COTA Line 30 Will Serve Hilliard, Not Dublin, in September

COTA’s finalized September 2026 service plan puts Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Ohio State and downtown on the new Line 30, with buses every 30 minutes seven days a week. Contrary to the earlier CREN headline, Dublin is not on Line 30; it receives a separate extended Line 1 connection.

The final route differs from the early concept

COTA’s current service-change page says Line 30 will begin in September 2026. The route is planned to serve Hilliard, Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center and Carmenton Innovation District, then continue downtown.

The agency describes all-day service every 30 minutes, seven days a week. Exact trip times and stops should be checked against the final timetable when COTA publishes it.

Dublin uses another line

Early planning materials described a possible Line 30 connection involving Dublin. COTA’s finalized information instead extends Line 1 to Ohio State Outpatient Care Dublin and downtown.

That correction materially changes the original article. Dublin riders may gain a direct connection, but it is not provided by Line 30 under the September plan.

The budget is larger than one route

The COTA 2026 budget announcement funded approximately 94,000 additional service hours, 42 new operators, 38 buses and 30 COTA Plus vans. It also described 37 sidewalk and bikeway projects connected with the LinkUS program.

Those are budgeted resources and planned projects, not a guarantee that every service-hour or infrastructure target has already been delivered.

Transit does not prove a property-value effect

A new route changes access for people whose origins, destinations and schedules match it. The available COTA materials do not measure Line 30’s effect on rents, home values or car ownership.

WOSU’s LinkUS reporting also shows that separate rapid-transit projects have their own schedules and uncertainties. Line 30 should not be treated as proof that every LinkUS component is on the same timetable.

What to verify next

The next checkpoints are the final Line 30 map and timetable, the first day of service and COTA’s ridership and on-time-performance reports after launch. Those records will show how the route operates in practice and whether later adjustments are needed.