The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) board unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the waiver of fares on all COTA routes during periods of unsafe temperatures.

COTA will now waive fares when the National Weather Service Forecast Office issues a heat advisory or warning or a cold advisory or warning. 

Fares will be waived for the remainder of each day in which the heat or cold advisory or warning is declared. This applies to COTA’s fixed-route bus service, Mainstream services, and COTA//Plus.

“Our mission is to serve all Central Ohio residents and that includes those who are seeking shelter during dangerous conditions,” said COTA President/CEO Monica Tellez-Fowler. “Our communities offer places of safety for residents on a winter day when it is dangerously cold or a summer day that is dangerously hot. We do not want anyone to risk their health because they might not have the bus fare to reach shelter. We are grateful to the COTA Board of Trustees for taking this important step to enhance our service to our region.”

COTA’s New Extreme Weather Policy

The new policy provides customers with no-cost transportation to established cooling and warming centers, libraries, recreation centers, and other places of shelter when it is too hot or cold to be safely outdoors.

COTA already offers no-fare transit during Level 2 and Level 3 snow emergencies. On average, the National Weather Service issues extreme temperature advisories three times per year.

COTA works with local non-profit organizations to share this new policy with clients and customers who use transit to connect with their services.

The purpose of this new policy is to help COTA customers get to a safe location. All COTA codes of conduct and policies, including the requirement to exit all buses at the end of each transit line, will remain in effect.