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    1. Technology
    2. Fare Collection

    COTA to begin offering fare free rides to shelters during dangerous temperatures

    Jan. 30, 2025
    The new policy provides customers with no-cost transportation to established cooling and warming centers, libraries, recreation centers and other places of shelter when it is too hot or cold to be safely outdoors.
    Related To: Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)
    Central Ohio Transit Authority
    COTA's new policy provides customers with no-cost transportation to established cooling and warming centers, libraries, recreation centers and other places of shelter when it is too hot or cold to be safely outdoors.
    COTA's new policy provides customers with no-cost transportation to established cooling and warming centers, libraries, recreation centers and other places of shelter when it is too hot or cold to be safely outdoors.

    The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution to waive fares on all COTA routes during periods of unsafe temperatures. COTA says the initiative will help to offer Central Ohioans shelter during extreme weather with access to transit service at no cost, so that they may get to heating or cooling centers. 

    COTA will waive fares when the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Wilmington, Ohio, issues a heat advisory or warning or a cold advisory or warning. Fares will be waived for the remainder of each day in which the heat or cold advisory or warning is declared. COTA notes the initiative also applies to its  fixed-route bus service, mainstream services and COTA/Plus. 

    “Our mission is to serve all Central Ohio residents and that includes those who are seeking shelter during dangerous conditions,” said COTA President and CEO Monica Tellez-Fowler. “Our communities offer places of safety for residents on a winter day when it is dangerously cold or a summer day that is dangerously hot. We do not want anyone to risk their health because they might not have the bus fare to reach shelter. We are grateful to the COTA Board of Trustees for taking this important step to enhance our service to our region.” 

    COTA already offers no-fare transit during Level 2 and Level 3 snow emergencies. The agency notes that on average, the National Weather Service issues extreme temperature advisories three times per year. 

    “COTA’s partners in the nonprofit community and our locally elected officials have asked COTA to consider eliminating fares on all days when the temperatures pose a risk to human health,” said COTA Board of Trustees Chair Marlon Moore. “We thank Team COTA for creating this policy that helps us continue our commitment to serving our customers with compassion and respect. Today the board of trustees is happy to unanimously approve this policy that better protects our riders and our community.” 

    COTA works with local non-profit organizations to share this new policy with clients and customers who use transit to connect with their services. 

    “At the Human Service Chamber, we serve 220-plus nonprofits, many of whom serve people who may not have a place to call home every night,” said Michael Corey, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County. “So, every summer and every winter, we work hard with our members and partners across the community to ensure everyone knows where to go when the weather is dangerously hot or dangerously cold. A consistent challenge is always getting to and from those places. COTA’s trying to eliminate that barrier that will save lives. We are deeply appreciative of this new policy and how COTA continues centering the people of this community.” 

    COTA says the purpose of this new policy is to help its customers get to a safe location. All COTA codes of conduct and policies, including the requirement to exit all buses at the end of each transit line, will remain in effect. The agency notes operators and transit supervisors are equipped with the locations of each warming or cooling center.