Riverfront Transit Center

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Riverfront Transit Center
Street level entrance to the Transit Center
General information
Coordinates39°05′53″N 84°30′41″W / 39.09806°N 84.51139°W / 39.09806; -84.51139
Owned byCity of Cincinnati
PlatformsSide platform
Construction
ParkingYes (2011)[1]
AccessibleYes
History
Opened2002
Location
Photo of the transit center in use during Blink Cincinnati 2024.

The Riverfront Transit Center is a rarely used[2] multi-modal transportation center currently used as a local bus and commuter bus hub for TANK and SORTA during special events,[3] in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, near Great American Ballpark and The Banks project.[4] It runs alongside the Fort Washington Way freeway trench. The center was completed in 2003[5] and has the capacity to handle up to 500 buses and 20,000 people per hour, for use during sporting or other special events.[6]

History

The Riverfront Transit Center was constructed as part of the reconstruction of Fort Washington Way, which began in July 1998. The transit center itself was completed and first used for Cincinnati Riverfest in September 2002, with an official opening ceremony following in 2003.[4] The total cost for the transit center was estimated at $18 million. It features an 800 foot long mosaic mural called “Daily Icons” by local artist Chad Scholten, and a bronze of William DeHart Hubbard, a Cincinnati native who was the first African-American to win an individual Olympic gold medal.[7]

Oasis rail

The Riverfront Transit Center was also proposed to serve as the downtown terminal station for the planned Oasis Rail Transit[8] connecting Cincinnati to Milford.[9] The rail project was cancelled when the Ohio Department of Transportation removed its funding for the project in a memo circulated in January 2016.[10]

Current and planned service

The Riverfront Transit Center is currently used by one SORTA route, Metro Plus.[11][7] It is supplementally used for charter bus parking during Reds and Bengals games, commuter parking, and for diverted TANK and SORTA bus routes when Government Square has been closed for the BLINK festival.[12][13] It is also planned to be used for the upcoming bus rapid transit service, called "Metro Rapid."


See also

  • Cincinnati Subway, a set of partially completed, derelict tunnels and stations for a rapid transit system beneath the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio.

References

  1. "Baker Concrete wins $22M contract for Banks garage - Dayton Business Journal". dayton.bizjournals.com. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  2. Key, Jennie (18 September 2018). "Remember the Riverfront Transit Center? Now it's closed and will cost $1.2M to fix". The Enquirer. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  3. "News". pbworld.com. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  4. "RIVERFRONT TRANSIT CENTER". cincinnati-transit.net. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  5. "CINCINNATI'S NEW RIVERFRONT TRANSIT CENTER: UNIQUE APPROACH TO SERVING THE MIDWEST'S LARGEST SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT VENUE - TRB Publications Index". pubsindex.trb.org. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  6. Horstman, Ryan (4 July 2009). "Transit center: Bust or bargain". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.
  7. "Riverfront Transit Center" (PDF). Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  8. "Oasis Rail Transit Overview". The Eastern Corridor. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  9. "Recent Cincinnati Commuter Rail and Light Rail Planning". cincinnati-transit.net. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  10. Williams, Jason (6 February 2016). "Memo: State moving on from East Side railway". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
  11. "METRO PLUS" (PDF). Go Metro. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  12. "OKI Wanna Know: What lies beneath downtown Cincinnati?". WVXU. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  13. Rinehart, Bill (30 September 2022). "Metro and TANK will be free during BLINK to encourage people to leave their cars at home". WVXU. Retrieved 27 March 2026.