Metro Now to add Forest Park zone March 17, city told

Emmy Randall, senior manager for transit planning and Mobility on Demand at Cincinnati Metro, told the Forest Park City Council on March 4 that Metro Now will expand the Springdale/Sharonville zone to include parts of Forest Park beginning March 17.

The Metro Now pilot uses small, wheelchair-accessible vans that seat eight with room for two wheelchairs and up to four child seats, Randall said. Fares are a flat $2 each way; trips must start and end within a designated zone and can be booked through the Metro Now app or by calling dispatch. Troy Miller, Metros government relations liaison, thanked the county and Forest Park for supporting the tax measure that enabled the pilot.

Metro reported more than 20,000 rides from launch through December and about 1,000 individual riders. Randall said February saw roughly 5,200 rides and an on-time performance that is "98% of the time it's either on time or within four minutes," which Metro cited as evidence the service is reliable for appointments and job access.

"What I'm very excited to share is that we're going to be expanding the Springdale Sharonville Zone into Forest Park," Randall said, describing a boundary that will include Forest Park Square, the Kroger, the city building and Central Park and extend to the I-275 interchange commercial node. She said app boundaries and printed flyers will be updated and available to the public.

Metro also plans adjustments to the Northgate/Mt. Healthy zone (a slight southern boundary expansion) and will extend daily hours to 9:00 p.m. beginning March 17 to better capture evening trips, Randall said. Staff told council vans for additional pilot zones have been ordered and could arrive in summer, after which Metro hopes to launch a larger zone that would cover the full Forest Park community.

Council members asked about coverage for newer western developments; Randall said the current March 17 expansion covers a substantial portion of the city while a later Zone D launch is intended to cover the remainder. Metro staff encouraged municipal communications help and offered to provide materials for Forest Parks social channels.

Metro will monitor ridership trends after the March 17 launch and adjust service and boundaries as part of the pilot evaluation.