ColumBUS Transit is planning to propose some changes to the city’s five bus routes — including increasing the city bus fare for the first time in at least 40 years.
The cost of a single ride would go up $0.25, from $0.25 to $0.50, said Columbus Transit Coordinator Cindy Setser.
Paratransit buses — also known as the Call-a-BUS service — for people with disabilities who can’t access the fixed bus routes, would increase from $0.50 to $1.
Additionally, city transit officials are looking at potential changes to Route 4, which goes down State Street, including adding designated stops and increasing stop accessibility, Setser said.
Currently, city buses can stop at any street corner on State Street, she said.
“(Route 4) triples the ridership of other other routes,” Setser said. “It’s so busy that it’s running behind a lot.”
City officials, however, have not yet officially proposed any changes.
First, city transit officials would present the proposed changes to the Columbus Transit Advisory Committee, which can issue a recommendation for or against the proposed changes, Setser said. Then, the Columbus Board of Public Works would have to sign off on the changes before they become official.
“This is a process that will take some time, and we will have public comment sessions about it as well,” she said.
The changes city officials are planning to propose are based on recommendations from a bus route study that was completed in November, said Bryan Burton, Columbus Department of Public Works director.
The study, which was done by Lochmueller Group, states that the city’s bus fares are “low” and should be increased and bus transit systems in similar cities “have adult fare ranging from $1 to $1.25.”
“We’ve known that $0.25 has been a very low amount for some time,” Burton said. “Then when the consultants did the route study, their No. 1 concern was the low amount that we’re charging for the bus fares.”
“Fifty cents is still cheaper than a Polar Pop,” Burton added.
The potential fare increase is expected to increase the $47,807 in revenue ColumBUS Transit received from bus fares last year, Setser said.
City officials said they expect to propose the changes at some point this year, but said there is no specific area the city would like to spend the potential extra revenue in.
Lochmueller Group was paid $77,500 to complete the route study, city officials said.
The funding came from the Columbus Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or CAMPO, and 80% of the money has been reimbursed by the federal government, said Laura Thayer, CAMPO director.
Last year, a total of 212,070 trips were taken on the city’s five fixed bus routes, and 16,748 trips were taken on the Call-a-BUS service, Setser said.
