The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) bus and Car2Go programs have been recently introduced to campus to provide an alternative form of transportation for students. While most students would prefer to bring their cars to campus, parking can be extremely limited.
Since its arrival on campus this earlier this year, COTA has been relatively popular with students; the last report obtained by the finance office stated that there were 280 student rides within a 10-day period.
While COTA will take students all over Columbus and can make trips to the Easton and Polaris malls, it takes a lot more time than if a student were to just drive themselves to their destination.
Car2Go, a one-way, point-to-point car rental service, has four cars available on campus for both hourly and daily usage.
The car-sharing program charges $0.32 per minute, $10 per hour or $50 for a full day, as long as the trip is kept under 150 miles.
Some students do not think that the prices are worth it, especially if they want to take it out for a trip that is not for a scheduled amount of time.
The introduction of these programs, however, has had an effect on parking on campus.
The Public Safety Department has seen positive effects from the new transportation options and thinks that they will continue to help with the parking situation on campus.
“I’ve definitely seen a lot more open parking spaces,” said Chief Frank Fernandez. “We have a lot less calls coming in about people driving around looking for spots.”
Fernandez believes that this is definitely part of the reason that parking spaces are not in such high demand anymore.
While the waitlist for parking spaces was long at the beginning of the semester, the number of people on the list is at zero now.
This may be due to a combination of the increased price of a parking pass as well as the availability of public transport.
“I think the resident students using public transportation will help with the parking situation, and the Giant Eagle being built across the street has also helped,” Fernandez said.
Of course, while the total demand for parking may have relaxed since the start of the semester, it can still be more difficult to find a space during certain peek times. Student lots often fill up in the middle of the day.
Commuter students and those off campus in the morning are advised to leave early for afternoon classes.
The COTA and Car2Go programs are still relatively new, but Fernandez thinks they will become more integrated into student life as the year goes on.
At The Ohio State University, taking COTA is the norm for students, and Capital hopes to follow suit.
