cleveland1979

Who says I haven't? hahahaha! Furthermore, if this so-called "mismanagement" has led to the evolution of one of the best public transportation systems in the world, then I sure as heck hope it continues to be mismanaged!

Still apples to oranges no how you spin it!

I can give a rather apples to apples comparison (or probably as close as possible): In St. Louis, bus fare is $2.00 but train fare is $2.25. I believe there is also going to be another fare hike soon cause they are in way more money trouble than RTA is. So, no, $2.25 isn't rediculously high. Exactly. NYC, San Fran (Bart & Muni), Minneapolis, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, etc. are all proposing or have already announced fare hikes and several other cities are discussing this. I don't feel it's "too high" considering RTA is well managed compared to other Transit Systems like the MTA (NY and LA), MARTA or Vegas, Miami. I don't know which NYC you're referring to, but the one in New York is absolutely world class. I would say comparing its management to RTA is apples to oranges.... but that's just me!

The fare increases seem to make things very expensive. I wonder how RTA's fares compare to other cities. $2.25/one way seems a little high to me. Yeah, I guess you save money when you raise fares and cut back service, but you also alienate a lot of people decrease ridership. Seems like a vicious circle...

With the fare increase, depending on RTA for my transportation is now on par with owning/operating a car. It's a shame the State has let it come to this. There are cities where annual transit usage (even with lower gas prices) has INCREASED (Portland, South Florida, Dallas, Salt Lake City, etc.) But it takes more than simply a transit agency to make that happen. It takes the cooperation of the city and state governments to increase funding and make that happen. Ohio, Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, doesn't have that support. Face it, that's where we live and that's the problem we have to deal with.

I think cell phone usage by any driver/operator should be treated as immediate termination. This article is interesting about what San Antonio did to their drivers... http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/VIA_nixes_texting_by_drivers.html

the trolleys should remain free. it again is one of those complicated funding streams. NOACA has provided CMAQ funding, which along with various sponsorships make this service free. CMAQ funding is used to fund congestion mitigation and air quality projects, and to date, the trolleys with 5000 riders a day, are making a significant contribution to reducing downtown air pollution and congestion. with a fare, this is less likely to happen. also, i believe rta has said that 85 or 90% of the trolley riders have already bought a fare on the system and are transferring. The sponsorship is really just paying that 10 or 15% estimate of riders that would pay a fare. Good to know! I hope it stays that way for as long as possible. The Trolleys are great.

I'm counting the days until we have to pay for the Trolley.

Fixed that for you. as i mentioned in my original post, cleveland's policy with respect to advertising in the public right of way is not unique in northeast ohio. however, in practice the main areas where advertising revenue will be both substantial enough and is needed to support additional amenities, are usually going to be in the city proper. the restriction on advertising in public right of way has also slowed getting recycling containers downtown and around the city, and the combined newspaper machines you often see in other cities. in defense of the city, the triangular kiosks downtown are the one exception, and a few years ago the city made a decision that these kiosks would be the only advertising in the public right of way. That's too bad. With the region in economic despair, I wish the city (okay, cities) would revisit this issue. It seems like such a great untapped revenue source. I've seen advertisements on bus shelters in NYC, Chicago, LA... sometimes the ads are pretty cool! At least it adds some color and life to an otherwise blank canvas!

city of cleveland has public right of way restrictions on private advertising - in some cases rta has had trouble even putting their own advertisements (the old gasoline pumps) on shelters. these restrictions also exist in lakewood and cleve heights (and probably most other cities around here as well). there are exceptions, including the sponsorship of healthline stations - but even here the sponsorship is much more the announcement of the stop and "sponsored by..." than it is a large advertisement on the station itself. this is one of the areas that has hampered rta is rolling out additional amenities at downtown stops - lighting, schedule info, spot heating, etc. - there is no advertising revenue stream to pay for these improvements that you often see in other major cities (chicago, ny, for example) That's a shame... it seems like a great way to make some much-needed revenue. Hopefully the city will eventually get some fresh thinkers who revisit this restriction.

This might have been covered before, so sorry for the repeat if so. Does RTA offer sponsorship opportunities for bus shelters? I was strolling through Public Square and noticed none of the shelters had ads of any kind. However, I have seen RTA ads on some of the shelters up and down Superior but none for other businesses, restaurants, etc.

I ride the E-line quite frequently and I've noticed that sometimes drivers won't press the button right away when someone gets on if it's just one or two people and they want to get moving to catch a light or something. They will then get everyone counted at another stop (typically Tower City for my route). I don't think this is an issue. Well, when RTA says "5,000 people/day" ride the Trolleys or whatever, I think the accuracy of those numbers gets called into question when the driver isn't keeping an accurate headcount.

Yes, this is a GIANT improvement... glad to hear it!

The only time I've "reported" a driver is when I saw him using his cell phone (not a Trolley driver, by the way.) Hitting the "passenger count button" extra times really doesn't seem like a reason I should get my feathers ruffled to the point of reporting a driver... but thought I should bring it up since Jerry mentioned the passenger count of 5,000/day. The Trolley drivers are very nice!

When riders board the Trolley, the driver will press a button to register the rider count. Sometimes, I've noticed when several people get on board some drivers simply start hitting that button over and over and over again, sometimes double the amount of times necessary for as many people who got on board. I think this has a way of really skewing an accurate rider count on the Trolleys. If 5,000 people/day were really riding the Trolleys, why was service cut back from the original 11pm time?

Why are the ideas from everyone on this board so much better than the ideas coming out of W. 6th?

I love the idea of one of the trolley's going into Ohio City! I actually like where the E-Line goes right now. But the B-line, on the other hand, seems like it could be modified. But if one of them went to Ohio City and back, maybe the remaining trolley could "split the difference" and had a modified route in the downtown area. (oh, and I love the fact they don't BEEP BEEP BEEP!) ;)

I can usually tell there's a bus coming when I look left and right before crossing the street. Oh, and the roar of that diesel engine usually is a clue, too.

I think the beeping is an effort to place more responsibility on the pedestrian rather than the driver. If an RTA collides with another pedestrian, which will inevitably happen, RTA can say, "Well, the bus was beeping and honking, so the pedestrian should have noticed!" Training the drivers to be more aware of their surroundings should be the priority and more investment money and training should be put towards that, rather than a "beeping invention" that activates after a certain percentage turn of the steering wheel.

I convinced a buddy of mine who was flying out of Hopkins to take the "Rapid" from Tower City to the airport. I told him it would take about 25 minutes to get to the airport, because I've taken it and it seems to take that long. It was his FIRST experience riding RTA and it was a total embarrassment. He told me the train kept stopping for no apparent reason along the tracks... he said the train would be going pretty good, then a beeping would sound from the driver's cab and the train would slow and come to a stop, then resume motion. He said this happened about a dozen times and it took him 45 minutes to get from Tower City to the airport. I hope this kind of thing doesn't happen too often on the Red Line, because it would certainly explain why it isn't nearly as popular as it should be. He said the driver would get on the speaker at each stop and mumble some incoherent announcement. No good... no good. He has yet to return from his trip, but I doubt he'll be taking the Red Line back downtown -- I'm sorry to say.

The release, as posted, answers your questions. Well let's hope it includes a new paint job!

A couple threads back, but I noticed one of the things being discussed at the RTA meeting was the Bombardier Mass Transit Corp light rail stuff. Is RTA getting new light rail vehicles, or just "fixing" the ones they have now?

The "remedy" sounds like a continued nuisance to anyone around a turning RTA bus. I'm not quite sure why the passengers inside the bus need to hear it, let alone the driver. But it sounds like the agency is dead-set on this audible device, so any further customer or citizen feedback seems somewhat pointless.

I think when people see 2007 plastered all over the signs they say, cool, but that was 2007, what about THIS year? Just throwin' it out there! :) Anybody know who got best public transportation system this year?

Has RTA considered redoing those "Best Public Transportation..." signs? Also, does anyone else notice how strange the automated voice announcements are? The robotic woman's voice is downright creepy sometimes, and pronounces words so awkwardly that it's almost comical. Was there a reason RTA opted for this robot voice versus a normal recording of someone's voice? Chicago's CTA, Portland's Tri-Met and San Francisco's transit all use something far more understandable... just axin'! :) Not sure how that all works...