Transit Route Study proposes changes to city bus routes

City bus routes in Columbus will see some changes under a proposal put forth by a consulting group. ColumBUS Transit officials held a second public open house to discuss the ongoing Transit Route Study Tuesday night at city hall.

Officials with the Lochmueller Group, a consulting firm hired by the city to look over current routes and find ways to better serve the community, issued its final draft report and recommendations for proposed route changes. The current five routes will be adjusted with the move to a new transit station at 13th Street and Hutchins Avenue. The current station is located in Mill Race Park. The move is meant to make better use of city resources, while better serving those who utilize public transportation.

Officials say that Route 1 has low ridership due to “extensive one way loops.” Under the proposal, this route would be altered the most. However, some segments of the existing route will be consolidated into other routes. The current placeholder calls for the route to end at Fair Oaks Mall, but future work at the mall site may necessitate adjustments in the future.

Route 2 is considered the most productive route due to running along the 25th Street corridor. The route averages 179 weekday riders on the nearly 12 mile trek.

The proposal for Route 3 is largely unchanged and will continue to take passengers from Mill Race Park to Target on National Road.

Lochmueller staff say that Route 4 is consistently productive, as Columbus East High School is on the route. Officials add that there are looking to add additional designated stops along the route.

Route 5, which takes riders to the west side of town, is also largely unchanged, with an extension to the east to include the new transit station. Lochmueller’s report indicated that this is the least productive route for the city.

Lochmueller’s report also suggested increasing the fixed route fair from 25 cents, which has remained unchanged for decades. The document also calls for looking into the possibility of extending service to the northeast side of the city along U.S. 31 and Indianapolis Road.

City officials will take Lochmueller’s report under advisement.

You can learn more about the transit study, as well as offer your thoughts and input, by visiting columbus.in.gov/columbus-transit.