JMasek

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/02/14/odots-new-leader-finds-budget-tighter-than-in-90s-tenure.html?sid=101 What can Ohio expect from new ODOT director Jerry Wray? This story is worth reading from today's Columbus Dispatch.

I am sorry, but in my opinion, you are waaaaay off base with this thoughtless comment. As President of OPTA for two years, Joe Calabrese spent many days in Columbus, and many hours on the phone, talking to officials and legislators. Since leaving the top post, he has still devoted "significant" (as in large amounts of time) to convincing the new people in Columbus that transit has already suffered its share of cuts. Public education efforts will continue.

Any time anyone wants to write their state officials to urge more funding for public transit, we thank them. :clap: Please go to www.fundohiotransitnow.org for more details.

For those seeking an update on the Clifton Enhancement Project: MEETINGS: A series of public meetings will be held shortly. The dates are now being finalized and will be made public asap. The meetings, and the project, are a joint effort of Lakewood, Cleveland and RTA. In the past, these meetings have included presentations (project updates) and Q and A. TENTATIVE TIMELINE: Finish design in 2011. Bid during the winter. Start construction in spring 2012. FUNDING: The project is recommended for $7.1M in TRAC funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation. The list will be finalized in March. I will post more info when it is available. I suggest those interested in the projects attend one of the soon-to-be-announced public meetings. We greatly appreciate your on-going support.

Stay tuned for the answer.

^ This is Jerry from RTA. If anyone wants to know something specific about the project, ask it here or contact me directly at [email protected]. I do not have all the answers, but I will hunt down those who do. Thanks for your support of this project.

^ This will be a unique route. I will send details as soon as it is set.

Thanks for your comments. I am glad you posted here, but please take the survey and come to a public meeting at 5 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Main Office Building. All surveys and comments are due by Jan. 31.

<<I sometimes notice that the busses have a "green" light when they are in the station, and then when they are done boarding they have a "red" light and have to sit through the whole rotation.>> What intersections do you see this at? I think that you may see this at the downtown intersections, where one station serves both directions, but farther out, such as East 30th on, there are two stations in each set, one eastbound and one westbound, that are built on the "far side" of the intersection. This means that the vehicle has already gone through the intersection before stopping at a station to pick up riders.

"1-trip" and "2-trip" tickets are only available through authorized agencies, usually social service agencies. These agencies buy tickets in bulk from RTA for their clients to use. A "1-ride" ticket is equal to the cash fare on a bus or Rapid. It does not include transfers. If you are riding a bus (and do not plan to transfer), put the cash fare in the farebox. If you are riding the Red Line or HealthLine (and do not plan to transfer), buy a ticket from the fare vending machines before you board. "2-ride tickets" are only used for special reasons (such as the Ride Happy or Ride Free program) and are not on sale. Thanks for asking.

FYI The following sentence has been added to the fares page. It should provide direction to parents who have Web access, and duplicates information already provided by schools to students and parents. "RTA offers student farecards to schools only (grades K-12). Students who would like to purchase these farecards should contact their school."

That would be a good addition to the fares page. done

<<I fail to see the argument in not advertising a student discount.>> ALL students attend a school. ALL students are aware that tickets are there to be purchased at a discount. We therefore have 100 percent penetration of the potential market. There is no reason to market the student tickets anywhere else. The same cannot be said for any other class of tickets. Therefore, we also make them available on our Web site, at neighborhood supermarkets, and other sites. I am sorry that you do not agree with this. You certainly have a right to your opinion. There is not much more I can say on this. May I respectfully suggest we move on to other topics?

^ Thanks for your sugestion. FYI, there is no "out-of-date" content on the page. Regarding the $1.50 cash fare for loops and trolleys... * The #47 route is considered a loop, and the $1.50 fare applies. * Although the trolleys are free (fares underwritten by Dollar Bank), the $1.50 cash fare is what would be charged if there was no sponsor. We'll will revisit the copy to see if it can be clarified. FYI, you take one "trip" in the morning to get to work, but that "trip" may include several "rides", such as a ride on the Red Line and then a ride on the HealthLine.

<<Is there a plan in place to update the riderta.com Web site? It seems like it has been on the same iteration for a few years now (2005, if the footer is accurate), and it would be nice to better integrate it with Facebook and Twitter, both of which GCRTA seems to be using fairly frequently.>> Buttons for Facebook and Twitter have been added to most, if not all, Web pages, which is a far more realistic goal than re-doing it from top to bottom. To answer your question, there is no plan right now to completely redo the site, which changes daily. Our goal is to make sure accurate information is posted as quickly as possible, in a format that is easy-to-read. Thanks for asking,

^ Yes, but you have to show an ID card that proves your age or your medical condition.

<<Why can't a parent just buy a student pass on the Web site?>> Why would RTA put a discount ticket on the Web site, where the whole world would have access to it, and thus invite fraud? Every student has a school, and the school knows who its students are. Thus, schools sell student passes. This keeps discounted tickets away from those who are not eligible to buy them. It's elementary. If we had done what you suggest, I can easily visualize a bunch of posts, with comments such as, "how stupid was that?"

Students can buy student passes from the school they attend. The schools buy them from RTA in bulk and sell them to students, so I do not have the exact price amount. However, it is less than adult riders pay.

<<Business people don't ride trains....>> Surely you jest, but thanks for repeated an old and tired myth about public transit. I know many in the business world who ride the train, because I see them every day when I board the Red Line at Brookpark.

This woman is an RTA Service Monitor. Apparently, a staff member requested an update on some of the Clifton Blvd. service, and she will produce one. Are the buses on time? How full are they? Is more service needed at certain times, or is less service needed at certain times? The goal of any transit system is put the most service on the street at the time(s) it is most needed. The data this woman collects will help us meet that goal. I hope this answer helps. Have a nice day.

I am checking on that now...sorry for the delay.

Here is the link to George Dixon's letter. http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2010/11/rta_still_working_toward_a_sol.html#modk_smoref_twitt

There will be a letter to the editor in Friday's PD, from George Dixon. It will answer this and other questions fairly plainly. I will post the link as soon as possible on Friday morning.

Yes, the Red Line, not the redline

Some time ago, a poster asked about the status of our HRV overhaul. Here is the update that I promised. * 40 cars are scheduled to be overhauled by December 2012 * 3 overhauled cars are currently in revenue service. * 6 overhauled cars are scheduled to be placed in revenue service by Nov. 30, 2010. I hope that answers your question.