Public transportation is critical for the livelihoods of many residents in Uptown and throughout Greater Cincinnati. Increasing the region’s transportation offerings will also be important as the city continues to grow and compete with other cities across the country.
Uptown Consortium, Inc. recently connected with Darryl Haley, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager for the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority/Metro, to understand how Metro is responding to the pandemic and how the organization is working to improve public transportation in Uptown and throughout the city.
What safety measures are you taking to protect riders and employees against COVID-19?
We are taking a number of measures to protect both customers and employees from COVID-19. On our buses, we require all passengers to wear masks and encourage customers to spread out as much as possible and to use our new app, Transit with EZFARE for contactless payment. We also clean our buses daily and treat buses and facilities with a chlorinated sanitizing disinfectant that kills the coronavirus using an electrostatic sprayer that promotes surface adhesion to poles, handrails and stanchions. We have also installed plexiglass barriers at the farebox as an added layer of protection for customers and operators during boarding.
In our facilities, we require masks to be worn in all communal spaces, supply employees with masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and practice social distancing and use virtual meetings as much as possible. Additionally, we regularly clean and treat our offices, garages and other facilities with disinfectant.
We’ve also embarked on a robust communication and awareness campaign to alert employees and customers to COVID-19 symptoms so that they may self-monitor and stay home if they feel unwell in addition to using proper hygiene such as frequent 20-second hand washes, social distancing and more.
How do you plan to improve transportation in the Uptown neighborhoods (Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, CUF and Mt. Auburn)?
All bus routes serving the Uptown area will see more frequent service and most will have longer hours of operation seven days a week. Three major bus routes, Rt. 17 Clifton/Hamilton, Rt. 43 Reading/Lockland and Rt. 78 Vine/Jefferson, will operate 24-hours a day every day of the year. Additionally, individuals with disabilities living within 3/4 of a mile of these three routes are eligible for Access paratransit Service 24-hours a day.
Metro is also currently working with the Uptown Consortium on creating a new transit/mobility hub in the Uptown area. The hub will serve the Metro bus service, local shuttles, and other modes such as Uber/Lyft and will include a Park-and-Ride facility as well.
What are the plans to better connect people with job centers throughout the city, including Uptown?
In addition to the Uptown transit hub that is currently being planned, Metro is also envisioning the creation of several other transit hubs in the service area. These hubs will not only provide better service to the local neighborhoods, but they will also play a critical role in making bus travel more efficient while reducing travel time and providing more customer-facing amenities and improving safety and security features in the area. With the added benefits, including increases in frequency, hours of operation, new routes across the entire bus network and better connections to TANK buses serving Northern Kentucky, far more people will be able to reach Uptown and other job centers across the region, as well as jobs south of the river, in a reasonable amount of travel time than they currently can.
How can Metro make bus ridership more attractive to young people?
Our goal is to make using public transportation convenient, reliable and accessible for all. However, we do know that to attract the newer generation of riders, ease of use through technology and demand responsiveness is key. We’ve invested a great deal in a new app, Transit with EZFare, to allow for easy trip planning, fare payment and real-time bus tracking all from a smartphone. Our buses are being equipped with charging ports and our entire fleet will soon offer FREE Wi-Fi to enable riders to make the most of their commute and improve the entire customer experience.
Is Metro preparing for new modes of transportation?
Yes, Metro is planning to implement new modes of service in the rollout of the Reinventing Metro plan. Some of the new modes being considered are flexible route/route deviation, neighborhood circulators, and micro transit. The goal of introducing such modes is to provide better mobility for the residents of Hamilton County and to provide more options for ACCESS riders. These new modes with play the dual role of connecting residents with their neighborhood destinations while at the same time connecting them with the main fixed-route bus lines.
For more information about Metro, including up-to-date route information, visit www.go-metro.com.