cleveland1979

The announcement suggests keeping conversation to a minimum in order to prevent someone from being disturbed by your dinner plans... who approves these kinds of silly things? Also, I can understand attractions being pointed out on the Trolleys that roam downtown, but are there really a lot of attractions a tourist is going to overhear on the announcement and suddenly want to exit the train and check out? And not to nitpick here, but some of the trains read "No Unecessary(sp) Talking To Operator" on the door behind the driver.

Will do. Thanks for the tip!

I would gladly record the RTA train accouncements... and I won't even demand a royality! ;) I know this forum is about RTA, but this helps illustrate my point. It's a cute little video about Portland's bus system getting some automated announcements... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZWiRaeaQkY I think it's pretty cool their transit system has a YouTube video service like this... they have more videos, too. I don't suspect RTA has any money set aside for something like this, dare I ask?? :wink2:

...I returned from Christmas vacation yesterday aboard the Red Line heading to Tower City. At least I knew where I was going and I knew which stop I had to get off at. I pity the new rider who had to comprehend the announcements coming from the driver of the train. I don't think she was full awake half the time, and lazily hung up the radio before completing the name of the stop. And it became sort of a game to see if she would mumble, "Door closin'," "Doors clo---(trailing off)," or just simply "door" before she shut them. Maybe I got spoiled since I was returning from the Northwest, where I got to experience Portland's outstanding light-rail system with automated announcements that were clear and even gave details about how to connect to other trains if the stop allowed such a thing. There were also LED screens aboard the trains that had the stops written out each time the train approached one. Being someone from out of town, I appreciated the clear and accurate announcements so I knew exactly where I was and when I needed to get off the train. What's the status of installing automatic announcements aboard our trains? The Trolley's have a very good system (now that the bizarre-computer-voice-lady has been put out of service!) How hard is this?

Yeah, WHY does that machine beep so loud? Are we now trying to appeal to deaf people? I swear when I get a ticket and it beeps that the entire crowd in Public Square turns their heads to see what the heck the noise was! Although RTA loves beeping noises, so at least they're consistent.

If the height of the machines has to be in compliance with ADA, why are the machines in Chicago at a height for the average person? Those machines are great. Big buttons, plain language, logical layout and flow. Obviously Chicago's transit system is still in compliance with ADA, so how are they getting away with having machines that actually are EASY and at a "normal" height?

It has some great potential... I love that it exists right now and when (God willing!) the Flats return to their glory days, at least the public transit will be in place. One less hurdle to jump.

I rarely see anyone but the driver on those trains.

I have to say that I LOVE the new stop announcements on the Trolley. It's actually a normal voice. Night and day difference... a great improvement!

I think William Shatner should record the voice! There should be a little extra stimulus money to pay him a royalty.

We know this decision isn't a knee-jerk reaction to a pedestrian accident, like the "beeping" that RTA implemented shortly after the bus mowed down the pedestrian in Public Square. But that makes this decision all the more bizarre; that it was carefully planned and a ton of money was spent on something so wasteful. I can just imagine the meeting in the RTA conference room... "Well, how do we spend this extra stimulus cash?" Silence. Intern in the corner starts to laugh, "Let's make the buses talk!" RTA folks don't get the joke, touch their chin with their index finger and declare... "That would be innovative!" Man, oh man.

Aren't there some extra part-time RTA interns who could be hanging out near the vending machines showing grandma and grandpa how to insert their credit card? It seems like overkill to have RTA cops wasting their valuable time there when they could be on the trains and buses checking passes and taking care of the thugs.

Do transit police walk around checking passes in cities like Chicago or NYC? Don't the turnstiles at transit stations prevent people from just leisurely walking onto the trains without paying? Perhaps a long-term solution for RTA would be to install similar turnstiles that only let you through with a valid pass (swipe it on you're allowed to pass through.) Having armed transit patrolmen check each train seems a little wasteful.

I noticed someone mentioned this above. I also wanted to chime in about the police in Tower City. Are they standing around in order to help people insert their credit card into the vending machines? That seems like a waste of valuable time for them. Maybe they should be on-board the trains and buses instead. I took the train to the airport last week and counted 4 police officers standing around the vending machines, presumably waiting for someone to have a problem with the new machines. Interesting.

Kudos to RTA for implementing this stronger, stricter rule.

I agree... it takes a few times working the vending machines before you "get it." They're too low to the ground, too. I'm not sure which button is usually matching up to the screen selection, so I have to bend down to see. The touch-screen (almost video-game-like) machines in Chicago and NYC are wonderful.

Mr. Maesk, why is it that you continue to waste minutes if not hours out of your day to respond to the various complaints and negative responses on the Cleveland.com forums? It almost sounds like you're attempting to change the minds and opinions of the negative naysayers on these boards, but after the many years of you coming on here and explaining yourself can't you realize your words are wasted? You will not change minds. You will only add fuel to the fire of those opposed to the very concept of RTA and its attempt to provide adequate public transportation to the citizens of the region.

Politics.

they aren't strobe lights, though. they are just modern LED turn signal lights which are bright and placed at the corner of the bus. you see these types of lights on other newer heavy vehicles. Like new RTA buses... :)

RTA should have a zero-tolerance policy for cell phone usage by the drivers... immediate termination of the driver. But, of course, I'm sure the union would disagree.

I take the Red Line quite a bit from the airport to Tower City (at least every time I travel.) There usually is an attendant in the booth, but it's not usually the most friendly one of the bunch. Rarely does the person even say "hello" or smile... I'm not saying the person needs to leap out of their seat and give me a big hug welcoming me back to Cleveland, but a little customer service would go long way.

Excellent! Glad they took that initiative. Also, I saw in the PD this morning that Lakewood's mayor is going to fight the service cutbacks for the Circulator in his city. This is all going to get pretty messy.

What makes the buses "Clean Air Buses?" I've seen this statement displayed on dozens of them.

I've noticed that too. The Healthline has a nice ring, but the Trolleys sound like they're in need of a bell cleaning!

I digress...! :wave: