CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati has established several new nighttime rideshare zones in OTR for passenger drop-off and pickup adjacent to Main Street on Central Parkway, Sycamore, 13th, and Liberty streets. 

The zones for services such as Uber and Lyft are in effect overnight Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. as of June 8. 

“We worked with Cincinnati Police, businesses and residents along Main Street to establish a redesigned rideshare experience,” said Matthew Hulme, transit coordinator for the Cincinnati Department of Transportation & Engineering. “This new configuration will benefit passengers and drivers by reducing traffic congestion and improving safety, especially during busy summer nights.”

The four new zones give passengers a designated space to wait on the sidewalk for their ride and provide drivers a safe place to pull over to wait for their customers. 

Main Street cannot be used as a drop-off or pickup area while the zones are in effect on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The restriction will be enforced by geofencing technology within rideshare apps for Uber and Lyft drivers. 

Passengers can still call for a rideshare on Main Street. However, in those cases, passengers will be directed to walk to a nearby pick-up zone to wait for their ride. Similarly, drivers will be directed to drop off their passengers in these zones through the navigation in their phone’s app.

See the map below, which shows the location of the zones. The zones also are marked on site with green and blue signs as shown in the above photo.

Please note: The city is in the process of removing old signage for rideshare on Main Street. The app for Uber and Lyft is directing users to the new zones adjacent to Main Street.

 

Outside the specified timeframe, drivers and passengers can coordinate pickup and drop-off in curbside parking spots. 

To provide a more comprehensive traffic-management and safety solution, the city removed former zones on Main Street and on 12th Street between Main and Sycamore. 

The city has similar rideshare zones in effect near The Banks, with drivers and passengers coordinating drop-offs and pickups in designated areas away from congested areas closest to the stadiums and Freedom Way. 

Rideshare zones are common in airports and large venues in cities across the United States to help manage traffic flow and maintain safety.

Downloadable File of the Above Main Street Rideshare Map