Public transit has taken numerous forms in Columbus, the largest city and capital of Ohio. Transit has variously used passenger trains, horsecars, streetcars, interurbans, trolley coaches, and buses. Current service is through the Central Ohio Transit Authority's bus system, numerous intercity bus companies, and through bikeshare, rideshare, and electric scooter services.

Public transit began in Columbus with Union Station, built in 1851. The station was jointly operated by the Columbus and Xenia Railroad and the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, making it the first union station in the world. Local mass transit efforts began three years later, in 1854, with the founding of the Columbus Street Railroad Company. It only began operating in 1863, utilizing a fleet of horsecars (horse-drawn streetcars). Electric streetcars began operation in the city in 1888. Meanwhile, subsequent rail stations were built in the city, including the third Union Station, completed in 1897. Streetcars and their longer-distance interurban counterparts became prolific around this time. In the 1930s, as automobiles grew in popularity and track maintenance suffered, the streetcars were all converted to trolleybuses, taking place from 1933 to 1948. Trolleybuses only operated until 1965, themselves replaced by diesel buses. With private bus operators losing profits, bus service in Columbus was transferred over to the public Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) in 1974. Intercity rail permanently stopped serving Columbus in 1977. COTA operated traditional local bus service until the 2010s, when it began modernizing its fleet with compressed natural gas-fueled buses, redeveloped its route network, and added a downtown circulator, bus rapid transit line, wifi connectivity, contactless payments, and other modern amenities. Though resuming local or intercity rail has been proposed since the 1970s, Columbus is currently the largest city in the United States without any form of passenger rail service. Amtrak service to Columbus is proposed under the American Jobs Plan.

Historical services Intercity rail

Public transit began in Columbus with the creation of its first train station, the first Union Station. The station was located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, near The Short North neighborhood. Union Station and its predecessors served railroad passengers in Columbus from 1851 until April 28, 1977. The first station building was the first union station in the world, built in 1851. It was twelve years before any local mass transit was developed in the city. Its replacement was built from 1873 to 1875, just before demolition of the first station building. After traffic problems on High Street, as well as increased rail traffic became problematic, a new station was planned by Daniel Burnham beginning in 1893. The new station opened in 1897, and its arcade along High Street was finished in 1899. By 1928, part of the arcade was demolished. Passenger service significantly declined from the 1950s to the 1970s. The arcade was demolished in 1976 to make way for a new convention center, although it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places two years prior. Train service stopped at Union Station in 1977, and the remaining portions of the station were demolished in 1979. The demolished arcade was delisted in 1999. A portion of the arcade was saved and is the focal point of the McFerson Commons park in the nearby Arena District.

The Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad Station also served the city's Franklinton neighborhood, located near downtown. The station was built in 1895 and designed by Columbus architects Yost & Packard. It served the city from 1896, diverting services from the second Union Station, until 1930, when its services moved to the third Union Station. The Toledo and Ohio station is the only remaining rail station building in the city.

Mass transit

The first public transit in the city was the horse-drawn omnibus, utilized in 1852 to transport passengers to and from the city's first train station, and in 1853, between Columbus, Franklinton, Worthington, and Canal Winchester.

First formed in 1854, the Columbus Street Railroad Company (CSRC) was authorized by the city to build a number of lines, but nothing came about initially. Its horse-powered streetcar line first ran along High Street on June 10, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. The initial line ran for from Union Station to Mound Street. When traffic dropped off after the war, the Columbus Street Railroad Company faced financial difficulties, but started making a profit by 1868. Following the stabilization of the High Street line, the Friend Street Railroad Company was created in the same year, first reaching East Public Lane (now Parsons Avenue) and eventually reaching the Fairgrounds (now Franklin Park).

Subsequently, the North Columbus Railroad Company, East Park Place Street Railroad Company, State and Oak Street Railroad Company, and the Glenwood & Green Lawn Railroad Company were formed. The horse-powered cars were slow, but made it possible to travel to locations within the city that were beyond a comfortable walking distance. Mergers were frequent, and the Columbus Railroad Company (formerly CSRC) merged with the Friend Street Railroad Company and the East Park Place Railroad Company. The new venture was known as the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company. The State and Oak Street lines were bought by the new company in the following years. Other transit companies came and went in the late 1800s, many of which never became operative.

It was also during this era that long distance rail travel became quite popular. The High Street line faced delays of up to seven hours per day due to the level crossing of 10 heavy rail tracks across High Street at Union Station. To remedy the problem, subway tunnels were built under the tracks. They were dark, and the smell from the horse droppings made the trip unpleasant. From the period of 1863–1892, more than a dozen horsecar companies set up shop in the city, and total trackage was expanded to prior to electrification.

In 1888, the first electric powered streetcar ran on Chittenden Avenue from High Street to the State Fairgrounds. However, it was not successful initially. The first line with successful electrification was the Glenwood & Green Lawn Street Railroad (with trackage mainly along West Broad Street), which was completed in August 1890. The High Street, Long Street, and Mount Vernon Avenue lines were electrified in the following year. The advantages in speed and cleanliness quickly made equestrian power obsolete, and the last horse drawn car ran in 1892, when service fully transitioned to electric streetcars. Also in that year, yet another naming change came with the sale of the Columbus Consolidated Street Railroad Company to the newly formed "Columbus Street Railway Company" for $3,000,000. At this time, the Glenwood & Green Lawn line was acquired. In 1895, the Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company purchased an amusement park that would be known as Olentangy Park. It was located on the southern end of Clintonville. The idea behind the purchase was to increase ridership on the line during non-peak hours by providing an attractive destination at the terminus. Likewise, other transit companies built Indianola Park on North Fourth Street and Minerva Park in the village of the same name.

Notable streetcar strikes took place in 1890 and 1892. In the 1890 strike, employees sought higher pay and shorter hours. Their one-week strike was supported by the public, and led to increased wages and hour reductions from 16-hour days to 12-hour days.

In 1893, the Columbus Railway Power & Light Company was formed, controlled by E. W. Clark & Co., the same entity that controlled the Columbus Street Railway Company. The Columbus Railway Power & Light Company eventually controlled all streetcar and electric lighting business in the city.

Electric power ushered in the golden age of street traction in Columbus. In 1899, the High Street subway tunnels were replaced with a bridge which ran above the heavy rail tracks. The system was so popular that Columbus Railway Power & Light experimented with a double deck streetcar in 1914. However, the delays in loading and unloading gave the bi-level design no advantage over its standard counterpart, and the cars were quickly retired. Total trackage reached by 1916, and the system carried 66,000,000 paying passengers with an additional 16,000,000 people riding on transfer tickets that year. By 1927, streetcars ran to Bexley, Gahanna, Green Lawn Cemetery, Minerva Park, Marble Cliff, Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Worthington.

Most streetcar lines in Columbus used a broad gauge track which measured . Building non-standard gauge was sometimes used as a way to keep long distance passenger and freight railroads from accidentally or intentionally running their cars on city streets. However, some lines built in the late 1800s used the standard gauge width, such as the Worthington Line which ran long Summit Street, Hudson Avenue, Arcadia Avenue, and High Street. With the advent of the interurban, many sections of dual gauge track were built to allow the streetcars and interurbans to use the same route despite their different widths.

1910 streetcar strike

In the summer of 1910, the city experienced a large uprising. The 1910 Streetcar Strike began as peaceful protests, but led to thousands rioting throughout the city, injuring hundreds of people. Conditions for the streetcar workers were difficult. The operators worked for only 19–20 cents per hour, worked 60–65 hours per week, and worked for years without a day off. These conditions led to a high turnover rate. The Columbus Railway and Light Co. paid its riders to report on irregular employee activities, and the company wouldn't require hearings before firing employees for dishonesty. In early 1910, 35 employees of the company met with manager E.K. Stewart, requesting increased wages. The company fired the entire group as a result. In March, about half of the Columbus Railway and Light Company's employees formed a local chapter of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees labor union. The union sought the reinstatement of the 35 workers, along with pay raises, better working conditions, and job stability. The streetcar company chose a hardline position, with no compromise offered.