CINCINNATI — More neighborhoods will be able to call Metro services when they need them, thanks to an expansion of MetroNow!, the transit company's on-demand service.
The transit service is adding a new zone to its reach and will be available for residents in Bond Hill, Roselawn, St. Bernard, Wyoming, Lockland, Norwood, Arlington Heights, Carthage, North Avondale and Elmwood Place starting August 30.
Metro began pilot testing the on-demand service in 2023, testing the system out in the Northgate and Mt. Healthy areas. Since then, it has steadily expanded to include dozens of Cincinnati neighborhoods.
MetroNow! runs on an app — like ride-sharing platforms Uber and Lyft — that passengers can use to book their rides. The rides cost $2.50 per ride, and the service is offered between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
When the pilot launched, Metro announced the program's aim was to create a new public transportation system outside of the city's two types of bus services — which were only able to offer bus routes with predetermined stops and on-demand shared-ride paratransit for people with disabilities who could not use those fixed routes.
Now, MetroNow! can reach more people with accessibility needs, and the program's smaller vehicles can reach more people in neighborhoods that could be tricky for a full-sized Metro bus to navigate. The 40-foot-long buses can't reach narrower Cincinnati roads — particularly those tighter ones with parking on each side.
In October, the service added the Blue Ash/Montgomery zone as its fourth official MetroNow! zone.
Since its launch in 2023, MetroNow! has provided over 200,000 trips across its existing zones, Springdale/Sharonville, Northgate/Mt. Healthy and Forest Park/Pleasant Run.
You can learn more about MetroNow! here.
