Cincinnati's first bus rapid transit system is roughly six months from breaking ground, Metro's Sharyn LaCombe told a Cincinnati City Council committee in a presentation summarized in the latest Cincinnati Documenters notes. LaCombe, senior director for BRT and design, described the service as carrying a light-rail outlook; she appeared with Khaled Shammout, Metro's project deputy innovation and vision officer, before the Climate, City Services and Infrastructure Committee.
Two corridors are planned. Reading Road runs 9.2 miles with 13 stations; Hamilton Avenue runs 8.8 miles with 11 stations. Metro expects travel times on both to fall by 20%. Agency figures put current ridership on the Reading Road corridor's 43 line at 4,000 to 5,000 riders daily, with 6,000 to 7,000 projected once MetroRapid opens. LaCombe also sketched a scenario in which a bus would arrive every five minutes between the University of Cincinnati and The Banks riverfront.
The roughly $350 million budget combines federal grants with revenue from Hamilton County's 2020 Issue 7 levy, a 0.08% sales tax. MetroRapid is among 11 projects nationwide awaiting Federal Transit Administration approval. Construction is also to include 5.82 miles of street resurfacing, upgrades to 62 pedestrian crossings within two miles of stations, audio features for riders with hearing impairments, and 60-foot buses, larger than the standard 40-foot coach.
Council Member Mark Jeffreys asked whether a 20% goal was ambitious enough, citing reported reductions of 26% in Cleveland, 33% in Richmond, Virginia, and 50% in Hartford, Connecticut. Shammout said right-of-way limits and other factors shape the estimate, and that Metro chose a conservative first target it can refine later. Metro spokesperson Bradley Mason said the agency coordinates with Cincinnati's transportation department, North College Hill and Mount Healthy, which have reviewed early design stages.