Was driving down 270w and was ran off the rod by a COTA driving who was talking on the cell phone. These drivers have no care in the works at all! read more

I generally like public transportation (and I REALLY want to write a good review here,)but catching an on-time COTA bus is NOT easy. I take (or at least attempt to take) the bus every day. I'm at the bus stop 3-5 minutes before the scheduled time. But more often than not, the bus is so late (or so early) that I might as well walk. Often, the bus schedules aren't even approximately correct. I hate to say it, but it's become pretty random chance if I take the bus. At best, it's 50/50 as to whether the bus and I will be at the same place at the same time. UPDATED: I waited for over 33 minutes for a bus that's supposed to come ever 14. I was at the stop 5 minutes prior to "scheduled" time of arrival. This is ridiculous! If there were a viable alternative (and maybe there should be), I'd switch! read more

Okay, there are two facts that are paramount to this review. The first is that I made a personal choice to quit driving in 2005. The second is that COTA stands for Central Ohio Transit Authority. A few points about the first fact: Not driving in Columbus means making heavy use of COTA buses. Moreover, even prior to giving up gasoline-fueled automobiles, I relied on mass transit whenever possible. A few points about the second fact: Again, that's Central Ohio Transit Authority, not Central Ohio Bus Authority. When reviewing a transit authority for a particular city region, it only makes sense to compare that transit authority with the transit authorities of similarly sized service regions elsewhere. To solely review COTA based on the reliability and cleanliness of its busses because that's what it offers is to give it a huuuuuuge pass on what a transit authority is supposed to do. At just under 1.8 million people, Columbus is the largest metropolitan area without a light rail system (phoenix, previously first, launched a rail system in 2008) and the largest capital without rail transit. Even Detroit has a downtown people mover... In fact, Columbus doesn't have rail access at all. I can take a train from either Cleveland or Cincinnati to just about anywhere in the United States. If the distance is a short one, often for far cheaper than I can fly. If I wish to do the same from Columbus, I must first take a Greyhound to one of those two cities, and, in Cleveland's case, then take a cab from one station to the other. Columbus has no 24 hour transit options. If you make a personal choice to not drive, or, more likely, are too poor to maintain a functional vehicle, insurance, etc., you had better hope all your emergencies/needs take place before midnight for heavy populated areas of town or before ten in less busy parts of town. Columbus recently re-instituted the Night Owl bus for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nightlife downtown. This bus doesn't even run until last call. Ingenious. If you wish to be a responsible partier, I hope you are planning to leave early! Columbus has no downtown people mover. Columbus has a navigable river running through its downtown. It makes no use of it (granted, this one's a bit of a stretch, but a small ferryboat could easily and quickly shuffle a number of people from the north to south sides of downtown). Columbus has insufficient bicycle pathways and piss poor signage/materials explaining to aggravated, aggressive, foolish car drivers that bikes belong on that road and have the right to be there. COTA fails on so many levels, the busses are only the tip of the iceberg. Then again, if the population demanded it, it would happen. The truth is, if COTA built a light rail system, it would struggle to stay afloat. It's really you who fail, dear car-obsessed reader. read more

Welp, it could be worse-- but not much. Luke T's point that COTA stands for Central Ohio TRANSIT Authority, not BUS authority is well-taken. COTA does a pretty bad job of transporting me, and I live and work in areas that should be primo locations for public transit. I live about 1.5 miles from where I work downtown, on capital square. 1.5 miles is juuuusssst long enough that sometimes I want to take the bus instead of walk (weather, lots to carry, etc). But, walking is almost always faster. First, I have to leave my house at a time that is suitable to catch a bus. Plus side, there are at least 3 different bus stops that I can access from my townhouse. But, none of them come so frequently that I can step out when it's convenient for me. Okay, fine, it's a bus not a taxi service, but still. Second, the busses almost NEVER arrive when the website says they will. I'll be standing there for an extra 10 minutes before the bus gets there-- and by then I shoulda just walked. One time I even missed an important meeting in the (farther away) Arena District because the bus just flat-out never came. So, COTA is only busses, and these busses are unreliable. I can sort of understand COTA's conundrum. They are probably poorly funded because there isn't a large volume of people that use it (at least not for Columbus' size). But no one uses it because it's such poor service. I'd love to live in a world where COTA meant a rail system or subway, but for now it's busses. My little 6-block commute is crazy expensive, too. $2 to ride for about a mile (by the time I walk to the stop), each way. The passes aren't much of a deal. I'd have to ride BOTH WAYS, 5 days a week, four weeks a month to make the purchase "worth it." I wish they would give a discount on pre-purchasing 10 rides or something. That's $4 round trip, and its $5 to park downtown (albeit still relatively far away from my workplace). Still, if it's going to just be these peupy busses (cost restraints or whatever), there are some simple things that could make the system SO MUCH better. First, they sort of have an app, but it is useless. With today's technology and mobile devices, I should be able to lookup my times more simply than doing it through Google Maps or a pdf of the schedule. The app could track the busses (GPS, geez!) so you could know how far away they were from your stop. And you could ask for various alerts or ... whatever. It seems like a reliable, useful app could really help. I lived in Boulder, Colorado for 6 years, and they had a FANTASTIC bus system. This was before smart phones, but at most bus stops there was an electronic banner screen that would broadcast the minutes until the next bus. Some bus lines came every so-many minutes (every 10 minutes, for instance), so you didn't really have to memorize a bus schedule. Plus, the banner let you know a more accurate time frame. I know that puts a lot of pressure on certain lines to have more busses, but it's a baby step idea. At the very least, I'd like to know if I'm 10 minutes away from getting on the bus or 2 minutes. At least then I could decide if I should just start walking instead. I'll throw you a bone, COTA: The drivers are usually friendly, and while there are definitely some "characters" on the busses, I generally feel safe. Kudos for putting bike racks on the busses, too. read more

I ride Cota semi-regularly, as in once or twice a week. I've had good and bad experiences. Cota is OK. It could be a lot better, but it could also be worse. The Cota system was difficult for me to figure out initially, and people tell me I'm good at navigating highways, subways, trains, etc. It's just awkward in the way it provides information. There are no kiosks that I know of where you can find a hard copy of system maps or schedules. What you have to do is ride the buses and pick up schedules for the different routes over the course of a few rides. It's like collecting trading cards - fun if this wasn't how people were trying to get around. The schedules are online as well, but you'll need to figure out how to print them correctly, otherwise they'll be shrunk to fit on your printer-paper. Cota does have a partnership with Google to give online directions and guides through the Cota website, which I've found pretty useful. There are some incorrect times on there though...so double check the official time-tables/schedules. Count on the bus being at a stop a few minutes before or after it's scheduled. Sometimes you'll even get passed while you're waiting at a stop, even when the bus isn't full. Make sure to wave visibly at the driver if you want to get on. Think of it as hailing a cab (like a greeting wave or raising your hand towards the driver). If you're at a stop and the wrong bus approaches, you can wave...in some other fashion...and shake your head, or just look impatient and wander a few feet away from the curb. You need correct change, or you can get a pass, which I've never used because I don't ride consistently enough. Their website provides listings of places where you can get the passes, mostly grocery stores. In summary, the Cota website is REALLY helpful. Some of the drivers aren't the best, but you'll always have stinkers. Allow extra time if you're going to use Cota. Cota itself gets 3, maybe 2.7 stars. The Cota website gets 4.2. A final note - avoid the high street routes before, during, and after sporting events. I got passed by at least seven buses crammed with Buckeye fans on a certain Saturday that I will never forget. read more

I have been riding COTA for over seven years, and although there are hiccups, I am satisfied with their transit system and their customer service. 99% of buses are on time, and it's nice how they have the bus trackers now. The old bus route system had its pros and cons, and so does the new routes system, but overall I like the changes. The bus is affordable for me compared to driving a car. I've never had a serious problem during a bus ride. Honestly, riding the bus saves me tons of time and money every year. It makes me feel safe, since when I drove a car, I got in several accidents. I can read and listen to headphones on the bus, which I can't do in a car. It feels good to be saving fuel by not driving. The buses are slowly all going green, so it feels like most of the buses you ride are not even hurting the earth. My only complaints are (1) the new audio advertisements. These were implemented recently, and they are annoying and unnecessary, especially seeing as the ten-year COTA tax-levy passed. So they have that in addition to profits. No need for advertisements, and you can't convince me otherwise, these ads blaring in my ears every five minutes on the bus are seriously the bane of my existence. (2) I've also noticed recently that certain buses smell like strong perfumes. Gross. Are they trying to mask a stink? Because the perfume stinks. Anyway, I recommend COTA overall, and I'm going to keep riding. read more

Prior to tonight, I would have said that it's your fault for choosing to live away from High St, but here I am and I live only a coup[e of blocks off High. I have overpaid dozens of times over the past months and while I would have been OK that my $1.25 (wasn't going to use my $5) got me as far as Maynard from 4th Ave, operator 4400 felt it necessary to have CPD escort me off the bus because I "wouldn't get off" when I was never asked to get off, let alone refuse to comply. And that's one star without the #2/N High bus being 40 minutes late over a week ago while others were also suffering in 0 degree weather: still paid a $1.75 for the "priviledge". Once again, I was forced to acknowledge that, yes, Columbus is still a cowtown and it deserves no further, thankless praise from myself. I'm hoping to live in a real city in the near future where I can get from point A to B the handful of times I choose to ride a bus vs. bike. COTA will not be seeing anymore of my money in the meantime, but the bike shops will see a bit more and do much more to deserve it. FYI, in Milwaukee, hell even in Indianapolis, you can buy a set of 10 tickets which you can use whenever you want vs. always having to carry exact change on your person at all times. Not only did I save $1.75 biking from Downtown to Clintonville this evening, but I remained well ahead of the #2 the whole way; what does that tell you? read more

Due to an unfortunate turn of events, I spent three hours on the 81 Crosstown this weekend. In trying to avoid drunk driving and hassling with cabs, I thought I'd bus it to the tailgate at Ohio Stadium. I live about an 8 minute car ride to Ohio Stadium, but hauling donuts and champagne seemed like a bit of a pain to walk. I spent a good fifteen minutes reading their website and making sure I was taking the correct bus route so I didn't think to ask the driver if I was screwing up. By the time I realized something was off, I was in the middle of Idontknowhereville and about a $40.00 cab ride back home. He explained that the 81 has two stops on my street, one on each side of the road. The website explained none of this. The driver told me I should have asked before I got on the bus. Yes, yes I should have, Mr. Bus Driver. We had a lovely rest at the Dollar General in Alum Creek (I live in Clintonville, for the record) where he took his break at the end of the line. I bought some Bugles, gum and a Diet coke. It was a great deal, as it was at the Dollar General! I ate my Bugles and drank my soda and contemplated eating all of the donuts and thinking of covert ways to pop a bottle of bubbly on public transit. By the time we started back up it was about 10:30 and I'd been on the bus for over an hour. He told me I would be to Schott at 12:00 p.m. Yes. That's correct, 12:00 p.m., three hours after I got on the bus. I realized at that time I would be missing my first tailgate of the day (the one for which I'd brought the donuts) and just hunkered down for a tour of Columbus. At one point, there was a lady on the bus who was chewing her gum as though her life depended on it. I was really sad for a few minutes because then I really wanted gum. I thought about asking her if I could have a piece, but she didn't look like she was in the mood to talk. Then I remembered that I bought gum when we were at the Dollar General! Score, you guys! I chewed that gum like it was my b***h! As we got closer to Olentangy, he explained that they change the bus routes on game day. The website doesn't mention this when you look at specific routes. He drops me off at the McDonald's on Olentangy, about a 15-20 minute walk to Ohio Stadium and says that's as close as he can get me. This means I should have just walked from my house to begin with or at least opened my champagne while sitting on the bus for three hours. I could have been nice and sauced by the time I got to the second tailgate I was to attend, and maybe I wouldn't have done all those Jell-O shots to make up for lost time had I consumed one of my bottles before arriving. The bus driver was full of helpful comments, though. Comments such as "You're going to be here for a while. This bus goes everywhere. That's why they call it the crosstown, it goes across town" He also made sure to tell me several times that I should ask the next time I try to ride the bus...as if I will ever try to ride the bus again. read more

Oh, COTA. Rating you is so complicated. Drivers: 5 stars. Without fail, the drivers are polite, friendly, and (I can't emphasize this enough) will nearly always STOP AND WAIT if they see you running for the bus. Now, for Columbians who haven't used transit in other places, I might need to explain how rare this is. I have used transit in probably 20 cities of varying sizes across the US and in 5 cities in Europe. Run for the bus in Seattle? Your ass is getting abandoned. Run for the bus in Barcelona? They will laugh at you as they drive away. Seriously, the friendliness and helpfulness of COTA drivers is amazing. They'll even tell you to not worry about your fare immediately and let you catch your breath. I KNOW! Routes: I'm gonna have to give this 3.5 stars. The routes to over MOST of the city,but the schedules are obviously planned to be convenient for people in middle- to upper-middle class areas (Short North, Victorian Village, Cintonville) with super shitty service in areas like East Columbus. It's sad, as (pretty obviously) wealthier people aren't exactly the target market for public transit in the Midwest. However, the coverage is okay, even if the frequency isn't. Timeliness: 2 stars. This is where COTA kind of dies. I never have any idea if my bus is going to be 8 minutes early or 12 minutes late. If I were on a route with more frequent busses, this would be annoying, but less of an issue. When your bus runs every 25 minutes, it basically means that you're just rolling the dice. I wish that they'd implement GPS tracking of the busses, as obviously the schedules are more of a guideline than actual schedules. Get your shit together, COTA, and you might be a transit system for a real city. Keep those drivers, though. They're gems. read more

By and large, COTA is an embarrassment for a city of our size. The main problem is that it is utterly unreliable. Good luck if you manage to figure out their schedule, the buses adhere to it a fraction of the time. Real time tracking, which they've been promising for YEARS, might help ameliorate the problem. But it won't solve the underlying issue. That issue is complicated by the fact that the buses DO adhere to the schedule some fraction of the time. So you can't even plan on them being reliably late. Do that and just your luck, you miss the bus. The other problem is at the fare box. Not cost necessarily, but payment method. First, you either need to carry exact change or get a pass. Why in the world they don't have some sort of stored value option is beyond me. It seems like every other city has figured out that type of system, why not COTA? Actually getting a single use pass is an exercise in frustration. The only options appear to be their downtown hq or the kiosk just outside the same building. If there are other options they certainly don't make them obvious. Finally their monthly pass is a terrible deal. You'd have to ride to and from work 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month to make it worth it. They do nothing to incentivize commuter use. The only reason that I gave them two stars, rather than one, is because of the free ciruclator bus. It's a pretty convenient way to get around parts of the central city. But it too suffers from reliability problems. Like the other buses, on time performance is an issue. And the stops don't match the route map, at least not at the time of this writing. In summary, COTA needs to get its act together. read more

Let's face it, Columbus is a town that is very auto-oriented, the highways are usually not badly congested. The new Republican governor, John Kasich, is not one to support public transportation, having axed federal funding for passenger rail connecting Columbus to Cincinnati, removing promised state funding for the Cincinnati Streetcar, and cutting funding for existing transit service in Ohio's cities, all while hiring a former asphalt lobbyist to run the state's DOT. So, for the time being, COTA is Columbus' mass transit option, and I think it does a good job given the hand it's been dealt. The system is really tailored to two user groups: downtown workers via many local and express routes that converge on the capitol district; and students and staff at OSU and its Med Center. While the downtown-suburb hub-spoke system is not all special, there exist routes that are tailored to students at OSU. One of them is the 80 shuttle bus serving the main campus and Lennox Town Center, which has AMC Theatres, Target, and several other stores and a few restaurants. There is also a seasonal service that connects campus with Port Columbus Airport running on select days (beginning and end of quarters, and holidays). I think the coolest service is the 21 Night Owl, running up and down High Street, Friday and Saturday nights, every half hour, running from north Clintonville to the Brewery District, connecting practically all the nighttime hotspots, until around 2:30 am. Sure as heck beats relying on a cab! And, OSU students get free access to COTA with their BuckID (all pay a $9 quarterly fee). There is regular service to two of the most popular shopping malls in the area: Tuttle Mall (via 18 through campus), and Easton Town center (via #2 north, switch to #95 at Morse, going east, or south to downtown, then the #16 north to Easton). If you live on the OSU campus, you can get to those places, but nowhere near as fast as if you drove. If you have a smartphone, you can plan a trip through Google Maps, which makes planning a trip on COTA easy, without having to mess with schedules. So, if you're carless in Columbus, don't panic, but don't hold your breath for much better service. It's going to take a mentality of not just cars- and a new Governor in 2015. But COTA is a pretty good bus service: a good majority of their bus fleet is new, and they've been fortunate to enjoy service expansion, whereas other transit agencies have faced cutbacks in recent years. The fares are reasonable, and you can get a day pass on the bus, too. read more

Where I grew up mass transit was sort of a joke without a punchline. There's no real urban center to speak of, and the residential areas are so sprawled out and haphazardly laid out as to make anything like bus routes a laughable notion. When I was first moving to Columbus the idea of mass transit- bus lines!- was so appealing that without investigation I left my car behind. What a sour joke on me, my friends. COTA is less a form a transportation and more a game where you wait a long time and maybe a bus shows up and maybe- just maybe- you have the guts to ride it. COTA buses are not usually abjectly horrible, but the thought of getting on one usually makes me shudder. I've had enough bad encounters and scary situations on COTA buses to make me think Columbus is some sort of galactic nuthouse where insane souls are sent, sort of like boring people get sent to purgatory. It's also led me to avoid COTA like the plague. Hell, I don't even have to pay for it as an Ohio State student. Even knowing a bus ride is free has often not stopped me from walking long distances- but only because I now have friends who have cars. There was a time- a sad, sad time- when I used COTA all the time and, to be honest, it worked well enough. Yet the buses are frequently dirty, attract the violently disturbed, and are almost remarkably off-schedule. Even COTA stops tend to attract public urinators, apparently; I've seen two, and in broad daylight. For a short time I had a job that I could only get to by a lengthy COTA ride. Trying to catch the bus I had to was such a wild gamble in terms of whether it would arrive, and when if it did, that I quit the job. Granted, a lot of these complaints fall well out of the scope of COTA's duties and responsibilities. It's not COTA's fault the criminally insane have to take the bus to work (or wherever they're going). But all that extra stuff, the horribleness, is part of the experience- an experience I'd rather not repeat. Ever. read more

It seems like a hot button issue in Columbus right now is Public Transportation. So I figured I would take a minute to review what is currently at our disposal. Right now the COTA bus system is unreliable at best. It doesn't matter what times are posted at bus stops, the bus will come when it feels like it. And if you want to be responsible at night when you go out to the bar by not drinking and driving, you're out of luck. The COTA bus stops running at 11pm, but our bars don't close until 2am. I think COTA could stand a few improvements. I am lucky enough to be an OSU student, so with my BuckID I get to ride the COTA buses for free. However I believe that other potential bus riders might benefit from an easier way to pay for their frequent COTA rides. Perhaps kiosks along major bus routes and stops that allow riders to purchase rechargeable cards that they can use to pay their fare on the buses. I really believe that better Public Transportation would benefit Columbus, but we don't have it right now with COTA. read more

My husband and I share one car and therefore rely on public transportation to get around. Three times, my husband has had to wait for several hours for a bus. The bus is never on schedule and he has often been late because of it. This morning, he missed the first part of his mandatory law school orientation because the bus just never showed up. What a way to make a great impression. We will car pool in the future and NEVER take COTA again. read more

I'd have to agree with most other reviews in that rating COTA is a 3 part story; Drivers, Routes and Punctuality. Drivers: 4 They are more than willing to explain routes and route changes. Some will even wait if they see you jogging to make a stop. Route: 5 Personally the COTA fills everything I need in mass transit, supplemental to my vehicle. I live in German Village and use COTA to and from work everyday and when I'm meeting friends for a drink and don't want to incur the cab fare alone. Stops are never more than a block or 2 for arrivals and departures. Punctuality: 2 This is where COTA is seriously lacking. How do they not offer an app to more closely estimate pick up times?! It's 2013 and I know they're using GPS tracking on each bus anyway! The times expressed on google maps or the COTA site are more or less guidelines. The morning lines are generally 3 to 6 minutes late, you can almost set your watch to accommodate, almost cause there are times where it could be 10/12 mins late or even...gasp on time (I almost always miss the on time buses cause they're so unexpected). Now the evening/after work buses, horror show. They are NEVER less than 12mins late some have taken up to 20+mins to arrive. Now I know that slow/late buses are due to a whole spread of logistical and operational variables, I get that. I'm not asking for a bus set to the second BUT can we please get some sort of smart (app) notification system to let me know that the bus will be 20mins late so go ahead and bust out those few emails?! I'm a fairly fit young man so I've never felt uncomfortable with fellow passengers. Some other reviews hit on that topic if that is a concern of yours. read more

Timing is horrible. Ruined my plans for the night. Thanks for nothing. My stop had no rain cover, i'm soaked, i'm cold, and i'm upset.

It's hard to blame COTA for many of these problems, because honestly there seems to be zero political will in this city or state to create anything better. That's not to say that COTA's coverage couldn't be better, its buses more timely and punctual, its services stretching later into the night...but you have to remember that it's bad because voters in this stupidly car-obsessed city are basically happy with things as they are. As such, COTA does what it can. For me as an OSU student, COTA has its uses because of the free bus pass. It is much more convenient for going to school than shelling out money for a parking pass (although an inordinate number of people on campus still seem to be driving-perhaps they just hate their money). That being said, you're probably going to be limited in how effectively you can commute by what routes are nearby. This could be endured if the majority of Columbus' neighborhoods were pleasant by themselves, but they were not designed to be self-contained units. As such, you need to leave them to get many things you want or need, and here is where COTA crashes into a big brick wall. The buses are not punctual, unfortunately. As a student and somebody who is paranoid about being on time, I can usually get by if the bus just doesn't show up by always being early, which has happened to me a few times. But if I had a straight 9-5 job and absolutely could not miss shifts, relying on COTA to get to work would be a losing or at least a stressful proposition. The evening hours also stink, to be honest. Even in the dinky bus I grew up riding back in Forest Grove, Oregon, it still ran on the weekends until 2 AM and kept doing half-hour service until 11. Not here in the proud metropolis of Columbus, though. After about 8:45 on Saturdays, the buses by my apartment go to forty-five minute and then hour delays (and there are four that go by my place). Why? Shouldn't you be trying to decrease the number of drivers on a Saturday, when they're probably drinking? What this means is that if I want to go out with people on a weekend, I need to be heading for the bus before my grandmother's bedtime if I don't want to take a chance and spend an hour waiting for a bus. I know Columbus's civic leaders are desperate for people to start acting or at least pretending like this a real city, but this is one of those issues that will stop that. If you're anything other than a student (or in some way attached to the university), it's difficult to live here without a car. End of story. As long as Columbus' public transit is underfunded, people will keep treating this place like a cow town. read more

I like COTA for going to class. I ride the good ol' number two and love it. Yes, I leave a fifteen minute window to allow for lateness, but its better than a parking pass. Plus in the winter, waiting a few minutes for the bus is a better alternative than walking forty in the cold. The bus will never be on time so don't waste yours using the Internet to check arrival times. If you are lucky enough to have a Buck ID be prepared to face intense scrutiny from some bus drivers to make sure its you. Its their job, don't take it personal. If you are paying make sure you have correct change. Fumbling for that lint encased dime will only make the other riders glare at you for the hold up. I suggest sitting in the seats directly behind the handicap ones. This way if someone needs accommodating you won't have to scramble to find another. If you are not wanting to make bus friends wear an ipod and take the aisle. If you do get a friend don't be wimpy about upholding your own personal space. Move over but keep your arm and leg space. Don't be shy. I have never rode the bus after dark. It makes me a little nervy being alone without the comfort of the 9-5 crowd. Since the busses run less and less as the evening goes on a cab is a much more timely choice after dark. Riding the bus is fun if you are prepared for its little annoyances. Yes, sometimes you will wait forever and see two of the same busses back to back. And yes, you will meet some crazy people. But they are few and far between. Most people are students and people trying to use public transportation to jobs. There are nicer bus drivers and busses. You will know when you are on a newer bus and revel in its luxury. Exit from the back and ride COTA. Its all we've got so make the best of it. read more

COTA - The Good Old Number 2 - Public Transportation Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

First of all this bus review is only based on the three trips I took from my home to downtown for a conference. Using the bus is not possible for everyday travel This system needs a quality app for smart phones! I was told by a frequent bus user to Google maps as a way to plan my trip, That was helpful to know what route to take an approximately what time to arrive and how long the route would take. It didn't meet my specific needs, when my plan unexpectedly changed or the buses were running on off times which is unavoidable. If and when COTA develops an app. I think it should track buses or nearby bus stops as well as provide route maps. I know not everyone has a smart phone, but using technology helped me become more comfortable with the system and more likely to take the bus in the future. I feel this would encourage more people to use to bus and improve the system. For the routes, I almost feel there are too many stops. Some seem to be a block apart. Maybe less stops would speed up the routes. Bus drivers are very friendly and helpful. and I didn't run into any people on the bus that made me feel uncomfortable. read more

Terrible. It takes an eternity for the bus to come. The buses are always late. They change times and sometimes routes and don't tell in advance. To go for work by car, it would take me 20 minutes. By Cota it has been takin from 1h15 to 2h. That is how bad it is! read more

So in my urban planning classes, we all constantly bitch about the joke that is 'public transit' here in Columbus. Coming from Texas, I never expected much, seeing how our bus systems down there are pretty terrible and the companies that run them seem to be in bed with the devil. However, I've never had the misfortune of dealing with COTA until this morning. COTA is the reason I don't want to work in transportation after getting my CRP degree; I would get depressed and probably throw myself off the Leveque Tower knowing everyone hated me and my company. You know those people who holler and have an aneurysm if they are 30 seconds late to ANYTHING? Yeah, I'm one of them. Punctual is an understatement. I live right by one of the most convenient, heavily visited bus stops in Columbus (High and Gay St.), and figured it wouldn't be a problem to catch a bus up to Knowlton at OSU. I know the 2 routes all stop AROUND there, but I timed it just right to hit the 18 or the 7, which stop right in front of my building. I left and arrived 10 minutes early and waited around with the other people everyone in Columbus perceives to be poor/losers/not worthy if you don't drive a car for my bus. 8:59 rolls around, and I'm not seeing any buses making their way down High Street. The ones that finally come are going east and west, not north and south. 10 minutes pass. 15. 17... OMFGANEURYSM. I finally gave up waiting and went back home, missing class. This will probably be my rant for Friday's class. What the hell, Columbus? I know it was sprinkling this morning (omg end of the world right there), but that can't be the reason your buses are being held up. NONE of my routes, not even a 2 route, passed by this stop while I was waiting there. What a joke. I want to give COTA another chance, but I won't. I believe all the bad things I hear about it and will just continue to ride my bike to campus. At least I'll get some exercise that way. It's no wonder this city has a transit problem. You can't have good transit when the system isn't being run correctly, and it's an embarassment for Columbus. I know we can do better than this, and it's just sad that we've chosen not to. read more

I'm on bus as I write this review. I will admit its an express cota so the experience is typically with everyday working riders meaning the same riders get on the same bus everyday and the bus only make about 3 stops. Soooo I will not run into the normal ling bus ride with at least 50 stops. The express bus is always clean and pretty quiet except for a few people hold small talk lol. Its always a fast trip no longer then 25 mins. No complaints about the express except they should have routes till about 630pm and about 830 am. They limit the people who need to use this route. read more

COTA - Layyyy back and chill lol - Public Transportation Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I used the cota for about a year, I hate driving and I wanted to save money (being an OSU student I could ride any bus with my ID). I mainly use the express bus (31) because it's much faster, it's on time and the drivers do a good driving job. My morning bus driver was a sweetheart. The 2 is a horror story. My tip for females is to keep a bag in the seat next to you until the bus is full and someone needs to sit. I was bus molested and I'm pretty traumatized from it and I won't be using cota again (I will not go into details). The price difference is only .75 and it's amazing how much of a difference it makes. Now there's only been one incident in one year, so I think it's unfair to give cota a bad rating because of it. Some drivers are assholes, and some are nice. And about 80% of the people who ride cota are idiots who don't pay any attention to anything. read more

As a car-less OSU student with her handy-dandy (and valid) BuckID, I have this as my only option to venture out from within the campus vicinity without having to pay cab fare. Sometimes it runs on schedule, and sometimes it doesn't. But, after one too many mistakes pulling the yellow wire too early or too late to request that the driver drop me off (as if I had heard of most of the intersections my bus crosses), I've learned to depend on COTA enough to take me up or down High Street, or to city festivities further downtown. All I need is a whole lot of patience, along with my student ID, to embark the next bus in good spirits. I also now know how to ride to Lennox and the Shops on Lane Avenue. I just need to figure out the Grandview line and I'm golden, as long as none of the colorful folks riding with me (e.g., the jolly toper-looking hoodlum or the leather-faced lady with a loud smoker's cough) knocks me out with a crow bar first. read more

I hardly ever write reviews, and when I do it's usually to commend a business for a job well done. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. Today I took the 23 bus to my usual stop, Stelzer and Lifestyles. There's a stop at Stelzer and Codet one stop before the one I get off at every single day. Today there was someone standing at the Codet stop waiting to get on and our bus driver pulled over to let him on. While the doors were still opening to let him board the bus, I pulled the stop signal indicating I wanted to get off at the next stop (Stelzer and Lifestyles). After the passenger inserted his $2 and boarded I noticed she wasn't slowing down at all while we were approaching my stop. Before we got to the stop I pulled it again. She zoomed right past it and I said, "Excuse me ma'am I think you missed my stop." Here's where the quality customer service comes in: She said, "NO I DIDN'T." I then explained that I pulled it when the guy at the last stop was still boarding, but it wasn't a big deal to me. I've seen bus drivers miss stops before and they apologize and pull over. Instead she said, "NO YOU DIDN'T. You pulled it while we were PASSING that stop. I'm not pulling over." While she was, she was looking at me in the mirror while bickering and copping an attitude, completely ignoring the road. I explained that I pulled it at the previous stop and also once again when she wasn't slowing down. She stopped two stops after Stelzer and Codet and tried to cop an attitude one more time while I was getting off the bus. I told her that she could argue all she wanted too, but she's in the wrong. She sarcastically spat, "Have a good day." I've made mistakes at my job like everyone does, and I own up to it, apologize, and make it right. Instead of providing proper service she denied making an obvious mistake that shouldn't have been a big deal, argued with me with attitude, and wouldn't let me off the bus. I've never experienced an attitude like this from someone who was supposed to be a professional before - not in restaurants, gas stations, or any other place. I hope I never have to have her as my bus driver ever again. read more

you call yourself good service you're the worst service I have a hard stop picking up other people drop off the first passenger doofus

Rude Bus driver turned off sign that shows which stop you are approaching and also turned off the speakers that announces the stops. Now she turned on all of these inside lights full blast. No one can see outside of bus because of the serious glare from the lights so everyone has difficulty deciphering where exactly we are. People are walking to the front of the bus while in motion to get a view from the front windshield. A couple of people called out and asked the driver where we were at or if we passed a stop yet -and she copped serious serious attitude with them . Luckily I had the idea to use my phone gps to know where I was a little because I didn't want any of her negative energy espoused on me. I get she is probably tired of hearing that "next stop" and "stop requested " all day but there really needs to be a rule against turning these off to make it easier for people to use bus- especially for tourists visiting the city who are unfamiliar with their surroundings. But Cota has helped me get around downtown a few times a lot cheaper than an Uber- so I add a star. I understand it is difficult but please focus on hiring quality drivers who follow protocol read more

Customer Service is never there or just plain rude; so are there drivers! Not enough buses and No extended hours. The buses run late. They had their issue pass on the balot last November 2006. Yes the web site actually works and looks nice & Yes the staff gets paid w/benifits they fought over & Yes they extended the Phone Customer Service Hours, but it takes for ever or they never pick up!! But why are they saving money for a whole new system, when they can maintain the one they have now? It sounds like the coin investment that they did with the Workers Comp money. If you look at our sister cities, we are a joke compaired to them. Now with the high gas prices and people looking into other means of transportation, when car pool isn't an option... where is COTA? Rude, Never on time, Not enough buses and No late hours???!!! 11/16/09 Now they are raising the prices!!! More people are using COTA because they are trying to save money. You know do the green thing and save some green. I guess COTA only sees GREEN as in more MONEY!!! Oh yeah they want to add a trolley/light rail on High Street? How about doing something smart and add Amtrak instead?! 11/16/09 Have you stoped in the middle of your busy route to get some lunch today? read more

I'll never use you guys lost n found hotline again. I lost my bike on the bus and the operator was very rude and scolded me for my mistake. Cherish that one star because yall deserve it read more

Huge props to COTA. Busses have been incredibly reliable for my entire time in Columbus - always clean, timely, and driven by courteous and safe drivers. I was especially floored tonight, when the bus driver for the last 2L going north drove right past the stop, leaving me stranded. Called COTA and explained the situation, and they sent a car to grab me to take me to my stop. Incredible and honestly unexpected service. Nothing but good words for COTA here! read more

I very rarely have any success with these buses, and on the rare occasion I need to be at a critical location such as picking someone up from the airport, I always, always, always just pay the fare for an Uber driver to and from the location, because I cannot put any great amount of faith in the COTA buses. Multiple times, I have tried to just take a simple trip up a single street: Line 2 from Downtown to the OSU campus, to go see a friend, and literally every time I have attempted to do this, I've had to apologize because the buses get bottlenecked to no end. I can't even call it a coincidence because this really has happened every time, and it's just deeply frustrating. the only service I have ever been able to use reliably and effectively has been the CBUS circulator. It's range is decent enough, it's always on time, and it's free, I enjoy using it. I am anxious person, and I don't particularly enjoy getting on a bus and buying a ride then and there, so the fact that there is a kiosk for buying limited use tickets is nice. I'm lucky to live Downtown, though, because that's basically the only place you're going to get your hands on these. Positives aside, I don't trust the service. It's unfortunate for me, as someone who doesn't own a car, but that's how it is. When I need to be anywhere in Columbus that is too far to walk to, I'll be choosing Uber nine times out of ten, honestly. read more

Friends from work introduced me to the CBUS. AWESOME!!! Even though I have a car downtown it is much easier to jump on the CBUS to hit the Krogers in Brewery District. Not sure how far north it goes yet. Looking forward to explore more in the months to come. read more

This is probably the only bus I've ever rode, probably will also be the last, heck even today I rode this bus line and was denied a transfer for not asking for it immediately, its always a hassle, the bus has driven off with me walking up to to it many times in the past, it's just a pretty bad/last ditch way of getting around. If you can avoid it, avoid it read more

If you live in Columbus, get a car, or call a taxi. Cota is worthless. Right now, due to the covid-19 pandemic, Cota is doing "essential travel only", which means, "fuck you if you need to be anywhere on time". Instead of using the same number of busses and route times, they've basically cut everything in half or more. Expect the bus you need to once per hour at best, some areas get served once every two hours. And if there's 20 people on a bus, they'll skip one and leave you waiting for the next bus. They don't give a fuck, so fuck them. read more

Well since I travel in and out of Ohio, I temporarily reside off/on, and since I came I was amazed how good and informative Cota drivers were my first few weeks, then out the blue, buses not on time, you call..the receptionist has an attitude, being combative over what they see on a screen despite the fact you calling em in real time stating no bus has come, I've been calling for over 3 yrs about no.22, no.102 I've lost numerous of clients and jobs in Polaris and Worthington due to this and Cota don't care, now I just lost my job in Dublin cause bus drivers don't know anything just shrug their shoulders and slam the door and drive on, then direct me to wrong bus going opposite directions, from 5:18am to 10:45am suppose to be at work @8am. Find out there's 2 to four buses on a route all going different directions but nobody knows anything sooo since I gotta lose my jobs, I can't make a living for myself due to Cota not caring about the public nor how their employees treat riders, giving false information, giving unprofessional attitudes, being late due to personal phone calls etc...yeah I'm not holding back no more, you come at me, I'm coming at you. Don't be surprised since I've been ignored for years. Thank you have a gday on purpose read more

I have been a customer of COTA for 3 years now. And I have been very happy until the new schedule that began 5/1/17. I have to walk a little farther to the bus stop to catch it downtown but that isn't what makes me unhappy/dissatisfied. The buses are NEVER on time NEVER on time. The transit app is somewhat helpful but it doesn't do anything about he busses being on time. I left work early so I could catch the earlier bus to get home for an appointment. The bus was 20 minutes late super packed SRO as it is when it's picking up for two times and we ended up behind directly behind the bus that Apparently was 30 minutes ahead of us. O read more

I've used COTA to park at the fairgrounds and go to the Buckeye games for 10 years now. This year is by far the most unorganized. You had 5 buses waiting to be loaded and the line all the down to the stadium, but insisted on loading one bus at a time! Ridiculous! Open the doors and allow people to get in the transportation they have paid for and clear out the lines! read more

Thank god I don't work downtown anymore. Here's my story: The day after I graduated at OSU I got a job at the Statehouse right downtown. Just because you work at the Statehouse doesn't mean that they give you a parking pass for the garage because the state does not certainly treat it's employees as well as you might think. So it was either pay $5 a day or more for parking, or ride the bus. At the time I lived on Norwich, so I figured the bus would be no problem. WRONG! Long story short, I was often late to work and had to stay later at night so I eventually moved down to the Short North so I could walk to work. Which I did, but of course Ohio sucks so I was back to the bus for the winter. Now when I lived north of campus I had to take the #2 down. But here in the Short North I could take the #2, 8, 7 or 5. You would think that my problems would be over. But no. I was still stuck waiting for the buses for a ridiculously long time and getting to work late. I hate COTA. It is so freaking unreliable. I don't know how anyone can depend on it for anything. They have the schedules online for every bus and they are never accurate. The buses show up whenever. I hated when I'd wait out at the bus stop for 20 minutes and then all the sudden the 2, 5 and 8 would show up all in a line together. Or two #2's would come one right behind the other. What the hell? How about spacing it out a little? Honestly, in the time I waited for the buses sometimes I could have walked to work in the snow. I do have to give COTA two stars because it was free. I never paid for it. But you know, I think that if I did have to, I would have just paid a little more everyday and parked downtown. God I hated waiting forever at those bus stops. If you have a BuckID from OSU it's free to ride, which is awesome. I haven't been a student in quite a while, but I still have my BuckID! I used it everyday, but sometimes I'd get an asshole driver that would grab it and inspect it like it was a fake or something. But for the most part, the drivers didn't even really look at it. Here are some incidents that stick out in my mind over the years of riding COTA: Creepy guy who likes to touch butts. This guy would get on every morning and get off and on at different stops every time. I'd get off work at different times and I'd see him everyday without fail, so I think he rode the #2 up and down High all day long or something. He'd find a seat next to any young girl, even if all the other seats were open. Then he'd slowly inch his hand under your butt on the seat. He did this to me once and I was lucky that it was my stop. And sure enough a few days later he did it again. I wasn't imagining. His hand was under my butt. I got up, called him a sick fuck and got off the bus. He left me alone after that but I saw him sit with other girls. Then I suddenly didn't see him anymore. I hope he was busted. Screaming woman. I walked onto the bus in the morning in the middle of a disaster. This fat woman was bent over a guy (who was dressed for work) who was huddling in his seat. This woman hit the guy. She was screaming in his face. Before I could run off the bus we were moving and the driver was watching all this in the mirror with interest. Finally several people got the woman to sit down. The guy thanked them and said all he did was ask the woman to be quieter because she was talking so loudly on her cell phone. So she sat at the back of the bus yelling to her friend on the phone calling this guy horrible and racist terms. It was awful. I felt so bad for the guy I was about to cry before I got to work. And the bus driver did absolutely nothing. This woman hit this guy, c'mon! She should have been arrested. The bus hit a guy. No kidding. On my way to work one morning the bus driver was a little crazy, going pretty fast. He drove up to this bus stop but didn't see anyone standing there so he kept going. Right as a bum walked into the street. Everyone on the bus screamed as the bus smacked right into him. We could see this guy's face mush against the front window of the bus. His feet flew up in the air over his head. It was horrible. The bus stopped and the bum got up, shook his head and walked over and sat down on the sidewalk. Our bus driver pulls up, opens the door and yells out, "Hey man, you OK?" The stunned bum just nodded, so that was good enough for the driver apparently. He closed the door and off we went. Everyone was frozen in disbelief. Did our driver just drive off? I mean, we hit that guy pretty hard. He might have had a concussion. Luckily some people got off the bus at that stop and they were approaching the bum, no doubt to make sure he was alright. What an irresponsible driver! I think it's great that our city has public transportation, but COTA sucks. I hope the city figures something else out fast, or at least makes some major changes to improve the bus system that we do have. I don't think it'd be half as bad if it was just on time for once! read more

I wish this company go bankrupt soon. Srsly. Its never on time. The minimum waiting time is 10' and sometimes you just need to wait for 45' without any explanation read more

I wanted to raise a concern about people eating food on the bus. Both yesterday and last Friday I had experienced at least two people both eating and drinking on the bus and the driver not doing anything about it. I am a person who likes to follow rules and feel if a rule is violated, then it is my freedom and right to report violation of rule. read more