← All Smart Ride narrated tours
Explore Columbus with stories along the way. Choose Downtown, German Village, Short North or Dublin, then read or listen to Steve French narration and advance whenever you’re ready. Free to use, with no account or sign-in.
TAKE THE TOUR WITH YOU
Scan. Open. Explore Columbus.
Open your phone or iPad camera, point it at this QR code, then tap the link to open the full-screen tour on your own device.
Listen to Steve French’s narration, read the stories and choose what comes next. No account or sign-in needed.
Already on your device? Tap the button above. For offline listening, use the iPad setup instructions below and save the stories on each device.
Use the tour on your iPad — even offline
Add the tour to your Home Screen and save Steve French’s narration before the ride. No account or sign-in is needed.
Open full-screen tour for iPad setup ↗
Show iPad setup steps & offline narration test
1. Add the tour to your Home Screen
- Connect the iPad to Wi-Fi and open Safari (use a normal tab, not Private Browsing).
- Open the full-screen Columbus Tour. Save this full-screen tour, rather than the main Smart Ride website page.
- Tap Safari’s Share button — the square with an upward arrow — then Add to Home Screen. You may need More or View More first.
- Name it Smart Ride Tour, leave Open as Web App enabled if shown, and tap Add.
2. Save Steve French’s narration
- Open the new Smart Ride Tour Home Screen icon while still connected to Wi-Fi.
- Choose Offline downloads → Save all stories for offline use. The download is about 38 MB. Keep the tour open until it says Ready offline.
- Tap Check saved files. It should confirm all 82 files are saved. If any are missing, tap Save all stories again to complete the download.
3. Test the sound before the first ride
- Turn on Airplane Mode and make sure Wi-Fi is also off.
- Close and reopen the tour using its Home Screen icon.
- Tap Play on Meet Columbus. Then choose a story and test both Short story and Longer listen.
- Confirm Steve’s voice plays, the playback timer advances, and the text and images appear. Restore your connection when the test is finished.
If you cannot hear the narration
Raise the iPad’s volume and check whether sound is going to a Bluetooth device. If a recording will not load, reconnect to Wi-Fi, open the Home Screen tour, then save and check the files again.
Before each offline ride: choose Check saved files. The iPad can remove saved browser files when storage is low. Story text, images and saved narration work offline; new route checks, external maps, current menus and reservations need internet.
Complete the Airplane Mode test on your own iPad before using the tour with customers.
Made for passengers. Audio is AI-generated using Steve French’s custom voice with Runway. Restaurant hours, menus and availability can change; check the linked details before visiting.
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