COTA Ridership Falling In 2013

Officials at the Columbus area bus agency are trying to figure out why ridership has dropped 2.5 percent through the first five months of the year. Central Ohio Transit Authority officials say one culprit is Ohio State University's switch to semesters, with spring exams ending at the end of April, a month earlier than a year ago. COTA provided about 7.7 million rides through May compared to about 7.9 million during the same period in 2012. COTA was considered the country's fastest-growing transit agency in 2011 with 18.8 million rides. Ridership has declined since then, with the agency blaming an operators' strike and a crackdown on Ohio State students using inactive identification cards for a 2012 decline.