De Paul study ranks #smartcity Columbus among worst intercity transit in nation (Cleveland: tax, young professionals)

[Losfrisco]

Going Nowhere? Columbus Is Second Largest City Without Intercity Public Transit | WOSU Radio


The only other "big city" mentioned is Phoenix. Seeing as how Phoenix, though isolated for it's size and supposed importance, has light rail and Amtrak I think that leaves Columbus alone on this one.

[kevinbelt]

No surprise there. That's always been a weakness for Columbus. But we have Megabus...

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by kevinbelt

No surprise there. That's always been a weakness for Columbus. But we have Megabus...

<<Megabus came to Columbus during that time, but pulled out of the city earlier this year.>>

Going Nowhere? Columbus Is Second Largest City Without Intercity Public Transit | WOSU Radio

This story is highly suspect, however. Do Greyhound buses between Columbus and Cleveland all stop in other cities? Several of the departures from Columbus to Cleveland claim travel times of 2 hrs. 25 mins., and are designated express trips.

https://www.greyhound.com/en/

[bjimmy24]

I took the Greyhound from Columbus to Cleveland more than a few times. It's not so bad.

[kevinbelt]

Ah, well, Megabus and I have something in common then. That really stinks. I rode it once and it was nice enough.

[Buckeye614]

Let's be honest. Columbus has an extremely central location and an extensive highway system. Based on census bureau data fewer than 5% of households here have zero cars.

To get to Cleveland all I have to do is drive on one road the entire time in a straight line. The trip is about two hours. Unless someone proposes a train or bus system that can get me there significantly faster at a reasonable cost then I will never use anything but my car to get there. I can attest that all of my friends (educated, young professionals) feel the same way.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Buckeye614

Let's be honest. Columbus has an extremely central location and an extensive highway system. Based on census bureau data fewer than 5% of households here have zero cars.

To get to Cleveland all I have to do is drive on one road the entire time in a straight line. The trip is about two hours. Unless someone proposes a train or bus system that can get me there significantly faster at a reasonable cost then I will never use anything but my car to get there. I can attest that all of my friends (educated, young professionals) feel the same way.

You mean you don't want to pay $$$$ for a high-speed train ride to CLE?

[Losfrisco]

Originally Posted by Buckeye614

Let's be honest. Columbus has an extremely central location and an extensive highway system. Based on census bureau data fewer than 5% of households here have zero cars.

To get to Cleveland all I have to do is drive on one road the entire time in a straight line. The trip is about two hours. Unless someone proposes a train or bus system that can get me there significantly faster at a reasonable cost then I will never use anything but my car to get there. I can attest that all of my friends (educated, young professionals) feel the same way.

But if Columbus were truly "extremely centrally located", there would already (or still be) be a rail link wouldn't there? Seems like the two things go hand in hand. The "CBUS Next" podcast linked with the Dispatch article is pretty revealing....it sounded like the panel just couldn't come up with a smart sounding reason for why these amenities aren't in place.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Buckeye614

Let's be honest. Columbus has an extremely central location and an extensive highway system. Based on census bureau data fewer than 5% of households here have zero cars.

To get to Cleveland all I have to do is drive on one road the entire time in a straight line. The trip is about two hours. Unless someone proposes a train or bus system that can get me there significantly faster at a reasonable cost then I will never use anything but my car to get there. I can attest that all of my friends (educated, young professionals) feel the same way.

The number of households in the city without any cars is rising vs. the population. It's not significant, but it is increasing, and is roughly now the same as it was in the late 1990s. Also, you can't just look at that number. There are many more households with cars where the people do not use them for commuting. Tens of thousands of households either walk, use transit or bike despite having cars, so the number is in reality not nearly that low. Having a car and using it are two different things.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Losfrisco

But if Columbus were truly "extremely centrally located", there would already (or still be) be a rail link wouldn't there? Seems like the two things go hand in hand. The "CBUS Next" podcast linked with the Dispatch article is pretty revealing....it sounded like the panel just couldn't come up with a smart sounding reason for why these amenities aren't in place.

Columbus has had the unfortunate reality of weak leadership on this issue combined with bad luck. There have been numerous transit proposals over the last 30 years, but only a single time did it ever make it to a public vote. Even then, the issue was so convoluted and confusing that I don't think people even really understood what they were voting for (the proposal was barred from even mentioning rail, for example). That was the 1999 vote, which polling showed the city actually supported the rail proposal. It ended up failing specifically because there was no mention of rail and it merely looked like a straightforward tax increase. Every time one of these proposals comes up, polling has consistently been positive from the public, but for one reason or another, they never make it that far.
Now, the city has its head so far in the clouds with the Smart City thing that it's simply decided to ignore everything else. I love Columbus and overall it's a great, increasingly vibrant city, but transit is just one of those things it can't seem to figure out. Whether they end up looking good for that in the end remains to be seen.