COTA's Airport Transfer to Downtown Columbus…read more
Upon arriving at CMH to participate in pending litigation in the Common Pleas Court in Columbus, I was watching my budget. I'd booked a room at the Westin Great Southern Hotel at 310 S. High Street, Columbus, and my flight landed around noon. While I typically rent a car at the airport, for this trip I had only one destination and figured I could skip the expense by taking the bus that serves the airport.
Turns out, that was a good call. Years past there had been an airport express bus, but that service ended a while ago. So, I checked what the fare was ($2 for a one-way trip; $4.50 for a day pass) and saw there was a kiosk located adjacent to the airport's taxi stand, just outside baggage claim.
The machine wasn't functioning, but signage let me know I could use cash to purchase either pass when I board (although no change could be given so exact cash was needed - so either bring $2 in cash, or pay $5 for a $4.50 day pass). I paid $5 and received my day pass, so with that lesson learned I was all set.
I should add that there are applications, websites, and variations that make it possible to get a reduced rate and to use your smartphone to pay bus fares. Given my limited two-day need of the service, I figured I could skip these features and plan on paying in cash, keeping it simple.
There's some uncertainty about using the COTA trip planner when trying to figure out when and where the next bus would arrive. Using Google Maps wasn't a problem: it showed COTA's #7 bus would depart from the bus stop at the airport near the baggage claim every half hour. When I entered the same terms on COTA's website, the response charted a course where I would have to walk .7 miles from the airport to catch the #24 bus from Hamilton Road, and catch the #7 bus from N. Hamilton Rd. & Sawyer Road - that was simply not the case.
I also am not clear about how we were treated when we boarded the #7 bus at CMH. We paid to board, then we traveled about one minute, got close to the McDonalds near the airport, and the bus pulled over and made us depart the bus. We then got on another #7 bus that was waiting at a bus stop, and the driver told us all to pay again. Since I had a day pass it didn't matter, but there were some visitors who were not all that familiar with Columbus or English, and they followed the direction and paid again for their trip into downtown Columbus. The bus then looped back to the #7 bus stop at CMH, picked up new customers, and we were on our way. The experience was both unexplained and a bit unsettling.
The driver, however, was outstanding. For the fifty minutes it took to get to the Great Southern in the heart of downtown, our driver was courteous, a very skilled and careful operator, and answered all of our questions with patience and understanding. At no time during the trip was I concerned about our safety, and I was confident that we would arrive on time (and we did so).
I am particularly grateful for the information our bus operator gave me as I left the bus on arrival at the Great Southern. Turns out the return bus stop was at Fourth and Mound, about three blocks from the bus stop that served the hotel for dropping off customers. By letting me know where the stop was, I was able to return the following day, now being fully familiar with the airport route.
So, a $2 one-way pass (which is good in any direction for 2 hours if you ask for and receive a transfer when boarding) will get me safely and reasonably quickly from the airport to downtown Columbus. If I want to use the bus system for more than two hours, I'm happy to pony up $4.50 for a full day's service. That's a progressive approach to urban transportation. Thanks, COTA!