Like almost every other college student, I appreciate my independence. Making my own decisions (most likely mistakes), living in my own room/apartment—there really isn’t anything like feeling responsible for yourself. But when it comes to transportation, being stuck on or just near campus can feel frustratingly limiting. And while there are plenty of students who have survived by riding the #2 bus up and down High Street, learning and (hopefully) mastering the COTA bus can help open up entirely new experiences in areas of Columbus that you might not have been aware of.
If this is starting to read like a COTA advertisement, I promise you that it is not. Everyone is already familiar with why public transportation sucks. From incredibly inaccurate time estimates, inconvenient stop placement, and everyone’s favorite uncomfortably weird passenger, there are definite downsides to using the COTA to go anywhere. But if you’re like me, you’re inherently lazy, and you don’t have a car. But that doesn’t mean you’re always doomed.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to getting onto the COTA to go anywhere is familiarizing yourself with the routes. I can only honestly say of the five different buses I’ve ridden, and I can confidently say I know the full routes of none of them. Sure, if you take a bus long enough it’ll either double back or just stop, giving you a firsthand view of the route, but I don’t think anyone has the time or masochistic satisfaction of sitting on the bus purely to learn its route intimately. The best thing to do and what’s at least worked out for me is to take a look at the place you’re trying to get to and locate the nearest bus station. If it’s not insanely far (i.e. within a five minute walk for me) from your destination, see if it intersects with any other routes.
After learning which routes go where and successfully transferring to another bus, you’re probably asking yourself why any of this matters. “My roommate has a car,” you say, "so why does any of this matter?" My answer is twofold. First, learning to appreciate and make the most use out of COTA is simply adding another tool to your transportation toolbox. As it stands, there’s no way for me to hitch a ride out to Easton on my own outside of riding with someone else (and sadly my friends’ schedules don’t revolve around my need to go to Trader Joe's). If I want to get to Cane’s new location across from Barnes and Noble (of course they move away from my house), it’s much faster and more expedient to get there on the bus.
My second argument will probably differ from yours, and while it might sound trite or super cliche, I still think it holds some validity. Riding the bus can sometimes be an adventure. While I don’t expect to have my bus ride filled to the brim with danger, I can still remember the time when two elderly women decided to flirt with my friend a row ahead of me (he’s still trying to forget, trust me). Or when you discover the greatest pizza place you’ve ever been to is just 20–25 minutes away. My point is that even something as mundane as the COTA can add so much to your college experience, such that it’s definitely worth at least a ride to somewhere different.
It’s also free. If that won’t convince you, I don’t think anything will.
