Cincinnati Metro outlines progress on MetroNow zones and MetroRapid BRT, targets 2028 service launch

Cincinnati Metro officials on Tuesday updated the City Council's Climate and Environment and Infrastructure Committee on progress implementing the Reinventing Metro plan, saying expanded routes and mobility-on-demand zones have recovered ridership after the pandemic and that the agency is advancing federally funded Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors with a target to open service in 2028.

The update, delivered by Emmy Randall, senior manager of transit planning and mobility on demand, and Sharon Lacombe, senior director of BRT planning and design for Cincinnati Metro, summarized recent service changes, ridership trends and next steps for the MetroNow on-demand zones and MetroRapid BRT design work.

Randall said the system has added routes, frequency and span since Issue 7 passed in 2020 and reported measurable service gains. "Since Issue 7 passed in 2020, we've been working to deliver on these services," she said. Randall told the committee Metro launched eight new routes, expanded 24-hour service on seven routes, and increased weekday and weekend service substantially. She said a comparison to the agency's 2019 service shows an average travel-time savings of about 23 percent for bus riders and that 30 percent of current riders have been on the network two years or less.

The presentation included specific neighborhood impacts: Randall highlighted expanded West Side service (including Route 37's recent expansion to all-day and weekend service), new service in Sudamsville and in parts of Price Hill, and maps showing larger one-hour…