Survey says! Columbus weighs in on effectiveness of free EV Uptown Shuttles ‘Roll With Us’
For five months the 5-seater electric golf carts have quietly hummed through a section of Columbus.
Down the avenues of Bay, Front, Broadway, and 1st and through the five streets between 9th and 14th in Columbus, they have operated in a particular section of the city.
The Uptown Shuttle pilot program–owned and operated by Metra, Columbus’ public transit system–was intended to make travel more convenient in the Uptown area. But, the all-electric, free service has mixed reviews from riders.
Some praise the service. Others are asking for a less confusing way to order a ride and saying the service all together doesn’t make sense unless the service area is expanded.
Going from the furthest corner of the service area to the other corner, The RiverCenter for the Performing Arts to Hotel Indigo, for example, is about a 15-minute walk, according to Google Maps. For those who would rather shuttle there, Google Maps gives a 4-minute ETA.
The Ledger-Enquirer obtained feedback and survey responses through an open records request with the City of Columbus.
One person on the survey who did not specify a start or finish destination in their reply said, “we could have walked by the time I found the Metra website,” adding, “It’s worth it once you figure out the puzzle and obstacle course on the website”.
A shuttle can also be ordered by calling 706-225-4584. However, this is not advertised anywhere on the vehicle nor on the website.
The five-block-by-three-block service area makes up just a sliver of Columbus, and folks who ride the shuttle took note.
The most common piece of feedback: “expand [extend] the service area.”
One rider was particularly thankful for the ride because it helped his partner who has a disability.
“This service was very helpful for my wife who has a hard time getting around Uptown being disabled,” they wrote. “The people are friendly. I love this service!”
Two other riders wrote on the feedback survey how great, clean and safe it felt.
Another surveyor lamented and went as far as saying, “not practical, no instructions on how to cancel or communicate wait times with driver.”
Why have the EV Shuttles?
The Uptown Shuttles are the only city-associated electric vehicles, as the city of Columbus has none in it’s current fleet.
Metra put this pilot program together “to encourage the use of the public parking garages and to make travel in the Uptown area more convenient”, Rosa Evans, Metra director of transportation wrote in an email.
As for why the program opted for EVs, she added, our goal is to transition from fossil fuels to zero emissions and electric carts were found to be an energy-efficient option.
The four shuttles, costing a total of $400,000, charge at a 10-circuit plug in the River Center Garage. The carts only go up to 30 mph and take up to 8 hours to charge, Evans wrote to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The carts average between five and 20 miles per day from the trips.
There have been nearly 600 rides from January to May, which averages about four rides per day (there are no rides on Sundays but there are later rides on Friday and Saturday evening, going until 12 am.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 3:08 PM.
