The Central Ohio Transit Authority's Board of Trustees approved its budget for the next year Wednesday, hoping to increase service and frequency after voters passed an increase in the agency's sales tax levy this November.
COTA plans to spend almost $500 million supplemented by the LinkUs sales tax levy to add more service hours and build bus rapid transit routes.
COTA's $238 million operating budget will fund more staff, more bus service and will try to improve customer experience. The second, $220 million capital budget is primarily for building bus rapid transit routes and purchasing 28 new buses.
The nearly three dozen new bus operators will mean COTA will have more than 700 bus operators when fully staffed.
The operating budget also aims to add better bus location tracking and stronger cybersecurity. The capital budget is also adding a hydrogen fuel cell pilot program and electric chargers along the bus routes.
About 57% of voters approved the LinkUs sales tax levy in November. COTA's tax will increase from 0.5% to 1% to fund these improvements.
COTA plans to hire 35 new bus drivers. This would allow COTA to increase frequency of bus service and expand service hours to midnight next year sometime between May and September.
The West Broad Street bus rapid transit line will get funding for planning and infrastructure work next year. Two other lines will get funding for planning.
