The Central Ohio Transit Authority's Board of Trustees will vote Monday on hiring a firm to conduct a feasibility study for fare-free bus rides.
The board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. for a board retreat in Westerville to consider hiring the firm Four Nines Technologies Consulting to conduct the study. The resolution the board will vote on states COTA wants to "understand the impact of providing transit services without collecting fares or reducing fares collected while gaining an in-depth analysis of the effects on financial sustainability, operational performance, technology, accessibility [and] other key areas."
The 8-month study will run from May 1 to Dec. 31 this year and cost $319,946.
The study will assess things like the financial impact to COTA; operational considerations like customer patterns, frequency, scheduling and infrastructure; the impact to underserved, low-income populations and those with disabilities; and other technology, legal and regulatory impacts.
COTA conducted a similar study with the IceMiller firm in 2020.
COTA spokesman Jeff Pullin told WOSU COTA wants a more thorough and updated study on the matter. He said the last study was conducted before and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and didn't factor in changes the pandemic caused and the recent passage of the LinkUs sales tax levy that funds improvements, including bus rapid transit.
COTA's ridership has still not completely recovered compared to before the pandemic.
Columbus City Council candidate Jesse Vogel has made the issue a key part of his campaign platform in the three-way primary race this May for the District 7 seat once held by Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor.
Vogel has brought up this idea at multiple forums when the candidates have been asked about topics like affordability and transit. He is running against Tiara Ross and Kate Curry-Da-Souza.
Vogel said in a statement Friday the data he's seen shows that free fares can increase ridership and allow riders to keep more money in their pockets. He said this could help a lot of people like office workers and seniors and it can improve life for bus operators.
He said he is glad COTA is taking a closer look at how this could work.
"I'm proud to be leading on this issue as a candidate for Columbus City Council, and what Columbus residents are saying to me is they can't wait. I urge our city leaders to work out the feasibility of this, and then move quickly towards implementation," Vogel said.
The idea is not unheard of in the U.S. One of the biggest cities in the country with fare-free transit is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Iowa City, Iowa also implemented a 2-year fare-free transit pilot program in 2023.
Fares make up about 17% of COTA's operating funds, according to the agency's 2023-2027 Short Range Transit Plan. In 2022, COTA's fare revenue was about $12.2 million, representing about 7% of its total estimated revenue of $163.4 million.
A ride on a COTA bus costs $2. There are programs like C-Pass, which offers rides for free to downtown and Short North workers.
COTA is also looking into bringing back a version of the old CBus downtown circulator. The CBus circulator was a free-to-ride downtown bus route that ran from the Brewery District to the Short North. That service ended during the pandemic, but COTA hopes to revive the concept.
