USG is working to reestablish transportation for students to the Ohio State University Airport using the 24/7 CABS On-Demand bus service. Credit: Becca Duncan | Lantern File Photo
Planes, trains, automobiles — and the 24/7 CABS service.
On Wednesday, Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government adopted a resolution calling on the university to reestablish transportation for students to the Ohio State University Airport using the 24/7 CABS On-Demand bus service, through which students and staff can use the TripShot app to schedule and track rides between locations. According to Nicole Holman, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Office of Administration and Planning, a route to the airport from campus has not been in service since 2009.
“For the 2008-2009 academic year, CABS piloted a route that provided service between Ohio State’s Columbus campus and the OSU airport,” Holman said. “The route was discontinued at the end of that academic year due to low ridership.”
Now, the only public transportation option involves a 20- to 25-minute walk to the airport from the nearest bus stop, which is located at Bethel and Dierker roads, according to the resolution.
George Bernard, a first-year in finance and USG senator, introduced the resolution, which states that over 150 students have classes, extracurriculars and labs located at the airport with no public transportation available to them.
According to the resolution, other institutions such as Western Michigan University, Bowling Green State University and the University of North Dakota provide public transportation services to their respective airports. Similarly, the resolution asserts that providing transportation to the Ohio State airport would offer students a convenient, reliable and efficient means of travel.
Holman said Ohio State “respects the role of the Undergraduate Student Government General Assembly and will carefully study the resolution and determine how to proceed.”
“CABS regularly reviews our routes and services to best support our campus community,” Holman said. “For areas not on the main Columbus campus, we often partner with COTA to provide connecting service.”
Further plans for the contents of the resolution are in the works between USG and Transportation and Parking Services, according to Bernard.
“This resolution is utilizing existing infrastructure that the university has to provide access to the airport for people who do not have cars on campus,” Bernard said. “It is alleviating a burden for people that want to get to the OSU airport for classes or extracurriculars. It’s adding a level of accessibility without adding a whole lot of burden to the university.
