Have you seen Greater Ohio Policy Center’s Good Ideas? Good Ideas is a repository of exemplary initiatives and programs happening in Ohio. This month we have highlighted Central Ohio Transit Authority’s Downtown CPass. The CPass program has been an innovative and effective way of encouraging alternative transportation, reducing parking needs, and increasing COTA’s ridership.

In Columbus, COTA provides eligible downtown workers and some residents with free, unlimited access to the entire COTA bus system through the Downtown CPass program. The program was created to mitigate concerns that parking downtown was becoming too expensive. The costs to provide abundant parking affect the recruitment and retention efforts of employers, while creating cost barriers for a variety of employees. Public transit presents a cheaper alternative to move employees efficiently in and out of downtown while reducing the burden on property owners to provide more parking.

CPass is funded by downtown property owners within the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District (CCSID) and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). The CCSID contributed a total of $2.5 million to the program, and MORPC provided another $2.5 million in federal funds. (Ferenchik, 2019) Program users must work in eligible buildings within the CCSID, which was created to provide services that support a safe, clean, and vibrant downtown.

To learn more about the success of the Downtown CPass and about other good ideas happening in Ohio, visit: https://www.greaterohio.org/good-ideas-initiative

(Photo courtesy of Capital Crossroads SID)