By 1808Delaware
For most riders, transit is not just about getting from one place to another. It is about whether a bus is there when a shift ends late, when a flight lands after dark, when a student leaves campus, or when a worker needs to cross town before dawn.
That is the significance of one of the most attention-getting ideas in COTA’s draft 2027–2031 Short-Range Transit Plan: a proposed 24-hour core network. The plan is not final. It has not yet been adopted, scheduled, or guaranteed. But if approved and implemented, it would mark a major shift in how Central Ohio thinks about bus service, especially outside traditional commuting hours.
COTA describes the Short-Range Transit Plan as a five-year roadmap for service investments across Central Ohio, intended to shape decisions about what changes happen, when they happen, and how they fit within available resources. The agency says the plan is being developed with public feedback and is expected to guide service and capital investments through 2031.
The Proposed Overnight Network
At the center of the proposal is a small group of high-ridership lines that would run through the night. News coverage of the draft plan indicates that 12 routes are being considered for 24-hour operation: 1, 2, 3, 5 East, 6, 7, 8, 10, 22, 23, 34, and CMAX. Those lines would form the backbone of an overnight system, rather than extending 24-hour service to every route. In practical terms, that means COTA is looking first at corridors where all-night service could serve the greatest number of riders, connect major destinations, and provide a stronger base for the rest of the system.
Columbus Underground has reported that the 24-hour network would provide hourly overnight service on 12 routes and would be a first in COTA’s more than 50-year history.
More Than A Late-Night Add-On
The proposal is part of a broader service expansion, not a single isolated change. The draft plan also calls for about 30 percent more transit service over five years. Other elements include weekday service increases, major weekend improvements, a new hourly express route connecting Ohio State University, Downtown Columbus, and John Glenn Columbus International Airport, additional COTA//Plus zones, and upgrades to Lines 5 and 6 to frequent service.
The weekend numbers are especially notable. The proposal includes service increases of about 25 percent on weekdays, 64 percent on Saturdays, and 75 percent on Sundays. That points to a system designed less around the old nine-to-five commute and more around the way Central Ohio now works, studies, shops, travels, and gathers.
Still A Draft, Still Open For Comment
For now, the key word is proposed. COTA has been gathering public input through meetings and online engagement. Its SRTP page says virtual public engagement continues through May 15, 2026, with the draft service recommendations and survey available for review. The agency has also hosted meetings across the region to explain the proposals and collect feedback.
A separate COTA announcement described the SRTP as a five-year roadmap and said the plan is expected to be completed in June. It also emphasized that the plan will define which service investments occur, when they happen, and how they are carried out. That means riders should not expect 24-hour service to appear immediately. Any overnight network would still depend on public response, board approval, funding, operational planning, and possible changes to the draft recommendations.
A true overnight transit network would matter most to people whose lives already operate outside standard daytime schedules. That includes health care workers, hospitality employees, airport workers, students, warehouse and logistics employees, late-shift retail workers, and residents who depend on transit as their primary way to reach work, school, medical care, and daily errands.
It could also change how some Central Ohio residents view the bus system itself. A transit system that operates around the clock is not merely providing more trips. It is making a statement about reliability, access, and the needs of a region that no longer moves only during business hours.
The proposal also reflects the larger LinkUS-era conversation about mobility in Central Ohio, including expanded service, new rapid transit corridors, and better connections across a fast-growing region. COTA’s own materials frame the SRTP as a way to begin delivering on that larger vision within the resources available.
The idea on the table is straightforward but potentially transformative: in the years ahead, some of Central Ohio’s busiest bus corridors may no longer have a last trip of the night.
