Updated: July 25, 2026
In this guide
Columbus has grown into a major city, but one thing still sets it apart from many others its size: there’s no subway, no passenger trains, and no light rail. For a place that’s seen explosive growth in recent decades, that gap in transit infrastructure feels more noticeable than ever.
So how did we get here? The story goes back more than a century, from a bustling streetcar network to decades of car-first planning, with a handful of bold transit ideas that came close but never quite happened.
The short answer: Columbus grew up on streetcars, tore them out for buses by 1948, and every rail plan since, from a 1987 downtown monorail to light rail studies in the 2000s, died before construction. Columbus is now the largest city in the United States with no passenger rail service of any kind.
From Horsecars to Electric Streetcars
Public transit in Columbus began in 1852 with horse-drawn omnibuses, evolving into horse-drawn streetcars along major corridors like High Street. By 1892, the city had fully electrified its system, positioning Columbus as a leader in early urban mobility.
At its peak, the streetcar network extended over 70 miles, connecting downtown to suburbs such as Bexley, Upper Arlington, and Worthington. These lines significantly influenced the city’s growth patterns.
READ MORE: This 1965 Video Of Columbus Shows Off Our Old Trolley Bus System
The Bus Era and the Formation of COTA
In the mid-20th century, Columbus, like many American cities, traded its streetcars for buses. The last streetcar ran in 1948, and the electric trolley buses that replaced it held on until 1965. The privately owned Columbus Transit Company ran the system from 1949 until 1974. When the company hit financial trouble, local governments created COTA in 1971, and on January 1, 1974, the new authority bought the company for $4.8 million and took over service. Today COTA’s territory covers 27 municipalities and 17 townships across five counties.
Today, COTA operates 39 fixed bus routes, including the CMAX rapid line on Cleveland Avenue and Mainstream paratransit service. Riders took more than 12 million trips in 2025, still below the pre-pandemic peak of about 19 million but climbing again.
READ MORE: A Bus Rapid Transit Program Could Change The Way Columbus Commutes
1987 Downtown Monorail Proposal
Back in 1987, Columbus was seriously considering a downtown monorail. The idea was to build a sleek, elevated system that would connect downtown to Port Columbus (now John Glenn International Airport).
The goal? Cut down on traffic and give the city a big-league transit option. Renderings even showed a looping system gliding above Broad and High.
But like so many big ideas in Columbus transit history, it never got off the ground. The plan fizzled out before it could reach the funding or political support it needed, and the city stuck with buses instead.
READ MORE: The Monorail That Could Have Changed Columbus Forever
The monorail wasn’t the only close call. COTA asked voters for a sales tax to fund rail in 1999 and lost. A 13 mile light rail line from downtown to the north side got serious study in the 2000s, then died in 2006 when federal funding fell through.
Absence of a Subway System
Despite various transit initiatives, Columbus has never had a subway system. While there were tunnels under Union Station in the 19th century, they were intended for pedestrian and streetcar use, not as part of a subterranean rail network.
One wrinkle for trivia lovers: old Columbus newspapers did use the word “subway.” It meant the streetcar and pedestrian underpasses beneath the rail viaduct at Union Station, not an underground railroad. The 1875 tunnel was so dark and foul that only horsecar passengers used it, and a spare mule waited at the entrance to haul cars up the grade.
READ MORE: The Fantasy Columbus Transit Map Has Been Updated And It’s Breathtaking
Columbus Transit History Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
| 1852 | First horse-drawn omnibuses carry passengers |
| 1863 | Horse-drawn streetcars begin running on High Street |
| 1890–1892 | Streetcar system goes electric |
| 1916 | Streetcar peak: 71 miles of track, 66 million riders |
| 1933–1948 | Streetcars replaced by electric trolley buses |
| 1965 | Last trolley buses retire; the fleet goes all-diesel |
| 1974 | COTA takes over from the Columbus Transit Company |
| 1979 | Last passenger train leaves Columbus |
| 1987 | Downtown monorail proposed, then shelved |
| 1999 | Voters reject a sales tax for rail |
| 2006 | North Side light rail study ends without federal funding |
| 2018 | CMAX, the first rapid bus line, opens on Cleveland Avenue |
| 2024 | Issue 47 passes, funding the LinkUS bus rapid transit plan |
| 2028–2029 | West Broad Street BRT targeted to open |
Columbus Subway FAQ
Does Columbus have a subway or light rail?
No. Columbus has never had a subway, and there is no light rail. Public transit is COTA’s bus network, including the CMAX rapid line on Cleveland Avenue. The LinkUS plan funds bus rapid transit corridors, not rail.
What is the largest US city without passenger rail?
Columbus. No Amtrak trains have served the city since 1979, making it the largest city in the country without any passenger rail service.
Will Columbus ever get passenger trains?
Maybe. Two proposed Amtrak routes, one connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati and one linking Columbus to Chicago and Pittsburgh, are in federal planning. The earliest projected service is the early 2030s, and construction money isn’t committed yet.
What is LinkUS?
LinkUS is Central Ohio’s voter-approved transit plan, funded by the sales tax increase that passed in November 2024. It pays for bus rapid transit on West Broad Street, East Main Street, and a Northwest corridor, plus more frequent service and hundreds of miles of sidewalks and bike paths.
What’s Next For Transit in Columbus?
COTA still does the heavy lifting, running buses across a 562 square mile service area. But the bigger story changed in November 2024, when Franklin County voters passed Issue 47 with 57% of the vote. The measure doubled COTA’s share of the sales tax from 0.5% to 1% and funds LinkUS, a multibillion dollar plan to remake Central Ohio transit through 2050.
One earlier promise already got walked back: COTA paused electric bus purchases in 2026 after recalls and range problems, and is buying compressed natural gas buses instead.
The centerpiece is bus rapid transit: buses with dedicated lanes and train-style stations. The first line, on West Broad Street, has cleared federal environmental review and was targeted to open in late 2028, though COTA now calls that timeline fluid after a projected delay. Lines on East Main Street and a Northwest corridor are next in the pipeline, and buses already run past midnight on every major route.
Intercity trains are creeping closer too. Columbus is still the largest city in America without passenger rail, but two proposed Amtrak routes are in federal planning: one linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati, the other connecting Columbus to Chicago and Pittsburgh. The earliest realistic arrival is the early 2030s, and nothing is funded for construction yet.
So the subway never happened, and light rail isn’t on the table either. What Columbus chose instead, a century after the streetcars peaked, is the biggest bus system it has ever built.
