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The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is a public sector transit agency serving Franklin County and the rest of the central Ohio area, which includes Columbus, as well as Bexley, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Grove City, Hilliard, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington, Westerville, Whitehall, Dublin and Worthington. Currently, COTA only manages bus service, though light-rail or streetcar service has been discussed several times in recent years. COTA's administrative offices, as well as its bus garages are located in downtown Columbus. It is managed by President and CEO W. Curtis Stitt, effective February 1, 2012, as well as a 13-member board of trustees.〔 COTA is funded by a permanent 0.25% sales tax as well as another 10-year, 0.25% sales tax which went into effect January 1, 2008. ==History== Prior to COTA, the bus service in the area was managed by the Columbus Transit Company (CTC). In 1971 the CTC was in the midst of budget problems, so in order to maintain bus service in the area, the local governments of central Ohio created COTA. COTA acquired the assets from the CTC On January 1, 1974 and began operations the same day. COTA acquired the CTC bus service for $4.8 million. In mid-1974 COTA established its Park N Ride program and sets up the first routes at area shopping centers. At that time, cash fares were 50 cents. In 1975, COTA launches the Key Card program, which provides a discount fare for those passengers with disabilities. By the summer of 1976, COTA had established 50 bus shelters. In 1977, COTA starts the Commuter Club that offers unlimited riding for $20 a month. One of the first express bus services, the Beeline, was introduced in 1979 giving passengers a speedy ride up and down High Street. That same year, planning a construction began on COTA's operations center on McKinley Ave. One year later in 1980, COTA begins to provide transportation for Red, White & BOOM! In 1992, the DayPass is introduced to allow riders unlimited trips to local and crosstown routes provided by COTA's new lift-equipped buses. Since 1997, COTA has partnered with The Ohio State University so students can show their Buck-ID and ride the new GO BUS! system hassle-free. Due to the permanent 0.25 percent sales tax to help fund public transit, ridership continues to grow over the years and increase again in 2008 due to the soaring gas prices. Also in 2008, the City of Dublin is welcomed into the COTA service territory.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Central Ohio Transit Authority」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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