CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering and the University of Cincinnati School of Planning have launched a survey about the streetcar to assess ridership trends and service quality.

“The results of this survey will help us establish a baseline to better understand what we can do to improve service, meet the needs of our passengers and identify obstacles that may be preventing potential riders from using the Connector,” said Lori Burchett, the city’s deputy director for streetcar services.

The survey is available online and open to all. In addition, poll takers plan to survey riders and non-riders in person at various times over the next two months. 

Burchett is conducting the survey with the help of UC professor Christopher Auffrey and assistant professor Sangyong Cho in the School of Planning, College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Auffrey and Cho helped develop survey questions and will support the city’s streetcar staff with in-person poll taking and analysis of results. 

The survey includes questions that address a variety of topics relevant to current riders and those who have never ridden the streetcar or don’t use it regularly.

The city will share the survey link on social media and, to encourage participation, conduct random drawings for prizes donated by area businesses and organizations.

The survey comes as ridership on the Connector has posted record passenger counts for two consecutive years. Total ridership increased 30.9 percent in 2023 to 1,108,092 compared to 2022, the previous annual record with 846,622 passengers. Before the most recent two years, the streetcar’s annual record was 571,601 passengers in 2017, its first full calendar year in operation. 

The city, which owns the streetcar, took over day-to-day management of the system from the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) in January 2020. The streetcar travels 3.6 miles between OTR and The Banks via the Central Business District. It operates 365 days a year and has been free to ride since September 2020.