College campuses
Towing near Ohio State campus, for students and the parents who get the call
Jump starts, lockouts and flatbed tows across Ohio State's campus and the University District, plus long hauls home when the school year ends.
- Open 24/7, 365 days
- Flatbed-only fleet
- Price quoted before dispatch
- Licensed & insured
Ohio State packs tens of thousands of cars into one square of north Columbus: commuter lots on West Campus, structured garages along Lane Avenue and Tuttle Park Place, and thousands more parked on the side streets between High Street and the Olentangy. When one of them won't start, the driver is often nineteen, between classes, and not sure who to call. Auto Lyft USA handles towing near Ohio State campus from our yard on Harrisburg Pike, which sits on the southwest side a short run down SR-315 from the university.
Most of what we do here is small: a jump for a car that sat through a cold week, a lockout outside a residence hall, a spare put on in a garage stall. The bigger jobs come at the edges of the academic calendar. In August, families arrive with loaded hatchbacks that overheat in traffic. In May, a student needs a car that hasn't run since spring break carried to a shop, a driveway in Toledo, or a family garage two states away.
Our carriers are all flatbeds, so a front-wheel-drive commuter car, an all-wheel-drive crossover and a hybrid all ride the same way: on the deck, wheels still. The dispatcher quotes the full price before a driver leaves the yard, and that quote doesn't change because the caller happens to be a student.
The calls we get from around campus
Campus breakdowns follow the semester. A few patterns repeat every year, and knowing which one you're in helps the dispatcher send the right setup the first time.
- Back from winter break to a dead battery. A car that sat in a surface lot over the holidays, through a few nights in the teens, often has nothing left in January. A jump start gets most of them going, and the driver can test the battery to tell you whether it's worth replacing.
- The car that stayed parked all semester. Some students bring a car in August and barely touch it. By December the battery is flat, a tire is soft and the brakes have surface rust. We can jump it, air it up, or carry it to a shop if it needs more than that.
- Move-in and move-out weekends. Streets around the residence halls fill with double-parked SUVs and rental trailers, and anything that fails in that crowd needs to come out quickly and cleanly. We work around the traffic and load where the driver can do it safely.
- Game Saturdays. With Ohio Stadium on the west side of campus, a home game turns Lane Avenue, Woodruff Avenue and Olentangy River Road into slow lanes. Our Ohio Stadium page covers game-day calls on their own.
- Keys locked in the car outside a dorm or a rental. A lockout call is a flat-rate visit, and the driver opens the door without bending the frame or scratching glass.
- Towed from a private lot off High Street. Apartment and business lots in the University District are often posted as tow-away zones. We don't run those impounds, but we can explain where to look and move the car afterward if it won't drive. See the section further down.
Parents calling from out of state
A good share of our Ohio State calls come from a mother in Chicago or a father in Pittsburgh who just got a text that says the car won't start. That works fine. The parent can call (614) 633-8163 or use the request form, pass along how to reach the student and where the car sits, and hear the full price before hanging up. The driver then deals with the student on site.
Two things make those calls go faster. First, have the student send you a pin or the exact garage and level before you call, so you aren't relaying questions back and forth. Second, tell us where the car should end up. If it's going to a shop, give us the shop's name; if the student has no mechanic in town, ask for one of the independent shops we partner with. Diagnosis and the repair estimate happen there, because we only do the hauling.
If the plan is to bring the car home rather than fix it in Columbus, that's a long-distance tow. We carry single vehicles from campus to anywhere in Ohio and the neighboring states, and the same per-mile rate applies the whole way.
Telling the driver where you are on a big campus
"I'm at Ohio State" covers more ground than most small towns. The fastest calls are the ones where we know the garage, the level and the nearest cross street before the truck leaves. Parking on campus is run by CampusParc, and the garages carry names such as Ohio Union South, Lane Avenue, Tuttle Park Place, Arps and 12th Avenue. Say the name, the level and the row or stall number, and mention whether the car is nose-in.
For surface lots, give the lot's name or letter from the sign and the road you turned off. For street parking, the block and nearest cross street are enough, for example Chittenden near High, or 15th Avenue between Summit and Indianola. If you're at a residence hall, name the hall and which side of the building the car is on.
Structured garages are where details matter most. With a car on its deck, a carrier stands tall, so a breakdown on an upper level is something we plan around before leaving the yard. Our parking garage towing page explains how we approach those jobs. Many dead-battery and lockout calls in garages never need the truck to enter at all, because the driver can carry a booster pack or tools on foot.
What it costs, worked through
Our rate card is published and we quote from it. A roadside visit (jump, lockout, tire change or a battery call) is a flat $75 plus $4 per mile from our yard to the car. A tow is a $125 hook-up, $7 per loaded mile, and the same $4 per mile en route. Overnight work, from 10 PM until 6 AM, is $150 more; Saturdays and Sundays are $50 more; and Ohio sales tax follows the county the car is picked up in.
So a tow from a campus lot to a shop a few miles north costs the hook-up plus those few loaded miles plus the drive to reach you. A tow home is mostly loaded miles: 100 miles on the deck is $700 plus the $125 hook-up, before en-route miles and tax. Veterans get 10% off with ID, which sometimes applies to a parent who is a veteran calling for their kid. Call and the dispatcher will give you the actual number for your address.
Ohio State campus: what drivers ask
How do I get towing near Ohio State campus late at night?
Call (614) 633-8163. Dispatch answers around the clock, every day, including breaks and holidays when campus is quiet. Tell us the garage or street, what the car is doing and where it needs to go, and we'll quote the price before a driver heads out. Overnight jobs, from 10 PM to 6 AM, carry a $150 after-hours charge, and the dispatcher folds it into the quote so nothing is a surprise.
Can you jump a car inside an Ohio State parking garage?
Usually, yes. For a jump the driver doesn't always need to bring the truck up the ramps; a portable booster pack can be carried to the stall. Give us the garage name, the level and roughly where the car is parked. If the car needs to be towed out instead, tell us that up front too, because a car stranded on an upper deck takes more planning than one at street level.
I'm a parent in another state. Can I book the tow for my student?
Yes. Phone us or send the online request with your student's contact details and the car's spot, and we'll quote you directly. The driver coordinates with the student on site and you don't have to be there. If the car is going to a shop, give us the shop name; if there isn't one, we know independent shops near campus that will look the car over and phone you with a number.
My student's car sat on campus all semester and won't start. What now?
Start with a jump. A battery that has gone months without a drive is often just drained, and a $75 roadside visit plus en-route miles may be all it takes. Once it runs, a quick battery test shows whether it will hold. If the car still won't fire, or the tires have gone flat and the brakes are crusted, a flatbed tow to a shop is the next step. We'll tell you which looks likely when you describe the symptoms.
Can you take a car from Ohio State all the way home at the end of the year?
Yes. Long-distance towing covers single-vehicle trips from campus to anywhere in Ohio and the states that border it. Your student's car never touches the road between campus and home. Pricing is the $125 hook-up, $7 per loaded mile and $4 per mile to reach the car. Give us the pickup spot and the destination address, and the dispatcher will work out the total before you commit.
My car was towed from an apartment lot near High Street. Did you take it?
Probably not. We are a light-duty towing company, and private-lot impounds are a separate kind of job. Look for the sign at the lot entrance, which normally names the company that enforces it, or call the Columbus police non-emergency line, since tow operators are expected to report private-property tows. Our guide to cars towed from private lots in Ohio walks through the steps. If the car won't drive after you get it released, we can move it.
Do you tow from the Wexner Medical Center area?
Yes. The medical center garages and the streets around it are part of the same campus area we cover. If you're a patient's family member and the car quit while you were visiting, tell us the garage and level, and whether you need the car taken home or to a shop. We can also do a lockout or a tire change there without towing anything.
Can I leave the car for you if I have class?
Often, yes, as long as we know where the key will be and the car can be reached. Tell the dispatcher how you'd like to hand off the key and where the car is headed, and confirm the shop will accept a drop-off. For jumps and lockouts you'll need to be there, or have a friend there, because someone has to take the car once it's running or open.
How much is a jump start near campus?
A jump is a flat $75 roadside visit plus $4 per mile from our yard on Harrisburg Pike to wherever the car sits. A weekend job is $50 higher, and the overnight window from 10 PM to 6 AM puts $150 on top. Sales tax is added by county. That's the whole price for the jump; there's no membership needed and no annual fee to sign up for.
Stuck somewhere right now?
Tell us where in The Ohio State University you are and what you drive; the quote comes before the truck.
Services here
Neither The Ohio State University nor CampusParc is affiliated with Auto Lyft USA, and neither has endorsed our towing service.
Where the trucks start
Calls from The Ohio State University are dispatched from Harrisburg Pike (US-62) on Columbus's southwest side, around the clock, 365 days a year.
1620 Harrisburg Pike
Columbus, OH 43223
Phone: (614) 633-8163
Email: lisa@autolyftusa.online
Directions to the yard