Attendees of the “Community Speak Out for Transit Justice” event. Credit: Raven Ho | Lantern Reporter
Activists gathered at Fairview Park Thursday to discuss transit justice in Columbus.
The Sierra Club, an environmental organization with chapters across the country, hosted “Community Speak Out for Transit Justice” with Ohio State’s Students for a Democratic Society also in attendance. The event featured several speakers addressing a wide range of topics such as COTA and LinkUS’ plans to build connecting corridors through a bus rapid transit system, making public transit faster.
“Bus rapid transit, kind of the best way to explain it is that it makes riding the bus as much like riding the train as it can be,” Cathy Cowan Becker, a member of the Sierra Club, said. “It has its own lane and red light preference.”
Stevie Pasamonte, a frequent COTA rider and event attendee, said they fear existing transit challenges may get worse when reflecting on COTA’s current transit times and frequency.
“I’m waiting for the COTA, it says it’s going to arrive in two minutes, and then in five minutes, and then suddenly it jumps to the next one and I don’t know where the bus has gone,” Pasamonte said.
Pasamonte said public transportation plays a vital role in their day-to-day life and in the lives of many other community members.
“For my family, in order to stay connected, in order to stay safe, in order to do our jobs, in order to enjoy our lives, we really rely on transit that is frequent, that is reliable, that is safe, that has shelters that we can use in inclement weather,” Pasamonte said. “That’s honestly why I’m here today.”
Molly Nichols, a member of the Sierra Club and event organizer, said much of the funding set aside for transit has disappeared. Columbus transit authorities are investing in measures that she said won’t solve the most pressing issues.
“The way we develop as a city needs to be people-centered, and pushing to make sure then that we can get pockets of people living together; they’re all taking the bus, and then that helps make sure that the buses run more frequently, where you don’t have to have like these crazy connections,” Nichols said.
Nichols said it is up to the people of Columbus to advocate for transportation-related funds.
“Money was there; it got taken away. You need to bring it back,” Nichols said to event attendees.
She asked fellow activists to contact Columbus representatives, such as Rep. Joyce Beatty and Sen. Sherrod Brown, to encourage them to increase investment in public transit.
