Columbus might be a "smart city" of the future, but it's struggling in the present to maintain intercity transportation options, according to a new national study.

Columbus and Phoenix are identified as the most prominent "pockets of pain" in the country because of their lack of express bus service (such as Megabus, which left Columbus in January) or Amtrak service (Columbus lost passenger rail in the 1970s).

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DePaul University's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development released the study Wednesday, focusing on large cities that lack rail and express bus connections to other major cities. Other cities that came up short include Akron and Dayton in Ohio, as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fort Myers, Florida.

"Columbus has been cursed in terms of ground transportation, largely because of geography," said Joseph Schwieterman, co-author of the study and director of the Chaddick Institute. "It's a little far from cities such as Chicago and Washington to make bus service a good success."

Among the study's findings:

• Cleveland-to-Columbus is the fourth-busiest route (ones with the most point-to-point travel) in the country that lacks both intercity express bus service and rail service.

• Chicago-to-Columbus is the seventh-busiest such route.

"The study validates what we already knew: The central Ohio region does have gaps in ground transportation options for passengers connecting to other regions," William Murdock, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, said in a written statement. "That is why we are working hard with our community partners across four states, including Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

"These efforts include a Columbus-to-Chicago passenger rail connection and the Midwest Connect Hyperloop Corridor (Pittsburgh to Chicago via Columbus), as well as (other) regional efforts."

The low cost of gasoline, making driving cars an inexpensive transportation option, is a major cause for the loss of intercity bus service in particular, Schwieterman said. Megabus cited that as a factor when it left Columbus in January. Ridership typically increases on both city buses and intercity ones when gas prices shoot up.

There is wide agreement that gasoline taxes eventually will have to go up to help fund aging road infrastructure, Schwieterman said.

He cautioned that though pricier gas could lead more people to consider taking buses, it could be a "double whammy" for bus operators, as ridership gains could be offset by higher fuel costs to operate their fleets.

Columbus was among the cities that lost passenger rail service in the 1970s, after years of decline in ridership and as government-funded Amtrak took over the operations of a number of private railroads. Today, northern and southern Ohio maintain Amtrak service through the major cities of Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati, but the rest of the state lacks connections.

Having alternative modes of transportation is often cited as an economic-development benefit for cities. It makes a city more attractive to younger workers in particular, who tend to be more averse to commuting by private car, and gives a boost to the visitor economy, among other things.

If central Ohioans hope that its Smart City designation will help remedy this deficit in the short run, they're mistaken.

As the winner of last year's national Smart City Challenge, Columbus was awarded $40 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation and $10 million by Vulcan Inc. Another $90 million has been pledged by a Columbus public-private partnership, bringing the total to $140 million.

But the projects being funded by that money are technology and data driven, with the money not meant to be applied directly to developing conventional rail or bus service.

Even so, Schwieterman said the Smart City projects can only help.

"Innovation in urban areas could morph into providing true intercity service," Schwieterman said. "It's only a matter of time before services like Uber and Lyft start offering van service between cities, for example."

At the same time, Schwieterman said there's a need to address other ways to resolve a city's transportation issues.

Schwieterman said the federal government should track ridership of private express bus services the way it does with airline passengers, to better understand the demand on various routes. He also would like to see local governments encourage bus service by helping companies establish convenient curbside stops and possibly by providing incentives to spruce up bus stations such as Greyhound's Downtown location.

"Some people will consider an express bus, but are resistant to taking Greyhound," Schwieterman said. "It's a culture change."

To see the full study, go to http://bit.ly/2xd2LEb

mrose@dispatch.com

@MarlaMRose