Fares could be coming on the Cbus Downtown circulator. The Central Ohio Transit Authority is considering raising bus fares for the first time in three years, and it is proposing a 50-cent fare for the free circulator that started shuttling passengers between the Short North and the Brewery District in May. COTA's proposal includes a 25-cent increase on local and express lines, which would raise the cost of a one-way trip to $2.25 and $3, respectively. If approved by COTA's board, the fare hike would take effect Jan. 1.

COTA�s free � and hugely popular � Downtown circulator might not be free for much longer.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority is proposing a 50-cent fare for its Cbus line as part of a broader plan to raise fares on buses for the first time in three years. The circulator started running between the Short North and the Brewery District in May.

When Cbus launched, COTA officials said that they needed businesses and/or community groups to cover part of the operating costs if free fares were going to be maintained into 2015. That hasn�t happened, said spokesman Marty Stutz.

COTA�s fare proposal also includes a 25-cent increase on local and express lines, which would raise the cost of a one-way trip to $2.25 and $3, respectively. If approved by COTA�s board, the increases would take effect Jan. 1.

�(The fare increase) enables us to continue growing our service and improving our service,� Stutz said.

Funding for the bus agency comes from two main sources: fares and a pair of sales-tax levies. The 0.5 percent sales tax is split between a permanent levy and a temporary tax, which expires in 2016.

Stutz said COTA tries to fund about 20 percent of operations through fares. As the bus network expands and costs rise, so must fares, he said.

The sales tax generated more than $111 million for COTA in 2013 compared with about $20 million from fares. Fares covered about 20 percent of the $100.3 million COTA spent on operations.

Cbus costs about $1.3 million a year to operate, and CEO Curtis Stitt has said the authority needs to generate about 10 percent of that from outside sources to subsidize free fares.

Previous circulator routes have required fares, but they were discontinued for lack of ridership. So far, 250,000 rides have been taken on Cbus, a number that exceeds expectations.

But part of its allure is that it�s free, said Betsy Pandora, executive director of the Short North Alliance.

�It�s been a really low-barrier form of transit,� she said. �Introducing a fare could impose a barrier.�

New forms of accepting payment, such as fare boxes that accept credit cards or cellphone payments, could make it easier to ride all COTA routes, including the Cbus, said Josh Lapp, vice chair of Transit Columbus.

�There will be some set of people who won�t ride the (Cbus), not necessarily because the 50 cents is an outrageous amount of money, but it takes away a little bit of the convenience factor,� he said.

COTA is looking at new payment methods but has not decided to replace fare boxes on its buses, Stutz said.

�We live in a cashless society, so it�s just going to be difficult for people who aren�t used to riding the bus to remember to bring 50 cents,� Lapp said.

The first of four public meetings to discuss the proposed increases is scheduled for noon Thursday at COTA headquarters, 33 N. High St.

Three other meetings are scheduled: at noon Tuesday and at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23 and Oct. 29 at the same location.

rrouan@dispatch.com

@RickRouan

@Crawlumbus