Go COMO comprehensive transit study
Olsson, consultants for the City of Columbia Public Works department, are continuing to conduct a comprehensive study to identify ways to improve Go COMO, Columbia’s transit provider. Public input sessions were held in November 2023 and March 2024, where consultants presented several options to the community for their preferences for transit service and took feedback on the challenges facing users of public transit in Columbia. Materials from both sessions are available in the documents section, on the right side of this page.
Goals of the study include:
- Determining ways to increase transit service and ridership.
- The evaluation of funding mechanisms and partnership opportunities.
- Conducting a comprehensive operations analysis to identify ways to improve service efficiency, technology, staffing, facilities and other aspects of transit operations.
- Through community engagement, the establishment of goals for public transit and metrics to track progress toward these goals over time.
- A review of policies and opportunities for transit-oriented development and integration with other modes of transportation, both locally and regionally.
- Addressing the potential for flexible, on-demand micro-transit services as a potential method for growth.
Multiple transit alternatives will be reviewed for applicability, including fixed-route, micro-transit and regional commuter services. Evaluation of potential alternatives will consider the numerous benefits and drawbacks of each and rely heavily on feedback from stakeholders and the Columbia community.
Input received will guide the development of plans to improve existing routes and expand services in the future. Comments will be accepted on this page through May 17, 2024.
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Comments will be reviewed by Public Works staff.
View All Ideas16 days ago
Pay all or part of ride hail/taxi. Could be a tiered subscription for those without cars or low income/disability. Issue of justice/equity.
14 days ago
4. The bus stop by waffle house. It's basically just in the street and seems very dangerous and impractical for bus riders.
3 days ago
Yes to microtransit
I think exploring on-demand microtransit services is an excellent idea, even if that just means offering vouchers for ride-sharing apps to those with low income or disabilities. Also, as much as I want our public transit to remain free, I’d rather pay a small fare for a functioning bus service than have a free service that’s completely unusable, which is what we have now. However, any revenue from fares should go directly into buses, paratransit and microtransit, NOT into the airport.
17 days ago
Covering more area in columbia
I live in north Columbia, the closest bus stop to me is a mile and a half away, my work is 3 miles from my home and it makes it hard to take public transit to work. I also can’t use transport to get to drs. Appointments or even just to do shopping. Since there isn’t anything close i end up using a lot of ride shares.
6 months ago
partner with other ride sources to address driver shortage
SIL, and perhaps others, have a fleet and drivers but a lack of funding. So this is one overflow option. Another is that Uber rides can cost less than it costs to send a small bus. Uber is cost effective but exploitive, good drivers are exploited and bad drivers have been unsafe drivers or assaulted passengers with no serious Uber oversight. Perhaps the city can create its own Uber system for overflow, especially for medical appointments. Other nonprofits may exist besides SIL doing this, too.
