If you are moving to Columbus for work and will be working downtown, you may be one of the lucky few who will get free daily transportation on the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA).

A test program is set to launch this year, which will grant 1,050 downtown employees free rides on COTA. Critics have fired back at the plan, saying that the five companies in which the employees work at are “filthy rich people” and that COTA is already unaffordable for regular “working folks” because it’s upkeep caters to the upper class. (as said via a comment from Fred Franklinton on the Columbus Dispatch’s article).

However, there is no evidence that the free rides are going to any employee of a specific pay grade, and the free rides can benefit those who work in the city and are not able to currently afford to take COTA to work every day. The initiative originally was created in order to encourage new companies to join the downtown city center, freeing up parking spaces for the new companies’ employees.

Executive Director of the Capital Crossroads special improvement district Cleve Ricksecker, said that they ultimately want to free up as much parking as possible, and allow even more downtown employees to ride COTA for free. “The challenge we face right now is, how do we accommodate more people?” he said. “As parking facilities fill up, we need to look at alternatives and more parking.”

If you work for Nationwide Insurance, Bricker & Eckler LLP, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP, Huntington Bank, and State Auto Financial in downtown Ohio, and you are moving to Columbus to be closer to work, you may be eligible to ride the COTA for free, just check with your company.