The 2 E Main / N High is a Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) bus service in Columbus, Ohio. The line operates on High Street, the city's main north-south thoroughfare.
| 2 E Main / N High | |
|---|---|
 A 1975 GMC T6H-5307A serving 2 Main-N. High c. 1980 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Central Ohio Transit Authority |
| Vehicle | Gillig Low Floor CNG-fueled, 40-ft buses |
| Status | In service |
| Route | |
| Route type | Frequent local service |
| Locale | Columbus, Ohio |
| Communities served | Clintonville, Old North Columbus, University District, The Short North, Downtown Columbus, Near East Side, Bexley, East Columbus, Whitehall, Reynoldsburg |
| Start | N. High & Fenway (Clintonville) |
| Via | High St. E. Mound St. E. Main St. |
| End | Hanson & E. Main (Reynoldsburg) |
| Service | |
| Frequency | 15 minutes or better |
| Operates | 7 days per week |
| Timetable | 2 E Main/N High timetable |
| Map | 2 E Main/N High route map |
The 2 replaced High and Main Streets streetcar lines, both of which were early streetcars line in Columbus. These lines initially served Columbus with horsecars, and horse-drawn omnibuses followed a similar route. The horsecars were replaced with electric streetcars around the 1890s, and later with trolleybuses. In the mid-20th century, the trolleybus line was replaced with a bus line similar to the modern-day 2 E Main / N High.
Attributes
editThe 2 route was the highest-trafficked in 1987[1] and 1999.[2]
In 2008, facing overcrowding, service was doubled on the line.[3] and expanded again in 2019.[4]
The Night Owl line (formerly 21 Night Owl[5]) supplements 2 E Main / N High with late-night service along High Street,[6] while the 102 (formerly 2L) provides limited-stop service from Broad and High north to Westerville.
The route is frequented by Ohio State University students, as the campus is on the transit line. In 2000, about a fifth of the average weekday riders on the routes were OSU students.[7]
History
edit
The first mass transit in Columbus was a horsecar line, which operated along a two-mile stretch on High Street beginning in 1863. The line ran from Union Station at Naughten Street (now Nationwide Boulevard) south to Livingston Avenue.[8]
An initiative from about 2006 to 2009 proposed to bring streetcars back to Columbus. The Columbus Streetcar was proposed for three different routes; the most popular would have been a 2.1-mile route from German Village to the Short North via High Street (the same route the CBUS utilizes today). The Great Recession affected the city's budget, and paired with a failure to acquire state or federal funding, forced the plan to be cut.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Columbus Dispatch News Article". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Columbus Dispatch News Article". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Columbus Dispatch News Article". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Columbus Dispatch News Article". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ Evans, Walker (August 21, 2013). "COTA Launches Late Night High Street Bus Service on Thursdays". Columbus Underground.
- ^ Warren, Brent (February 4, 2020). "UPDATED: COTA to Increase Frequency on 3 Lines, NightOwl to Stay". Columbus Underground.
- ^ "Columbus Dispatch News Article". Columbus Metropolitan Library. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ Ionne, Joe (March 11, 1973). "Public Transportation: Its Ups and Downs in Columbus". The Columbus Dispatch Magazine: 292–296. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
- ^ Rosenberg, Gabe (November 23, 2016). "Curious Cbus: What Happened To Columbus's Streetcars?". WOSU News.
