Several council members used their May 4 reports to brief residents on the Central Ohio Transit Authority's short-range transit plan, which would lock in roughly five years of bus service decisions for Worthington and the surrounding region. The headline changes for Worthington: the existing Route 102 is folded into a renamed Route 2N running every 15 minutes; a new east-west Route 35 covers Wilson Bridge Road; weekend service expands from hourly to every half hour; and overnight service is added. Council members urged residents who use COTA, or whose employees and family members do, to submit feedback before the May 15, 2026 public comment deadline. COTA staff are scheduled to present the plan to the City Council Committee of the Whole on May 11.
What's changing for Worthington
The plan, as council members described it, includes:
- Route 102 is going away. The 102 has been a long-standing Worthington-to-downtown express; it is being replaced by Route 2N. Council members who attended public meetings flagged that attendees voiced concern about losing the 102.
- Route 2N runs every 15 minutes. That is the city's fastest service interval under the plan. Council members reported that COTA staff acknowledged 12-minute frequencies are typically the threshold at which riders begin to choose transit over driving, a level the plan does not reach.
- A new east-west Route 35 along Wilson Bridge Road. The new line ties Worthington into transit options along the Wilson Bridge Road corridor, where Crawford Hoying recently acquired five buildings on the West Wilson Bridge Road side and where the Worthington Together comprehensive plan envisions new mixed-use redevelopment. Council members reported that COTA staff said the routing (currently along Sinclair, jogging to Bush Boulevard) could potentially be moved to Huntley Road if the city formally requests it — a possibility worth pursuing in light of the recently adopted Northeast Area Plan / Forge Fields at Rush Run zoning work.
- Expanded weekend service. Service that currently runs hourly on weekends would shift to every 30 minutes.
- Overnight hours. The plan adds overnight service.
- Trade-off going southbound. With the 102 retired, southbound commuters from Worthington toward Ohio State and downtown would ride the 2N, which makes more stops than the express route it replaces. Council member Maria Ramirez's app-based comparison found the existing Route 2 already takes about 13 minutes longer than the 102. The exact time impact under the new plan was not clear from the meetings, but the 2N's 15-minute service interval means each bus is likely to be more crowded and may stop more often, lengthening trips further.
Council member Glen Pratt acknowledged the trade-off, saying he was "torn" between gratitude for the gains in coverage to underserved areas and continued concern about the loss of the 102. His open question for COTA: "how much longer is it going to take for somebody from Worthington on the number two, to get down to either OSU or downtown?"
Two distinct COTA tracks
City Manager Robyn Stewart drew a distinction during council discussion that residents may want to keep in mind as they read about COTA: the short-range transit plan covers fixed-route bus service. It is separate from COTA's LinkUS program, which funds long-term capital projects (bike, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure). Worthington has roughly $4.5 million of LinkUS-funded bike and pedestrian projects through 2028, including the SR-315/SR-161 interchange improvements, the citywide sidewalk-gap program, and the East Wilson Bridge shared-use path. None of those are affected by the short-range plan.
Council Member Pete Bucher, who serves on the COTA Board of Trustees, said it would be wise for the city to look at what cost-share or partnership levers Worthington has during this five-year planning window. Council Member Joy Dong asked whether some communities run ridership-targeted compensation programs with COTA. City Manager Robyn Stewart said she was not familiar with cost-share arrangements for fixed-route service, though COTA//Plus (the on-demand microtransit service) does have a financial-partnership model with participating municipalities.
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How COTA reached riders
Council members attended both COTA's May 1 virtual meeting and several in-person sessions, including an open house at the Bob Crane Community Center on April 28. They reported that COTA had distributed door-hanger handouts on the bars riders hold inside buses — a new outreach technique that drew positive feedback and helped fill the meetings. Daily COTA commuters, including a council member's adult son, were particularly pleased with the expanded weekend frequency and overnight hours; the loss of the 102 generated the most public concern, especially at the May 1 virtual session.
Why COTA is changing service shapes
Council members reported that COTA staff explained ridership patterns have shifted since the pandemic. Pre-COVID demand was concentrated in early-morning and late-afternoon commute windows. That pattern has not returned; bus use has flattened across the day. The plan reshapes service to match that flatter, all-day demand instead of the legacy commuter peaks.
That said, Ramirez — herself a former daily bus commuter — emphasized that her instincts about transit may not represent what most riders need today. "What's really critical is for people to give feedback about what needs they really want to prioritize," she said.
What the plan looks like region-wide
For context outside the Worthington-specific changes: COTA describes the 2027–2031 plan as roughly 30% more transit service over five years, with Saturday frequency up about 64% and Sunday up about 74% across the system. The plan also includes a proposed Ohio State–to–John Glenn Columbus International Airport express and a multi-year track toward 24-hour service on some lines.
Worthington's Council and Chamber of Commerce have engaged on this plan since at least early March, when COTA's initial proposal floated replacing Route 102 with only an on-demand COTA//Plus zone.
How residents can weigh in
The COTA short-range transit plan public comment window closes Friday, May 15, 2026. Resources for residents:
- The plan's main landing page, with the full draft and background, plus a way to leave comment: cota.com/srtp.
- The interactive Service Proposals dashboard — drop in a Worthington address and see exactly which routes serve it under the proposal: Service Proposals dashboard.
- COTA staff are scheduled to present the plan and take questions at Worthington's Council Committee of the Whole on Monday, May 11, 2026 — open to the public. Council members on May 4 said they are also collecting questions in advance of that session; residents who want a specific question raised can pass it through their council member or city staff.
If transit funding is the deeper question, COTA's longer-horizon capital program — separate from the short-range plan — runs through LinkUS, the regional initiative funded by Issue 47 (passed by Franklin County voters in November 2024).