published development plans with the arcade removed as soon as October 24. The arcade's demolition prompted the UMTA to withdraw all $6.24 million in funding, stating the act violated the spirit of the law and was inconsistent with UMTA requirements.[26]

Ameriflora '92 Monorail

As part of the planning for the 1992 Ameriflora exhibition,[28] Columbus city leaders considered a $50 million proposal to build monorails connecting the Port Columbus International Airport to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The July 13, 1987, "very loose" proposal from Von Roll Habegger would have connected the Ohio Center with a loop along 3rd and High streets to the county offices at Mound Street, with a potential extension south to German Village and the Brewery District. A second proposed loop would cross the Scioto River to connect to the Ohio Penitentiary, Veterans Memorial, and Central High School. The estimated cost was $40–50 million, if a contract could be signed by 1988. The monorail would use rubber-tired beamrider cars carrying 4,000 to 8,000 passengers per hour at speeds up to 30 mph.[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.[29]

1987 monorail proposal by Von Roll Holding

Ohio Hub

The Ohio Hub project, created in 2009, proposed a high-speed rail service connecting Columbus with Cincinnati and to a proposed hub in Cleveland and onward to the east.[30] As of 2018, the project remained unfunded.[31]

Columbus Streetcar

The Columbus Streetcar was a proposed streetcar system to be located in and close to Downtown Columbus. Initially planned to run along High Street, the line would have run for 2.8 miles (4.5 km) and connected the Ohio State campus with the Franklin County Government Center.[32] As of February 2009, the plan was indefinitely on hold.[33]

Rail proposals

Various proposals have been discussed for light rail in Columbus. The first formal discussions took place in the 1980s. In 1999, voters rejected a levy request which would have funded it. In 2002, COTA began studying a 13-mile line from downtown to the north side. With an inability to win federal funding, the effort ceased in 2006.[34]

COTA's long-range transit plan released in 1999 proposed eight commuter rail routes along existing freight rail tracks. The plan called for these services to be phased in from 2005 to 2020. COTA would begin operating a rail line north along I-71 in 2005, a northwest track along Ohio Route 315 in 2008, a track along Cleveland Avenue in 2011, along East Broad Street in 2014, another northwest track and southeast track in 2017, and a south track along Route 3 and West Broad track in 2020. Alongside the commuter rail improvements, the plan called for bus service to double, including 24-hour service, as well as a downtown rail service and multi-modal transit hub as well as multiple circulator bus loops.[35] COTA placed two sales tax proposals on the November 1999 ballot to fund current service and these improvements, Issue 21 continuing a .25 percent sales tax for 10 more years, as well as Issue 20, a new permanent .25 percent sales tax.[36] Issue 21 failed to pass, restricting COTA's ability to build rail lines.[37]

Current proposals

Numerous proposals are being developed to link Columbus with other Midwest cities, and to link neighborhoods within Columbus. Transit modes being developed include intercity rail, the hyperloop, and light rail or bus rapid transit. LinkUS is an initiative announced in 2020 to create high-capacity rapid transit in Central Ohio. The initiative is a collaboration between COTA, the City of Columbus, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. The initiative will also aim to create jobs as well as transit-oriented developments. It will begin its focus on Columbus's northwest corridor, and then to an east-west corridor consisting of Broad and Main Streets.[38] City officials aim for projects like Indianapolis's Red Line (a bus rapid transit line). Federal funding was announced for the two corridors in November 2020, to be released in 2023 and 2024.[39]

In 2021, Amtrak announced plans to connect Columbus to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[43]

The Pittsburgh-Columbus-Chicago corridor is one of ten selected by

Virgin Hyperloop One for development of a hyperloop system. In April 2022, the hyperloop proposal stalled pending the technology's approval from the federal government. Two months earlier, Virgin Hyperloop announced it would lay off half of its staff and refocus its efforts to transporting freight instead of passengers.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Producer, Evan Sobol, Digital Content. "Amtrak announces 'Connects US' plan to grow rail services over next 15 years". FOX Carolina. Retrieved 2021-04-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)"Invest in America. Invest in Amtrak". Amtrak Connects US. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. OCLC 886535510
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  3. ^ a b Hooper, Osman Castle (1920). History of the City of Columbus Ohio. Columbus-Cleveland: The Memorial Publishing Company. pp. 230.
  4. ISBN 978-0-9667950-0-4
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  5. ^ a b c "The Dark Side of Columbus' Streetcar Era". Columbus Neighborhoods. April 7, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Hooper, pp. 232
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ionne, Joe (March 11, 1973). "Public Transportation: Its Ups and Downs in Columbus". The Columbus Dispatch Magazine: 292–296. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  8. ^ Campbell, Alex (2007). "The Columbus Horsecar System - 1863-1892". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  9. ^ Vitale, Robert (2008-04-14). "When streetcars ruled". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  10. ^ Pomerene, William R. (1917). Trams and Trolleys. Columbus, Ohio: The Champlin Press. pp. 24–25.
  11. ^ Columbus July 1927 (PDF) (Map) (Second ed.). The Motor Bus Society. July 1990. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  12. ^ a b Campbell, Alex (2007). "Track Gauge". Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  13. ^ "Interurban". The Columbus Dispatch. April 27, 1958. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  14. ^ Campbell, Alex (2007). "The End of an Era". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  15. ^ Tom (2008). "Columbus OH Trolley Coaches". Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  16. ^ Gaitten, Chris. "Hopper Carts' Free Ride". Columbus Monthly.
  17. ^ "Rideshare service Hopper Carts offers free shuttle in Short North". April 27, 2017.
  18. ^ Bosco, Tom (May 24, 2018). "Car2Go to go away, putting brakes on car-sharing business in Columbus". WSYX.
  19. ^ "The Robots Are Here: Columbus Will Debut Driverless Shuttles This Winter". WOSU News. September 20, 2018.
  20. ^ "2019 Annual Report". Central Ohio Transit Authority. 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "COTA History". Central Ohio Transit Authority. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  22. ^ "A cleaned up COTA deserving of tax assist". Columbus Business First. 2006-09-11. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  23. ^ KFH Group, Inc. (May 2019). "Ohio Intercity Bus Study - Update Final Report" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. pp. 1-21 to 1-24.
  24. ^ "CoGo Now Offering Free Rides for Healthcare Workers". May 15, 2020.
  25. ^ "Urban Redevelopment and the Structure of Power" (PDF). 1982. Retrieved Sep 9, 2023.
  26. ^ a b c d e "National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form: Union Station Entrance". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 17, 1974. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  27. ^ Foster, Emily (Mar 4, 2019) [First published November 1988]. "From the Archives: Columbus' First Family of Destruction". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  28. ^ Motz, Doug. "History Lesson: Looking Back 25 Years to AmeriFlora '92". Columbus Underground. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  29. ^ a b Von Roll Transport Systems. "Proposed Downtown Monorail System". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  30. ^ Columbus Dispatch, High Speed Rail Retrieved July 26, 2009.
  31. ^ "Could Ohio replicate Florida's high-speed rail system?". toledoblade.com. April 16, 2018. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019. Ohio's Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati corridor was part of a broader "Ohio Hub plan" the Ohio Rail Development Commission [..] is soliciting public comments for a 2020 update to that plan, but the state has no funds budgeted
  32. ^ Vitale, Robert (2008-03-27). "Mayor proposes ticket surcharge to pay for streetcars". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  33. ^ Gebolys, Debbie; Vitale, Robert (2009-01-09). "Will stimulus plan put light rail back on track?". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  34. ^ "COTA quashes plans to develop light-rail system". The Columbus Dispatch. July 11, 2006. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  35. ^ "COTA PLAN SEEKS CITY-SUBURB COMMUTER RAIL ALONG 8 TRACKS". The Columbus Dispatch. May 9, 1999. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  36. ^ "DEBATE FOCUSES ON NECESSITY OF EXPANSION FOR THE FUTURE". The Columbus Dispatch. October 31, 1999. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  37. ^ "COTA PONDERING EXPANSION OPTIONS". The Columbus Dispatch. November 12, 1999. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  38. ^ Ferenchik, Mark. "Columbus-area initiative seeks development that won't bring more cars". The Columbus Dispatch.
  39. ^ "Federal Funds Directed Toward Two Transit Corridor Projects". November 12, 2020.
  40. ^ "Mayors, Amtrak Make Pitch for Ohio Expansion". May 19, 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07.
  41. ^ "Amtrak's Vision: Cleveland – Columbus - Dayton - Cincinnati". Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  42. ^ "Here's where a Columbus Amtrak station could go if vision for passenger rail comes to fruition". 10 January 2022.
  43. ^ "MORPC, Ohio Mayors Work to Advance Amtrak Expansion Plans". Columbus Underground. December 19, 2022.
  44. ^ "Columbus passenger hyperloop is now a pipe dream". Axios Columbus. Apr 11, 2022.

External links

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