A little personal info about me: I haven’t driven since 2005. Wowzer, that seems like eternity when it’s actually written there. I’m epileptic, and in Ohio, one has to be seizure-free for six full months and have the recommendation of your neurologist to reinstate your license. I have neither of those, so alas, I am without wheels of my own. This post isn’t about that, and I’m not whining. I have an amazing husband who has logged MORE than his fair share of driving hours over the past five years. Being without license, you would think I’d be well accustomed to using COTA. Wrong. I’ve never used the bus here in Columbus (though I did use RTA in Dayton growing up). This week, I figured it was time to learn to use our local bus route here in 5xNW so that my 2 year old, Nila, and I could actually go somewhere this summer without having to drag my husband along for the ride.
COTA serves 5XNW with three bus routes: Route 3, Route 5, Route 19, Route 84. Fares for all routes are $1.75, but there are reduced and/or free fares available for certain groups. Kids under 4 feet are free, too.
We took the Number 3 bus downtown to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. We looked first online to see if our bus was on-time. It wasn’t – it was 11 minutes early, so we packed up the stroller and headed out to the bus stop. We’re lucky – there is a bus stop at the end of the driveway at Windgate Village, so we would have been able to flag down the bus even if we were late. We got there, sat down on the bench and went over the rules with Nila. 1) You must hold hands at the bus stop. 2) You have to sit on your bottom on the bus. 3) You have to tell the bus driver thank-you. When riding with kids, you have to take them out of the stroller and have them sit in a seat, so keep that in mind if you have a few little ones with you. Once we were at the stop, we called the number on the bus sign to find out where the bus was, because it clearly wasn’t 11 minutes early. It was at Kingsdale – the shopping center in Upper Arlington where Macy’s, Chipotle and MCL are. Um, not that we’ve ever been to MCL. The route from Upper Arlington includes that area, but also passes Northwest and Lane, so the Shoppes at Lane Avenue are within reach, and further into UA, it puts the main UA library and park within walking distance.
Once the bus arrived, we hopped on and headed out. It was Nila, my husband Bob, our friend Twana from Iraq, and myself. It was Twana’s first time riding a bus in the US. Let’s just say it’s QUITE a different experience than the buses in Iraq!
We planned to get off at Buttles and Neil so we could walk through Goodale Park and then onto the Parade. On the way, we passed the little area of Victorian Village (or is it Harrison West) where there are a few little restaurants and shops tucked between apartments and houses. We passed Cafe Corner, too. If we had stayed on, we could have gotten off at North Bank Park and all sorts of stops near Nationwide before the bus headed out of the downtown area. The whole ride took maybe 10 minutes. For a newbie like me, it was a particularly great ride because all of those nifty places across the river I like to visit, but can’t go by myself are now just a quick ride away (the Short North and North Market included).
The next time you’re heading out, check out COTA and venture out on the bus to get there. You’ll be surprised how easily and quickly you can get there from 5xNW. More information about how to ride the bus, bus routes, and schedules can be found at www.cota.com.
