Sales tax set to go up in central Ohio after voters give green light to COTA levy
Jordan LairdLocal sales tax is set to increase next year by a half percent after a Central Ohio Transit Authority sales tax levy passed Tuesday.
The tax will fund LinkUS, a plan for more bus service, rapid bus lines, and sidewalks and bike paths.
"LinkUS is going to change the trajectory of this community," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Tuesday night.
According to unofficial results, 57% of Franklin County voters voted for the levy, and 43% voted against it.
Franklin County and slivers of four surrounding counties — Delaware, Licking, Fairfield and Union — voted on the levy.
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The levy permanently renews an existing 0.25% sales tax and adds another 0.5% sales tax. Combined with another 0.25% sales tax levy that is not on the ballot, approval of this levy brings COTA's total share of sales tax to 1% and Franklin County's total sales tax to 8%.
The levy will bring in an estimated $6.2 billion by 2050. COTA says it will use that money to make the LinkUS plan a reality and increase service by 45%, build the region's first rapid bus lines and fund more than 500 miles of sidewalks, bike paths and trails by 2050.
Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin told The Dispatch this levy is historic and will allow Columbus to be more connected as it grows.
"Columbus has been the largest city in the country without advanced transit and today we took a huge step forward," Hardin said.
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The request came at a time when COTA ridership remains down after the pandemic. But the region's population is growing, and local officials say central Ohio is behind its peers in investing in public transit and building out the infrastructure.
This new levy will bring COTA in line with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, which collects a 1% sales tax.
COTA President and CEO Monica Tellez-Fowler said residents will start seeing improvements next year with expanded hours and improved frequency on some lines. And construction on the first rapid bus line will begin next year on West Broad Street.
"All of COTA is very thankful for the voters helping us take this historic step forward for an inclusive, connected Central Ohio," Tellez-Fowler said.
LinkUS plan: What would levy pay for?
Columbus area leaders have been fleshing out the LinkUS plan for several years.
LinkUS calls for the construction of at least five rapid transit lines, the first three of which are mostly planned and will be bus rapid transit lines. Light rail is currently not planned, but officials say they wouldn't rule it out.
The first lines would travel along West Broad Street and East Main Street, and a third would travel Northwest from downtown Columbus to Dublin.
Bus rapid transit involves larger, 60-foot-long articulated buses traveling in primarily dedicated bus lanes. The idea is to approach the efficiency of driving a car and these buses would run frequently. To speed things up, buses would get traffic signal priority, there would be bus stations level with bus doors to expedite boarding, and passengers would pay before boarding.
COTA plans to expand bus hours to midnight over the next year and gradually add late-night service to run 24 hours on some high ridership lines.
LinkUS also calls for eight new COTA//Plus service zones where riders can use an app to request on-demand rides, similar to Uber or Lyft. There are currently three such zones.
And 27.5% of the levy proceeds, about $60 million per year, would go toward what the ballot calls "transit-supportive infrastructure" like sidewalks, bike paths and trails. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission has announced the first 83 projects that will be built by 2030.
USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Haley BeMiller contributed to this report.