No Rolling in OH

Someone asked me this week how life without a car is working out. I said, "Not as well here as it has other places."

Don't let the cute logo fool you.
Cincy's transit authority is
called SORTA for good reason,
as in: "Do you have transit here?"
"Yeah, SORTA." Image source.

By design, most things I need to go to are within a two-mile radius. The furthest I generally go afield is on a long run--certainly not for regular life stuff like work or groceries. (Thank goodness!) I'm incredibly lucky to have been able to build my life this way. Plenty of folks around here are not so lucky, and the Cincinnati transit system is failing them, I'm afraid. (Transit across Ohio is pretty well the pits. It's not just Cincy. Plus there's this thing happening to do with Medicaid and transit funding in Ohio, which will end with even less cash for Ohio public transportation. Boo.)

Like about half of America, my existing dissatisfaction with Uber finally reached a boiling point last week and I switched ride-sharing services. Truth be told, I would have moved to Lyft long ago, except when I first moved here they didn't go where I needed to go. Now that I've contracted my mobility needs and they've expanded their coverage, Lyft works just fine.

Except it doesn't. Ride sharing fills a gap for me and others who are able to pay for it, but doesn't address the underlying issue of insufficient transit. It's not a long-term solution for any city to rely on, and it's not a long-term solution this human wants to rely on, either. Cincinnati, and indeed Ohio, needs to get serious about transit or risk the continued population exodus from folks who are chasing not only good jobs, but also quality of life that includes a range of transportation options. This is hardly a new idea, and I'm puzzled as to why Ohio is taking so long to get on board. Even Texas is doing better than this, for goodness' sake.

No one should be left behind only because car ownership is out of reach. But right now, that's exactly what's happening in Ohio.