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    UPDATED: COTA’s January Service Cuts Cancelled Due to Data Breach

    UPDATE (December 20, 2022): COTA announced this morning that the service changes planned to go into effect on January 2, 2023 have been cancelled, meaning that bus schedules and routes will remain as they are now until at least May 1, 2023, when the next service change is scheduled. The agency released the following statement: “The decision comes after COTA learned last week that an outside organization had accessed the authority’s IT network. To protect COTA’s employees, customers, data, and systems, COTA took the proactive approach of taking all of its IT systems offline.”

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    Buses never stopped running after the data security incident, but COTA’s phones were inoperable and its website offline for a brief period. The website and phones are now back, but riders are still unable to utilize the Transit app or other ways to track buses in real-time. A COTA spokesperson said there was no estimate at this time for when real-time bus information would be restored.

    Below is the original article on the planned service changes, published on December 7:

    It’s been a year of service cuts for the Central Ohio Transit Authority, and this week the agency is announcing another round of cuts to start out 2023.

    COTA makes changes to its routes and service schedules three times a year – in January, May and September – and 2022 has seen service reductions each time.

    The latest cuts will go into effect on Monday, January 2. They will mostly focus on weekend service, reducing how often buses run on several busy lines, including the 1, 2, 8 and 10.

    Other changes include a switch to Sunday line-ups, meaning many buses will wait in a central location Downtown on Sundays, much like they do each evening before the last run of the night.

    “What we are trying to do is improve connections on Sunday, where the majority of cuts have happened,” said COTA spokesperson Jeff Pullin. “We will be implementing the all-day Sunday lineup Downtown to allow for easier transfers from one line to another…this will greatly ensure that no one misses those important connections.”

    In the three years leading up to the pandemic, COTA was consistently adding more service than it was cutting. The agency redesigned its bus network in 2017, focusing on high-frequency service along core routes, and in 2018 it rolled out two major initiatives – the CMAX line on Cleveland Avenue and the C-Pass program. In 2019, COTA posted its highest ridership in over 30 years, but 2020 saw drastic cuts in response to the pandemic, and the agency has struggled to restore higher levels of service since then.

    The biggest obstacle to bringing things like late-night service and ten-minute headways back is a shortage of drivers, according to COTA.

    “We have approximately 580 operators and we really need those numbers above 620 to begin restoring frequency,” said Pullin, in response to a request from Columbus Underground for detailed employment numbers. “In 2019, our operator staffing was approximately 700 and that was the height of our service before the pandemic.”

    Earlier this year, COTA increased its new operator training wage from $15.50 to $17.50 per hour (after training, wages increase to $21.10 per hour), and this summer it started offering hiring bonuses of up to $2,000 (or $2,500 for drivers with CDL licenses). In 2023, COTA will begin offering 12 weeks of paid family leave, according to Pullin.

    But those and other efforts to recruit new drivers have so far not been enough to stave off cuts.

    “COTA continues to explore ways to attract and recruit new operators while also retaining the talented workforce we already have,” said Pullin.

    Meanwhile, planning work is continuing on the LinkUs initiative, which calls for building a system of Bus Rapid Transit corridors and expanding service and frequency throughout the whole system.

    The full January service changes will be outlined in two public meetings at COTA’s headquarters at 33 N. High St.; on December 8 (6 p.m.) and December 13 (noon). The meetings will also be streamed online via WebEx and Facebook.

    For more information, see cota.com/servicechanges.

    A screenshot from a COTA presentation on the service changes that will go into effect on January 2, 2023.
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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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