JeTDoG

without meaning to sound snarky, WHAT public transit in Detroit? that was a town that had their attempt at creating a regional transit authority declared illegal by the courts... DDOT only provides bus service within the city limits of Detroit, and if you want to see an urban wasteland, that's a "shining" example of one... the rest of the area is still incredibly fragemented when it comes to providing public transit services he who lives by the automobile, dies by the automobile, I guess... MTS and others, if you have or can locate examples of what you consider to be good, clear signage, please share...

While waiting for the bus at E 185 & Neff this morning, I saw a soccer grandma pull into the Sunoco station with a late 90's/early-00's Chevy Tahoe grocery-getter -- five minutes later, the verdict was in: 15.778 gallons $56.79 Welcome to the bed of nails that we must all now sleep upon... yes, as a transit user, I'm feeling just a little smug this morning, but only a little. Fuel prices have smacked me hardest when it comes to buying groceries. Everything at the store is a good 10% higher (or more) than only a short time ago, and manufacturers have now taken to another dirty tactic -- keeping prices stable while reducing package sizes. Take a close look the next time you buy that half-gallon of ice cream, you may be surprised to learn it's only 48 or 56 ounces.

A document was posted on the site yesterday that many of you may find to be a good read (and it could stimulate some conversation) -- the Master Plan for the E 120 Rapid Station redevelopment, as prepared for RTA by Project for Public Spaces, Inc. et al. It's a large (nearly 16MB, 150 pages) PDF file, and can be found here: http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/e120/GCRTA%20Little%20Italy%20E120th%20Station%20Master%20Plan.pdf

A document was posted on the site yesterday that many of you may find to be a good read (and it could stimulate some conversation) -- the Master Plan for the E 120 Rapid Station redevelopment, as prepared for RTA by Project for Public Spaces, Inc. et al. It's a large (nearly 16MB, 150 pages) PDF file, and can be found here: http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/e120/GCRTA%20Little%20Italy%20E120th%20Station%20Master%20Plan.pdf

Do you have any guesses on when that stretch might reopen? current expectation, barring a late-season blizzard :-) is July-August; you'll see other announcements next month relating to portions more toward midtown...

Those crews, and the ones doing E 9 to the Square, have been working like gangbusters these last few weeks (routinely well into their day's work before 7:00am). Much of the north side vault work has been or soon will be completed, conduit is being laid, and areas are starting to get backfilled. I'm really looking forward to the reopening of that whole stretch. JeffreyT, any chance you can grab some photos of the median light poles? I may need to wander up that way for lunch today, just to check it out.

official word is that full concreate roadbed will be used out to E 107, concrete pads w/ "mill & fill" (as previously described) asphalt from E 107 to the city line, and operation only, i.e., no new pavement, from city line to Windermere, since most of the pavement out that way is only about two years old

in a town where's buses have an unfortunate reputation as turkeys, this duck'll FLY (and that will be the last bird analogy for this thread :-) ) wait until some of the plantings in midtown get situated and start blooming, you're going to see more green than has been there for a LONG time...

Do RTA employees have to put a quarter in a jar each time they refer to the "RTV" as a "bus"? :-) seems like it sometimes... it's all part of establishing and reinforcing the idea that this isn't "just a bus", as some detractors have harped on... nothing wrong with a unique brand identity for the system

Without saying for certain if this is what will happen (I'll check on it today), "mill & fill" is the common description for grinding down the surface of the road to a level base, followed by a skin-paving of normally not more than a couple inches of new asphalt. In instances where the road's sub-base is solid and the overall grade isn't being substantially changed, this method makes economic sense and can be very durable. If you notice, the "pads" at the stations are still concrete (a technique that is used on many routes, including the #1 St. Clair), even if the road surface isn't.

nice piece, and of the first comprehensive development talks I've heard in a while... it actually seems like there's more than just some esoteric "vision" involved in this, but instead hard evidence of plans being pursued... on an unrelated (to the OP, but related to the thread) point, the Euclid Corridor RTV will be on display at Earthfest at the Zoo this Sunday, staffed by RTA employees (including yours truly from noon - 2:00pm) who can answer any questions you might have about the vehicle or the project, or even other RTA concerns... current forecast for Sunday is 30% chance of showers, with a high around 60 degrees, hope to see many of you there...

You may want to check out the periodic update presentations that have been provided to RTA's Board of Trustees. Go to the Newsroom (http://www.riderta.com/nu_newsroom.asp) and check out any of the "Board highlights" entries.

absolutely, I'd welcome anyone with a degree of familiarity with the area and our system, especially someone who can give an outsider's perspective and would have to rely on comparison to printed schedules to judge validity of the results returned... all you need is a Google ID, as per previous posting... get your info to me and I'll get you on board

Just an FYI, jmasek will be on vacation, and probably incommunicado, until Monday, April 14. When he returns, please be sure to wish him and his wife a happy anniversary. I'll be his stunt double for the next couple of days (though I'll be away from the office myself on Thursday, April 10). I'm still actively soliciting for volunteers (victims?) to test Google Transit. The prevailing silence so far has been deafening, and somewhat disappointing. Don't be shy...

I know I'm going to regret asking this, but was there a reason for that comment?

I was under the impression that these buses would be rerouted off of Euclid once the corridor is completed. Those were some of the original intentions as reported in the media (not necessarily as envisioned by RTA). The plan at this point, to provide the greatest flexibility of travel and lowest potential for transfers, is that the (downtown-serving) #7X, #9X, and #32X will all serve Euclid Avenue east of E 17th St, with the #7X and #32X exiting at Stearns Rd to connect to the University Rapid Station, and the #9X continuing on Euclid to Mayfield.

"Could have been" is a loaded phrase, as throughout history, many things "could have been" done... IANAPE, but my admittedly layman's opinion would have to be no, not and realize the same infrastructure benefits that the system as built offers. First off, there's the question of vehicle doors. The stretch of Euclid from Playhouse Square to midtown will also be served by the #7X, #9X, and #32X buses, and single center platforms would mean needing dual-side entry vehicles dedicated to those routes (since they would be providing conventional curbside service off the Corridor). The left-side entry platforms downtown are for RTV use only, so there was no need to make concessions to traditional transit vehicle access in that area. Second is the matter, as StrapHanger so nicely summarized, of signal prioritization. With a single platform, one direction of travel is always on the "wrong" side of the signal. Placing the platforms immediately after the signal ensures that there will be no signal delays or missed signals due to an extended boarding layover. This holds true as much for auto traffic as for the RTV -- we don't want auto traffic to be any more delayed than is necessary for the RTV to traverse the route. Finally is the question of traffic layout. A single (most likely wider) platform substantially widens each affected intersection, potentially creating blind spots for automobile traffic and resulting in longer pedestrian transit times (yes, only a few seconds, but it makes a difference in the "big picture" of maintaining traffic flow). In certain areas, such width was not physically achievable due to the presence of existing structures. The wider platform would also create "bellies" in the lane layout (think of the classic picture of a boa constrictor with a pig in its stomach) where the transit and traffic lanes have to expand around the platform, and then contract back to normal (non-platform) lane orientation. Offset platforms average out these "bellies" into smoother undulations, again contributing to speedy traffic flow. For a really good set of resources on BRT, including links to the FTA and other cities' BRT systems, take a look here: http://www.calstart.org/programs/brt/new/newbrtlinks.php.

I am posting this message to request volunteers for a group that has been designated to test the implementation of RTA's route and schedule data on Google Transit. If you are not familiar with the service, Google Transit is very similar to our own web-based trip planner, in that it allows a person to specify starting and ending points and desired time of travel (either arrival or departure), and be presented with a suggested trip itinerary. Google provides driving directions throughout the world, and provides transit directions as suggested alternatives in those communities where the transit agency makes their data available in Google's required format. This service is provided at no cost to the participating agencies, because Google derives advertising revenue from suggested destinations or other searches that get conducted in the course of using the service. Since these directions are presented as an alternative whenever driving directions are requested, there is tremendous potential for conversion and acquisition of new customers by RTA. In the interest of ensuring that we have the most thorough understanding of what Google's service can and can not do, and that the data we provide them is clear, comprehensive, and accurate, I have arranged a closed "beta test" of the service with our most current schedule data. This test requires a valid Google ID to participate. If you are interested in participating, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with the following details: 1. Your urbanohio.com username 2. Your Google username (username only, NOT your password) 3. A brief sentence or two about you use of and familiarity with RTA's services *** KEEP IN MIND, AS A CLOSED TEST, THIS INFORMATION IS NOT YET READY TO BE SHARED WITH CUSTOMERS *** If you do not log in to Google, or try to use an account that is not authorized for testing, any transit search will yield the message "Your search for transit directions from <origin> to <destination> appears to be outside our current coverage area." I will contact people who are authorized to test the service. Once you are signed in, you will be able to plot trips between any origin and destination in our service area, at any time, on any day. For testing purposes, I would ask that everyone keep a written record of trips you have tried, results that have been returned (these can be copied and pasted from Google), and any irregularities that you encounter. Make you testing meaningful -- use trips you are unfamiliar with, use trips you know to be difficult or impossible, and be as creative in your requests as you can think to be (because our customers certainly will be). A few caveats to be aware of: 1. At this time, Google only has data for our bus service (all service, including circulators, trolleys, and school supplemental). Rail service data should be incorporated into the mix later this week or early next week. I will announce when rail data is available. 2. While I encourage testing with trips that you have tried in our existing trip planner, please keep in mind that this is a different service, and uses different formulas to arrive at its results. I would ask that you judge the system on its own merits, and do not expect to make direct comparisons between the results returned. Of course, if you judge the quality of results returned from one to be subjectively "better" than the other, I'd like to know that, and let me know what aspect you think is better (fewer transfers, shorter travel time, more options, more/less walking, etc...). 3. The data that has been supplied to Google consists of stops, routes, and the times that given routes service designated stops. We do not yet have the capability to provide Google with path data. What this means is that when a trip is plotted, while the path followed should generally resemble the path taken by the particular route, it will not be exact. This is especially true in areas where the recorded stops are few and far between, such as outlying suburbs or areas where community circulators double back or intersect their own route. 4. Google's address matching is very forgiving in terms of not requiring the use of street descriptors (street, avenue, etc...), and in fact does very well with just an address number, street name, and zip code. If you run across any addresses that consistently do not return matches regardless of the form in which they are entered, please let me know. 5. Since this is a third-party service that is provided at no cost, customizability is basically nonexistent. Suggestions are appreciated and will be communicated, but there's no guarantee of implementation. 6. My timetable for completing testing is April 18. Ideally, I'd like for us to "go live" with this data prior to Earth Day, which is April 22. Thank you all for participating in the testing of this service. I look forward to your feedback. Please do not hesitate to contact me (via the e-mail address or phone number below) if you have any questions. Mike Cermak Business Applications Analyst Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 1240 W. 6th St. Cleveland, OH 44113 [email protected] 1-216-566-5158

JMasek, what happened with the rapids today?? I can take this one, since I was the one who posted the earlier alert, followed by the "All Rail Running Normal Schedules" message after the incident ended. In a nutshell, we had a contractor working on the line who didn't follow proper procedure, and wound up inadvertently disrupting our rail signalling system. Without appropriate signalling capability, the safest thing for us to do was come to a halt on the system, which we did for a period of time while the problem was investigated and resolved. This was an electrical problem, not a computer problem, per se -- no juice, no signals. The original disruption was under an hour, and we had replacement coaches dispatched to the rail stations in fairly short order in case things ran longer. Once it was clear what had happened and how quickly it would be resolved, the replacement coaches were pulled back (some of them ran a single run, since they were already out there and could handle the backup that developed). Ancillary delays resulting from the stoppage lasted until about 2:30pm. FYI, the header on the main riderta.com page is updated in what is as close to real time as possible, so take a peek at it from time to time. I also make certain to time- and/or datestamp items of a transient nature such as yesterday's rail incident. Since the incident has passed, I've now removed the "Normal Schedules" message.

FYI for anyone heading to the Indians opener from the west side, as of 1:55pm, Brookpark, W 117, and W 98 parking lots are full...

A web site addition of note: RTA has started accepting applications for a new Management Development Program, which is focused on development of the future leaders of our organization through 26 months of rotational assignments in various functional areas. For more details, check out http://www.riderta.com/careers/mdp.asp.

We really do appreciate that you disseminate our information beyond your receipt -- every little bit helps. I just spoke to one of the folks in our Marketing Department, and normal procedure for at least the last couple of quarterly changes is that we have been creating "car cards" (the large cardboard pieces that live in the upper reaches along the length of the buses and trains, along with the various paid ads) to communicate what routes are changing each quarter. The car cards are more durable and visible than the simple paper Riders' Alerts, and offer more real estate for the message. Apparently this time around, due to delays in getting some of the changes finalized, those car cards were delivered late, and may not have made their way onto as many vehicles as they should have. I have communicated to Marketing that the lack of such information was noticed, and have received assurance from them that the next round of changes (in mid-June) will be more effectively communicated via ALL available channels. You are well within your rights to take us to task if we are not getting you the information you need. Customers who don't have the information necessary to use our services don't typically stay customers for very long, and if we're not doing what we can to prevent that, then shame on us.

I can respond to a couple of aspects of this. First off, thanks for submitting the compliment about your operator -- we like to hear about the good at least as much as the bad. Now, onto the more substantive items you pointed out. Our schedules change quarterly as a matter of adjusting to varying passenger loads and the needs and feedback of our customer base. We are, in a sense, a living organism and need to adapt to our environment. Allowing a route to get "stale" leads to inefficient use of our resources, and is a disservice to our customers. I agree that any bus or rapid that leaves the garage should have a decent supply of relevant new schedules within a fair span (a week or so) of the change occurring. Unfortunately, that somewhat falls under the "you can lead a horse to water..." mentality. Signage in the form of a Riders' Alert should have been posted on all vehicles. If you see specific vehicles (or stations) where this is not the case, please note the relevant details and let us know - we'll fix whatever's necessary to make it right. The web site Important Info section is limited to only displaying the five most recent (by date) Riders' Alerts and Press Releases, and as you can tell, we've been rather busy lately, so the Press Release about the schedule change dropped off the bottom (it would be #7 as I write this). All schedule changes are announced as they are available in our semi-monthly e-news, with a link to the relevant press release, and the release is populated with links to the relevant schedules as they become available. I strongly encourage any regular (or even not-so-regular) rider to sign up at http://www.riderta.com/e-news to recieve this communication. WE DO NOT sell this list or use it for anything but official communication, so I can assure you that no spam will result from it (I am the listmaster as well as the webmaster, so I can make that kind of statement with certainty :-) ). Also, the Maps & Schedules page (http://www.riderta.com/maps-schedules.asp, where you can also subscribe to the e-news... hint, hint) will always have the most up-to-date infromation available, so I strongly encourage you to add it to your favorites.

Thank you... it's good to hear when our efforts were recognized and acknowledged. I'm certain Jerry will communicate your words throughout our organization. Just to satisfy my own curiosity -- which rail line do you use, and between what stations?

Thanks for your support Jeff, and welcome to the forums. I have a little bit to say, but not much. I was able to run a small test with our first export mode compliant with the Google Transit spec, and identified some missing fields in the output file. We have received and installed a new version of the export tool for our scheduling software, but I have not yet received another test data file from our scheduling department. Once I have that, and can integrate it with the shape file, I'll have more to report.