ArchangelM

umm mr. college student, were you this outraged while state spending was cut? What have you been doing. Why are you not outraged with your state and federal elected officials? I just got off the phone with my state representative and am about to call my state senator. I'm also making calls today to the offices of Kucinich and Brown (Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless). What are you doing?

There is no excuse whatsoever for raising rates so outrageously, nor is there reason for cutting services so drastically. Some facts for you: http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/07q4rep.pdf The actual rider percent increases do not match up with what Calabrese stated at the meetings. In December 2006, the total ridership was 4,607.1. By December 2007, that number had dropped to 3,882.0. Similarly, for November 2006, ridership was stated at 6,871.3. In November 2007, it was 5,206.1. Only for the month of October 2007 was there an increase from the previous year, from 6,106.7 to 6,522.6. The quarterly and year-to-date changes are as follows: -11.23% and -9.87%, respectively. I'm sure you'll tell me I'm misinterpreting the numbers, but I'm seeing a clear decrease. Bear in mind that the numbers cited above are from 2007. In 2008, the numbers break down thus: http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q1rep.pdf Trips for January 2008 were 4,423.2, went down to 4,141.3 in February, and rose a little in March to 4,260.2. In 2007, ridership is listed at 4,550.1, so we're seeing a decrease from that year to 2008. March 2007 saw 4,982.0 — again, a decrease in the following year. Where are these significant increases in ridership Calabrese and RTA are boasting? I'm not seeing them. By the way, one of the reasons given for eliminating or cutting services in routes was — wait for the drumroll — insufficient ridership. Gee, do you suppose there's a discrepancy between what's being boasted and what's reality? Why is there such a discrepancy? No explanation was given.Calabrese lied, and so did the others who claimed increased ridership. And you want to accuse me of not having my facts straight? I am a student at Tri-C Western campus who is already registered for the Fall Semester. How do you propose I get to and from classes in October — which is about midway through — once Clabrese eliminates the 68 bus line and detours the 145 from stopping anywhere close to a reasonable distance from the campus? Is Calabrese going to arrange for students and employees who rely on RTA to obtain alternative transportation, and out of his own pocket since we cannot afford to make other arrangements? Is he going to reimburse us our tuition once we've had to drop our classes and register at Metro Campus for Spring semester? The children now running RTA have a lot to answer for, and you're not doing yourself any favors by turning a blind eye to what's going on.

Riiiight...just like the posts from people attacking Kucinich and Polensik are constructive, huh? Or is it a standing rule here to insult only the elected officials who stand up and speak out in defense of their constituents and against Calabrese and his fellow liars?

I attended both the meeting at the library and the meeting at City Hall later that evening. Calabrese and his fellow thugs deliberately and repeatedly lied to the crowd about everything from rider numbers to the national averages for fare rates. One gentleman who stood up to speak — and for the record, you've no business whining about not getting a chance to do so when you could easily have filled out a form while seated — brought with him a printout citing the actual numbers, as opposed to the deceptions Calabrese and Co. used in their attempts to deceive riders. You are correct that the boy and his goons did a very poor job of presenting these meetings. They weren't set up to allow for any real participation between Calabrese and the riders; the rant sessions that followed were a mere formality, and the pig didn't even bother to listen as people poured out their hearts and practically begged RTA not to eliminate their sole means of transport to and from work, school, doctor-hospital visits, and visits with friends and family. At no time did Calabrese show respect for the people whose fares and tax dollars pay his inflated salary. Maybe you enjoy being lied to. I don't, and neither did most of the 500 + riders and representatives who showed up to voice their anger. I told that boy Calabrese exactly what I think of him, and I have no regrets. I can live with myself, having stood up and told the truth. You, on the other hand, need with all due respect to pay attention to what went on at those meetings. You also needed to stick around and listen to people speaking, because you missed valuable information debunking the lies told to us by Calabrese and his thugs. The fact is, and this exposes another lie told by Calabrese, is that no one is forcing him to make these cuts and fare hikes; riders suggested changes in some of the routes to be cut or reduced that made a great deal of sense, such as converting lines like the 83 to circulator buses and making the green trolley buses pay-for rides or else eliminating them. These changes either occurred to RTA, or should have occurred, long before announcing the cuts in services and the fare hikes. I suspect this entire charade is simply an exercise in extortion, placing the responsibility for going down to Columbus and demand state funding on the riders (and offering no transportation to take us down there). Calabrese wants us to do his work for him, because he won't do it himself. The decision to cut services and raise fares has already been made, and I suspect the meetings, required by law, were only window dressing — the obligatory rant-and-rave session before the hammer comes down. Your boy Calabrese is no one's friend (certainly not yours). I hope you're able to recognize this.