US DOT announces funding for Ohio BRT project

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded US$37.5 million in federal grant funds to the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) for a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service in Columbus. The new line, CMAX, will help relieve passenger crowding and spur economic development along Cleveland Avenue, one of the city’s busiest travel corridors The 15.6-mile BRT service will provide a much-needed option in a corridor with high transit use. CMAX will help reduce passenger
June 3, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The 324 US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded US$37.5 million in federal grant funds to the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) for a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service in Columbus. The new line, CMAX, will help relieve passenger crowding and spur economic development along Cleveland Avenue, one of the city’s busiest travel corridors

The 15.6-mile BRT service will provide a much-needed option in a corridor with high transit use. CMAX will help reduce passenger crowding and improve travel speeds and schedule reliability along the corridor.

BRT service is planned to operate in existing peak-period bus-only lanes for one mile in downtown Columbus and in mixed traffic for the rest of the route. The project also includes 32 bus stops, construction of two park-and-ride lots, the purchase of 15 compressed natural gas buses, transit signal priority and next-bus arrival information for passenger platforms.

CMAX is scheduled to open in January 2018.

Related Content

  • June 17, 2016
    Brooklyn eyes Bogota’s BRT system
    David Crawford considers the increased interest in bus rapid transit and looks that the latest trends. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is gaining an increasingly high profile in the US public transport agenda, for two main reasons. One is the potential for ‘trains on wheels’ to save substantially on installation costs as compared with other modes such as underground metros or light-rail transit. Another, highlighted in the case of New York City, is the value of having a rapid surface-based alternative available whe
    Read More
  • December 20, 2016
    FTA awards funding to build TEX Rail in Texas
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has made a US$499 million federal grant agreement with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) to build TEX Rail, a commuter rail line between downtown Fort Worth and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The project will link three of the region’s major activity centres and provide an alternative to travel on the area’s congested roads. The 26.8-mile commuter rail line will serve downtown Fort Worth, the City of Gra
    Read More
  • December 10, 2015
    Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
    Read More
  • February 2, 2012
    Carbon finance delivers critical support to mass transit schemes
    David Crawford investigates carbon finance in transport. World Bank carbon finance grants are delivering critical support to major mass transit deployments in emerging and developing economies. Only recently operative in the transport sector, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, see panel) is designed to generate additional income streams and improve internal rates of return on projects funded from public- and private-sector sources.
    Read More

Highlighted Content