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OH: More Downtown workers taking the bus because of Cpass


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Courtesy of the Colombus Dispatch newspaper and shown on Mass Transit Magazine:

 

TECHNOLOGY  FARE COLLECTION  OH: MORE DOWNTOWN WORKERS TAKING THE BUS BECAUSE OF CPASS

OH: More Downtown workers taking the bus because of Cpass

More Downtown workers are choosing not to drive to work because of a program that provides them free rides on Central Ohio Transit Authority buses, a survey shows.

MARK FERENCHIK

AUGUST 15, 2019

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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More Downtown workers are choosing not to drive to work because of a program that provides them free rides on Central Ohio Transit Authority buses, a survey shows. 

CJI Research surveyed 2,655 Downtown employees and 129 employers in May and June about the Cpass program. According to the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, researchers found that:

• Bus ridership among the survey group grew from about 5% before June 1, 2018, when the Cpass program started, to between 10% and 14% in June 2019.

• 68% of those surveyed said that Cpass was the reason they started riding COTA buses; an additional 26% said it helped motivate them to use COTA.

• 52% of surveyed companies reported that employees had relinquished parking spaces because they began taking the bus.

• New riders are generally younger: 35% of those switching are 32 or younger, and 83% are younger than 55.

Cleve Ricksecker, the special improvement district's executive director, said the program has done what he and others thought it would: shift people toward transit.

The program has enrolled more than 422 Downtown companies, according to the special improvement district. Ricksecker said 30,000 to 32,000 workers in the district are eligible. Cpass members take about 25,000 trips each week.

Get the news delivered to your inbox: Sign up for our morning, afternoon and evening newslettersAccording to the survey, the highest rate of Cpass adoption was among people working Downtown for less than a year, at 31%.

Also, 34% of the companies surveyed said that Cpass helps them recruit and retain employees, and 17 companies said it played a role in their renewal or signing of a lease in a Downtown building.

"I think from COTA's standpoint, it is what we wanted to see," said Michael Loges, COTA's senior economic-development project manager. "The whole goal was to make it easier for people to work Downtown, more affordable to work Downtown."

The program is scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2020; property owners are to decide late this year whether to agree to fund the program beyond that.

"They need to weigh the value of the program versus how much they will pay," Ricksecker said.

"I'm really proud of the Downtown property owners," he said. "They took a risk and are being rewarded for it."

Property owners pay a total of $2.5 million through assessments for the Cpass program. Another $2.5 million in federal funds comes through the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Business people and property owners in the Short North, the Discovery District just east of Downtown, and the RiverSouth area along the Scioto River are interested in the program being extended to serve their areas.

"We're having conversations with COTA now," Ricksecker said. "I do think employers should be paying for transit."

Some Downtown business managers say the program helps them attract and retain workers.

"It definitely has helped our associates in their ability to get to and from work," said Geri Lombard, who manages the Hotel LeVeque, which employs a little more than 100. "It is a hiring incentive. Not all the Downtown areas have that incentive."

Juan Laginia, manager at the Crowne Plaza, said the Cpass program offers a benefit to employees who have to deal with scarce parking. Laginia said the hotel does not offer free parking to employees but subsidizes it for some managers.

Downtown companies such as State Auto and Root Insurance pay for employee parking.

The Ohio Department of Transportation and the Columbus Foundation funded the $25,000 study.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

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(c)2019 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)

Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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