JMasek

We agree, an active downtown is great to see. You are correct. Funding is the issue when it comes to providing more service.

Give your memory all the credit it deserves. You are correct.

You are correct. RTA is aware that the device is not working as intended on some buses, and is working to correct that on a bus-by-bus basis. As for the many other anti-talking bus remarks, please consider this. RTA's goal is to make our system as safe as possible, and to reduce / eliminate pedestrians accidents. We have to try everything possible to meet that goal -- including continuing the talking buses. Although they made be modified (as I mentioned above), it's fairly safe to say that they are here to stay, until something better comes along. If you have a positive contribution as to what that "better" might be, please send e-mail to [email protected]. I promise to forward all e-mails to our Safety Director for consideration. If you want to just vent, go ahead and vent here.

You have raised a lot of issues. "Dirty buses and trains" -- all vehicles are cleaned at night, which from what I know, is the industry standard. If they are dirty at mid-day, they may be swapped out for a cleaner vehicle. Filthy right-of-ways -- have been discussed here at length. RTA has made some strides this year, and I am seeking a summary to share here. bus-turning-honking debacle -- a safety upgrade that other systems may implement soon. Again, left-turn accidents are a national bus issue. HL pavement issue -- The pavement in question was poured four years ago. Take the square footage of the concrete involved and divide it by the total concrete poured for the project, and the resulting percentage is ....very, very minor. the POP Rapid fare machines -- we agree that they could be better and should be better, and are working toward that end. The train station announcements -- I have heard from many customers who like them. We are always striving to improve communications with our customers. Nasty drivers and booth personnel -- There is no excuse for this. We take appropriate disciplinary action whenever we can. The money -- from comments I have heard, I believe many customers still believe their fare pays for their ride. We will continue our educational efforts.

Problems with left-hand turns is a national bus issue, and RTA's talking bus has attracted a lot of attention, as we saw from the recent APTA bus conference here. We may have been the first city with a talking bus, but we definitely will not be the last. Stay tuned.

RTA is working on four crossings a year for the next 3 years (4x3=12). The Shaker Square crossing you mentioned is on a different schedule, and is set for next year. The Rail Department inspected the "condition of the track" and set priorities. The condition of the road may be vastly different than the condition of the track.

<<Thats right, they weren't doing it on their own time, that was part of their job as it would fit (Jerry anyway). But then I started to wonder if Jerry served any purpose at all. Jetdog on the other hand, seemed to go out of his way to try to provide some information or feedback. Jerry, not so much.>> Both of us have a long list of duties and responsibilities. I visit this site as time permits, both at work and at home. I am on a salary, and on call 24/7, so to me, nothing is done "on my own time." In general, social media takes a lot of time if it is to be done right. At home, I use Twitter and Linked In (not related to RTA), and found that when I am really busy, those are among the areas that I do not get to as often as I would like. If a poster here asks a question that requires research on my part, then I may not get to that as quickly as the poster would like. Some weeks I am extremely busy, and other weeks, I have more breathing room. As an aside, let me say that no one told us to monitor this site, or others. We saw a need and we moved to satisfy it, in additional to our regular duties. That will continue. Even if we do not comment, we read every post. Thanks for your input.

...I wonder if RTA's upper management even uses the their own transit system on a daily basis No need to wonder any longer. I can tell you that they do. The last time I checked, RTA employees took 1.2 million rides in one calendar year. The General Manager uses public transit at least 3 times a week, depending on his schedule (he has many breakfast meetings). His normal bus ride comes downtown from the Westlake Park-n-Ride, and he varies that by driving to Triskett and riding the rail downtown. If a bus route is generating a large amounts of complaints, he will drive out in the AM to the point of origin, ride the route downtown, and check it out for himself.

Re: the announcer thread within a thread... As you have pointed out here, RTA has experimented with several forms of rider communication, and none has been perfect. In my opinion, the woman who now announces on the Red Line side has a wonderful voice, better than I have heard at some major airports. I don't expect to see any changes soon. And, if I could pass along a quote from Joe Calabrese, "If someone wants to criticize RTA for communicating TOO MUCH with our customers...well, that's a criticism I will glady accept."

I never said that, and to be blunt, I am not sure if there is anyone else on this list who has access to the few people who would know that.

From what I heard last night, the Clifton Project is at least 75 percent about Clifton, and 25 percent, or less, about RTA.

I went to the meeting, as did 100+ other people. Several spoke out against changing Clifton at all, and one person suggested it go to a ballot vote. I do not feel that was a majority opinion.

There have been comments today on cleveland.com about a photo that appeared of a crosswalk at CSU, with some problems in the concrete front and center. (The concrete was not the focus of the photo). Of course, the posters on Cleveland.com had a field day. FYI, I just spoke to an RTA engineer who returned from the site. The concrete is NOT spalling, it was hit by something. He showed me a piece of the concrete, and it is not flaking at all. God bless cleveland.com, where rushing to judgement has become an art form.

RTA officials question union priorities CLEVELAND – Officials of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) today expressed strong disappointment over a recent union vote rejecting a proposal to save jobs. “Our priority is to maintain both jobs and transit service,” says RTA CEO & General Manager Joe Calabrese. “We seriously question what the Union’s priorities are.” http://www.riderta.com/nu_newsroom_releases.asp?listingid=1411

^ One man's opinion. There are MANY who would disagree. Suit yourself.

^ Their calendar is out of date, we will talk to them today. The public meeting is April 7. RTA will prepare a press release in a few days.

^ We report ridership to APTA the same way I report it here...big bus+BRT = total bus. I do not know of the method used to calculate average weekday ridership. I do have a rough formula for you, at least for RTA....80 percent take the bus, 10 percent take heavy rail and 5 percent ride light rail.

^ January 2010 consisted of 19 work weekdays, two weekday holidays, and 10 weekend dates. January ridership on the HealthLine was 317,400, up from 297,200 in January 2009, an increase of 6.8 percent. This is an apples-to-apples comparison, because the HealthLine opened in October 2008.

^ Ridership numbers are compiled each month. The February ridership numbers will be released at the March 23 Board meeting. The HealthLine ridership is a separate line item and I will be happy to supply it. If I do not post it immediately, feel free to send me an e-mail and remind me. It will be a busy day.

The HealthLine is considered BRT by the FTA and transit systems around the world, who have sent reps to Cleverland to view our success. To make your statement accurate, you need to add 3 words at the beginning of the sentence..."in my opinion."

You are talking about 3 East Side bridges on the common track for Blue/Green lines. The bridges ARE safe; the lower speed limit is to ensure even greater safety. Once the bridges are upgraded this summer, normal speed limits will be in place. A resolution goes to the Board on March 23 to award the bid to upgrade the bridges; I will have more details then.

^^ We expect to start posting new timetables AFTER St. Patrick's Day (there is no reason to confuse new riders). After that date, timetables will be posted as soon as they are ready. We expect to have the bulk of new timetables posted by March 22. Thanks for asking.

RTA has produced a special issue of the Riders Digest customer newsletter that is filled with info on the April 4 service changes. You should see a printed version on all buses and trains by Tuesday. If you want the on-line version, go here: www.riderta.com/pdf/RidersDigest/Special-2010-RD.pdf

Grumpy said: "There has been some talk of extending the Red line into Berea, but that's been just talk so far." ----- That "talk" is dead. In the late 1990s (before my time), there was a major study about extending the Red Line into Berea and beyond. The residents of that suburb did not want it, and they protested loudly. Any extension would have to be federally funded, and the feds NEVER want to move if they are not wanted. So, say bye-bye to that idea. FYI, the Red Line now ends under Hopkins Airport, and will never be extended from its present end. If there is a branch, it needs to start somewhere between the Brookpark Station and the start of the Airport tunnel.

^ is being shared with the Transit Police chief.