JMasek

The history of transit on Euclid Ave. goes back many, many years. About the only Cleveland leader who never weighed in with an opinion was Moses Cleaveland. As some of you may know, the Dual Hub Corrdor became the Euclid Corridor Improvement Project, then the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, then, in October 2008, became the HealthLine (cap H, cap L, no spaces). In the early days of the ECIP, plans were to drape overhead wire along Euclid Ave, which would have been a costly eyesore. When RTA officials saw the BRT technology in Europe, they adopted it, and immediately shaved $30+ million off the project cost. The project is greatly successful, from a funding standpoint, local development, ridership and FTA blessing. Any expansion takes federal funds, and generally, the feds look at areas that have growing populations. Cleveland does not. They funded the BRT project here because we could prove it would deliver more service at less cost. You can talk about expanding the system all you want, but we must look at some hard realities when deciding to go with "A" over "B." In the past, KJP has responded with a list of cities that received federal funds and are not growing. I suspect he will do that again.

RTA does lease some space inside Windermere for a diner (please check it out), and leases some space inside a former station -- I believe it is Coventry. When Joe Calabrese became CEO in 2000, he found that RTA both paid rent for some spaces, and leased some spaces. Over the years, RTA moved toward being rent-free, and several years ago, we reached that goal. All services are now operated in buildings that we own.

Why thank you.

You are correct -- each person's perception is different. Our research has shown that some people prefer a bus and strongly dislike boarding a train, while others are exactly the opposite. Perhaps it is because the bus operator greets each person at the front door, while many never see their rail operator.

I cannot speak to the future, but this should help you for now. Casino customers who want to park free at a Rapid station but might leave the casino after the Rapid shuts down for the night should consider these stations that have sizable parking lots and all-night bus or HealthLine service from Public Square: Red Line: West Park Station, best choice, served by #22 Red Line: Windermere Station, served by HealthLine and #3 Blue Line: Farnsleigh Station, served by #14, Parking is in a city-owned lot on the NW corner of Farnsleigh and Van Aken; customers should ask the #14 driver to drop them off on Farnsleigh at Van Aken.

Let's not confuse the issues of trash, graffiti and rail cars. TRASH: The RTA right-of-way roughly extends the width of the overhead poles. Yes, there are thousands of illegally dumped tires on the private property next to RTA. Because we carry the passengers, people assume the property is ours. It is not. We have already had long debates over this earlier on the thread. Please do not start it again. My time is short, and I will not respond to comments I have covered earlier. GRAFFITI: RTA cracks down on these "artists" when they are found. Cleaning graffiti is time-consuming and expensive, and if you wait a week, it will magically re-appear. RTA aims its cleanup efforts at offensive artwork first. RAIL CARS: Someone wrote, "I just wish they would clean up the interior of the Red Line trains." I addressed that in an earlier post. We are. Thanks for your comments.

Go to http://www.riderta.com/commuteradvantage/ Commuter Advantage program 629 employers participated in 2011 13,029 commuters $7,500 estimated savings per commuter $13 million annualized revenue Ready to Ride is a program designed by RTA to increase participation in Commuter Advantage.

It's correct now -- 6 point 4 percent.

RTA's ridership stats for April. * Systemwide: Up 2.5 percent in April, 7 percent year-to-date. RTA has had 13 straight months of ridership growth. Average weekday ridership rose 3.5 percent, or 6,000 rides. * Total Bus: Up 1.6 percent in April, up 6.2 percent YTD. * HealthLine: Down 1.4 percent in April, up 2.6 percent YTD. * Total Rail: Up 5.8 percent in April, up 10.2 percent YTD. * Heavy Rail: Up 6.4 percent in April, up 10.8 percent YTD. This is the sixth straight month that ridership has been at its highest since 1988. * Light Rail: Up 4.6 percent in April, up 9.1 percent YTD. Best April since 2008. * Trolleys: Up 6.1 percent in April, average daily ridership rose to 4,439. * Rack-N-Roll: 3,451, up 41 percent over 2011

^ None that I have seen. We are still concentrating on the exteriors.

RTA announced a mid-life overhaul of the Red Line cars several years ago. It is being done internally. The exteriors are done on all but eight cars, and the interiors will be upgraded later on all cars. It's a multi-year project. The overhaul is designed to extend the life of the cars.

RTA owns the property, builds and maintains the stations and provides the service. The police presence is cooperative. I'll report this one now. Thanks.

Good morning! This is in response to posters who have questions about the rail shutdown. Excuse the numbering system, but it helps me to place the order of things. 1. ODOT approaches RTA with a request to close the tracks, so huge pieces of steel could be moved safely over our right-of-way. 2. RTA agrees, as safety is the overriding issue here. 3. To minimize the number of riders affected, RTA chooses a weekend when no major activities, such as St. Patrick's Day or a Browns game, are scheduled. This is always a concern. In a city this size, there are events virtually every weekend, and the closure has to be done sometime. We realize that someone will be affected, no matter what weekend is chosen. We also have to look at alternatives, as in, "If we don't shut down this weekend, then we have to shutdown next weekend, and that is the Indians home opener. We can't shut down then, so we better shut down now." You certainly have the right to disagree, but please know that the shutdown dates are chosen after carefully viewing the special events calendar. 4. RTA decides to use a one-seat, no-transfer option, as that is the most convenient for riders. We are already asking them to switch from bus to rail. To ask them to also transfer would be an additional inconvenience. 5. Whenever the track is closed for ANY reason, RTA crews take advanatage of the time to perform other necessary track maintenance. I do not know if RTA bills the State of Ohio for the extra expense, if there is any. In the end, the taxpayer pays for everything. RTA and ODOT are partners on many projects. In closing, may I kindly ask people to pose their questions with "a wee bit of respect." The husband who stays out all night carousing and comes home with lipstick on his collar "has some explaining to do." A transit agency that makes decisions to ensure public safety and minimize rider inconvenience does not. But we do anyways. That's why we are here. Have a great day.

Another upbeat story on local transit: http://freshwatercleveland.com/features/allaboardtherta041912.aspx

The service plan calls for the increased frequency to begin as soon as repairs to the signal system are finalized, perhaps this summer. The demand is there, so we will begin as soon as all safety factors are in place. Thanks for asking.

You are correct. Tower City is the busiest station, and yes, there are many Transit Police there. Police resources are allocated where they are needed. I am in Tower City at least twice a day. I have seen many officers detain or arrest people there, and I have often reported things to Transit Police. Having a strong presence there helps prevent crime. Thanks for the comment.

MyTwoSense had two questions: Q1. Fare Machines: Disappointment is putting it mildy. Why so long? Aren't there some provisions in our contract? A1: In a contract for a project of this size, there are many provisions. I am not a lawyer, and have not been involved in the negotiations. There's not much more that I can say. We appreciate your support. We are doing everything possible to move things along. Q2. Rock-n-Roll Festivities: Why wasn't this rolled out at train stations especially the airport? A space that had direct tie-ins? The airport, Windermere, University Circle, W117, Ohio City and Tower City should have had key people dressed up. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce those to our system and to show others what an asset the rail system is. A2: You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but from where we (RTA) sit, this was one of our more successful promotions in recent years. The media coverage was huge, and the reaction of our riders was wonderful. The Rock Hall is downtown, many of the affected hotels are downtown, and most of the out-of-town visitors came to see the Rock Hall. From our point of view, downtown was the perfect place for this promotion, and trolleys are uniquely downtown. RTA has no staff at the Airport. If you think the Airport staff should have dressed up, send them a note. These operators volunteered to go this -- and that's the way it should be. You can't order someone to dress up -- the man who played KISS spent 45 minutes to get into his garb. The induction comes around again in 3 more years, and I'm sure we will do something unique.

Two things.... 1. Re: fare machines. Negotiations are between RTA and the vendor. We share all the disappointment that has been aired here and elsewhere. 2. Eight trolley operators dressed like rock stars from Monday-Friday. It was all over the TV stations, with major stories on TV-5, and shorter stories on TV-3 and TV-19. There is also a press release posted on our Web site. The Rock Hall is free tomorrow, and the Waterfront Line runs until midnight. Enjoy the weekend.

^ Reply to 327. Granted, some customers may become frustrated. I have been frustrated by many vendors during the last 59 years. However, that does not excuse criminal act. It's still vandalism, no matter what your reason. As foir your other question, RTA is in on-going negotiations with the vendor. We are keenly disappointed that the changes have not yet been made.

And back on topic, I've been meaning to post to Jerry for a while that RTA should periodically check that the credit card slots in the fare machines haven't gotten stuff jammed into them. The last time I was at the airport, the one fare machine that was working would barely take my credit card - had to give it quite a bit of elbow grease to make it work. I almost had to..... GASP..... Use cash. We are aware of this. Vandalism has been an issue. We have "roving" repairmen who go to machines as soon as they are reported. It is difficult to keep up with all the sick people in this society who have no brains and nothing better to do than interfere with good people trying to use public transit.

http://www.riderta.com/newsroom/releases/?listingid=1720 Press release with Rock Week preview

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cleveland-revs-up-for-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-festivities-20120406 RTA and Cleveland make it into Rolling Stones.

This Friday, after the home opener hoopla is over, RTA will announce extra Waterfront Line service for the Rock Hall. There are 3 events on Saturday, April 14. * Free admission all day at the Rock Hall. * 8-11 pm , induction ceremony, Public Hall, sold out. * 8-11 p.m., simulcast of """" at Rock Hall, tickets may still be available. Waterfront Line service will continue all day until the regular end of light-rail service, which is after midnight. So if you want to "rock around the clock" -- you can. On a related note, music fans may be "all shook up" when they see Elvis driving a trolley next week. We would not let him bring his hound dog, but he may be wearing his blue suede shoes. Seven other rock stars will be there, including Tina Turner -- we'll see how good of a "turner" she is really is. The jokes could go on and on and on -- but you get the point. Hop on the trolley, have some fun, and bring your camera and autograph book.

BRT is some form is being considered for Clifton Blvd. in Cleveland and Lakewood. Beyond that, I think everything is speculation.

^Yes, I can see that happening, and yes, our riders are creative. Thanks for the note.