Cincinnati is one of the largest cities in the state of Ohio with a population of over 333,000. It is said to be one of the most expensive cities in America from the point of view of internal transportation and the residents spend as much as 20% of their income in daily commutation. Therefore if you are planning a travel to Cincinnati, OH, read on for some general points that you need to keep in consideration.

Cincinnati unlike most other big cities in USA does not have its subway or light rail system. Since WWI, there have been several attempts to build such public transportation system but none of the plans have been successful so far. Although the city government does have a streetcar line system to connect Cincinnati downtown to the University of Cincinnati and Over the Rhine areas, these plans are yet to be fully implemented. Hence you would need to rely on road transportation when in the city.

One of the best solutions to get around the city is to take a rental car while you are in Cincinnati. The good news is that at most times of the day the traffic in most Greater Cincinnati traffic routes are not too congested. Most routes report a 0 minute delay in the traffic. The only exceptions are the roads on which there are some constructions going on. Currently such delay has been reported only in the southbound route of Veterans Highway to Norwood Lateral.

If you want to rely on the local bus systems, you can choose from the TANK and METRO Bus Systems. The TANK system services mostly the southern parts of the city and links to the Downtown area whereas the METRO system serves in other parts of the city.

Click on the links below for more info about Cincinnati traffic:

Cincinnati Transportation on Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati#Transportation

Cincinnati Car Rental Options

http://www.hellocincinnati.com/car_rentals.cfm

Cincinnati Traffic Routes and Congestion

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=TRAFFIC

Cincinnati Public Bus Services

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60993-s303/Cincinnati:Ohio:Public.Transportation.html

Being trap in annoying rush hour traffic seems to be unavoidable in the city and Cincinnati, Ohio is no exception. And if travelling during rush hour is really necessary there are a few tips which enable you to avoid the traffic in the 3rd largest city of Ohio.

If it's possible to take the Metro or more commonly known as SORTA which stands for Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority to get to where you are planning to go on rush hour, this will help you avoid traffic and even arrive on your destination point on time.

SORTA Routes

http://www.go-metro.com/maps.html

You may also try out some alternative routes during rush hour. Avoid taking the freeway like I-7 or I-75 where traffic is usually heaviest during rush hour. Have a map and get yourself be familiarized with it. You can also check a real time traffic update on some main street of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Traffic Report

http://www.traffic.com/Cincinnati-Traffic/Cincinnati-Traffic-Reports.html

Cincinnati map

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Cincinnati&state=OH

Usually accident or road closure makes the rush hour even worst. Make sure you know the latest traffic update if possible on the street you're about to take. Planning out other routes you can take is the best thing to do to prepare yourself with this type of situation.

Cincinnati Live Traffic Update

http://www.wcpo.com/subindex/traffic

Know if there are street widening happening or road closure around the area you are about to take. And if it's really impossible to avoid being stuck in traffic better make the most of it by having a good music to listen to or an audio book of your favorite novel.