Metro is nearing completion of its new comprehensive transit plan. Throughout the year, the nonprofit, tax-funded transit company has worked on Way to Go, a plan with short-term and long-term goals meant to revamp lines for faster, wider-ranging travel. The plan, which is the first comprehensive plan since the late 1990s and early 2000s, has a short-term part and a long-term portion. Both parts came together with a lot of community feedback gathered through on-board surveys, stop-by-stop analyses, online surveys, special event surveys and public meetings. Sallie Hilvers, spokesperson for Metro, says the plan has a lot of little changes to stops and lines, but she emphasized some key parts. In the short term, the plan will establish more crosstown connections, which will bring together different parts of Cincinnati so traveling requires fewer downtown transfers. Metro will also make a few changes to improve frequency of travel in major corridors like Montgomery Road, Reading Road and Vine Street, while shortening travel times all around. For the short term, “We don’t have a lot of big changes,” Hilvers says. “No routes are going away. There’s no fare increase associated with this. It’s simply reallocating the resources.” The long-term plan has bigger, more expansive changes. The biggest part is probably the bus rapid transit system (BRT), which will allow quicker travel in major corridors by using traffic signal priority, fewer stops and special bus lanes. Stops will be getting a makeover in some areas to be more comfortable for passengers waiting for transfers. There will also be changes to improve service at current stops, add more crosstown routes and add more routes that go beyond downtown and into dense areas with lots of jobs. The long-term plan is currently unfunded, but public opinion will help establish and reshape priorities before any money is attached. Hilvers says Metro will be doing a “demonstration project” for BRT next year. In the demo, buses will “dart across” the Montgomery Road corridor, Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati and downtown. The plan will help gauge the popularity of the idea, says Hilvers: “It gives us a test to see how people like this. If they really like the concept, then we can maybe go for federal funding, etc. to go for the full-blown BRT in the future.” “You just have to have a vision of where you’re going,” Hilvers says. “This is our vision of where we’re going. We have to know from the community what it wants to ultimately support.” Metro is still taking public feedback for the Way to Go until the end of the year. More information on the plan and how to provide feedback can be found at www.go-metro.com/about-metro/way-to-go.

Anyone who's ever tried to hail a cab in Cincinnati knows it's nothing like the experience you imagine in a big city — stepping out confidently onto the street and gracefully waving your arm isn't usually enough to garner the attention or interest of cab drivers around here. In fact, hailing a cab in the city was illegal until last spring, when City Council lifted the ban.In line with the city's efforts to improve urban infrastructure and bolster methods of transportation, City Council today will vote on a proposal brought forth by Councilman Wendell Young, which would raise taxicab fares in an effort to improve taxi transportation standards across the city.According to Young, the reform is a necessary measure to handle the growth and development in Cincinnati. "I want to be sure that the first and the last impression of our city that these visitors have, which is often a cab ride, be a first-rate experience. Our taxi industry needs reform, and this event helped spark an urgency and an energy to get the work done," said Young in a news release last fall, according to the Business Courier. If approved, the taxi reform would create additional taxi stands in areas with the greatest demand, including Over-the-Rhine, the Banks, University of Cincinnati, Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park Square and Oakley Square. Business standards would also be put into place, including mandating training for all taxi drivers, creating a "Bill of Rights and Expectations" for drivers and customers, standardizing signage and expanding an already-existing taxi hotline. Fees would also increase significantly — the plan would implement a 40-cent jump in rates per mile, up to $2 per mile from $1.60. The initial "drop" fee would also change from $3.40 to $4. City Council will vote on the reform tonight. If it's approved, the changes would take effect July 1, just three days before the beginning the World Choir Games, which is expected to bring an influx of thousands of international visitors.  Want to see how Cincinnati's proposed fares stack up? A look at cab fares in a few other cities around the country: New York City : $2.50 upon entry, plus $0.40 for each 1/5 mile, plus several applicable surcharges Chicago : $2.25 upon entry (first 1/9 mile), plus $0.20 for each 1/9 mile, plus applicable surcharges Los Angeles: $2.85 upon entry (first 1/9 mile) plus $0.30 for each 1/9 mile, plus applicable surcharges. Portland : $2.50 upon entry, $2.50 per additional mile, plus applicable surcharges Atlanta: $2.50 upon entry, $2 per additional mile  * Keep in mind it's customary everywhere to tip your cab driver 15 to 20 percent.