JMasek

As usual, ridership is a combined of many factors. June 2012 saw: * An additional weekday * The first full month of operation at the Horseshoe Casino * Marine Week. Thus ridership was VERY high in June 2012 June 2013 saw * Red Line shutdowns due to ODOT construction. * Two weeks where East Side Red Line riders used shuttle buses, because of Cedar-University Station construction.

^$200 million, which inlcudes the cost of the new vehicles.

FYI, our Web site has a search engine. If you enter "Board bylaws," it will take you there.

http://www.riderta.com/board We tried to make the URLs as logical as possible, as in finding Toyota at www.toyota.com. The bylaws are summarized, but all key points are here.

On Tuesday, the RTA Board awarded a construction contract for the new Little Italy-University Circle Rapid Station, to be built at Mayfield Road and East 119th Street. Look for an Oct. 22 ground-breaking.

^ There are inaccuracies above, as to the makeup of the RTA Board. Here is the breakdown, by law. All terms are for 3 years, and begin in March. 4 persons are appointed by the Mayor of Cleveland, with the review/approval of City Council. (Dixon, Anderson, McCall and Serrano) 3 persons are appointed by the County Executive, with the review/approval of the County Council. One of them must live in the City of Cleveland. (Nardi, Moss, Norton) 3 mayors are elected by the Mayors and City Managers Association. The resullts of their election are sent to the County Executive, who approves it and passes it along to RTA. (Clough, Cervenik, Elliot)

^ I am glad to see that you are following us on Twitter. Going forward, we plan to tweet more from "breaking news" events.

^ Your feedback is appreciated. It has been shared with RTA leaders.

There were 30 people at Monday's meeting in East Cleveland. After the presentation in a nice theater-style auditorium, they went into an adjacent hallway for a look at maps and charts and 1-on-1 with the vendors and staff. A second meeting is tonight at WRHS, and then Thursday in Euclid. I hope you can make a presentation. If you can't, please visit the project Web site and make your feelings known.

^ I think you mean "garages", not "stations." The Hayden garage is equipped with CNG fueling. But the fixed cost of upgrading a garage in not nearly as significant as the cost of maintaining a large fleet of buses that have a life span of 12 years of more. RTA is still examing its options. I just tossed this to the group because it is a good explanation of the issue.

This is a good read. "Why Denver said NO to natural-gas buses." http://www.ngtnews.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.9079

I know there is a lot of interest on the heavy rail vehicle overhaul, so here's an update: 40 rail cars...$2.2 million project...completed by mid-2015

The rendering on the project page was provided to me by Paul Volpe within the past 2-3 weeks. It is as complete as possible. I cannot answer your queston precisely, but I know that RTA wants to make the area as inviting as possible, as the station will serve mostly foot traffic.

Lots of Board meeting action today... * Awarded a $8.6 million contract to the Perk Co. for the Clifton Blvd. project, Groundbreaking is Sept. 13. * Bought 23 low-floor 60-foot articulated vehicles from New Flyer of America for $16.3 million, to arrive by mid-2014. Most are for use on Clifton. * Approved 2014 Caplital Budget. * Released systemwkide ridership numbers, up 5.2 percent in June, 1.5 percent year-to-date. * Trolley ridership up 38 percent, thanks to National Senior Games. This points out the importance of the trolleys to major events.

3 public meetings to begin Red Line/HealthLine study RTA is exploring its options to expand the Red Line and/or HealthLine into Euclid, and officials want to hear from you. Meetings are set for Sept. 9, 10 and 12 in affected areas. Why should you attend? * To Speak: Tell RTA what you think about the project * To Listen: Hear about this new study * To Learn: About new projects * To Share: Your experiences, insight and input on this study Meeting details -- Each meeting will last from 6-8 p.m. * Monday, Sept. 9, Library, 14101 Euclid Ave., East Cleveland, on the HealthLine and next to the Red Line at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere. * Tuesday, Sept. 10, Western Reserve Historical Society, 10825 East Blvd., University Circle, a short walk from the HealthLine station near Severance Hall. * Thursday, Sept. 12, MCMS Inc., 22639 Euclid Ave. Ride the Red Line or HealthLine to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere, and transfer to the #28 bus. For more information: * Web: www.redlinehealthlinestudy.com * Phone: 216-282-6113 * Twitter: @RedlineHLStudy * Facebook: www.facebook.com/RedlineHealthlineStudy * YouTube: www.youtube.com/GreaterClevelandRTA

^KJP, yes, that has been on our Web site since Monday, and is linked to a Service Alert.

Sept. 13 is the date for the Clifton Blvd. ground-breaking ceremony.

RTA Board Committees had a busy morning -- $16.3 million for 23 new articulated buses, a discussion of the work on Clifton, and a preview of the 2014 capital budget. It's all here -- http://www.riderta.com/news/highlights-aug-6-committee-meetings

Some dates for your radar... Clifton Project will be discussed at an RTA Board Committee at 9 a.m. Aug. 6. Contract may be awarded on Aug. 20, with a groundbreaking slated for September. Date TBA. Some dates are being considered, but nothing is firm...yet. For project details: http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/cliftonblvd RTA goes to the Shaker Heights Planning Commission Tuesday evening, Aug. 6, to discuss Lee-Van Aken station. http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/leevanaken If you are interested in the Red Line/HealthLine extension, public meetings are set for Sept. 10-11-12. For project details: http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/redlinehealthlineextension www.rideRTA.com is being updated and expanded daily. Your comments are welcome. Please check it often. Miss a day, miss a lot (a phrase formerly used by many daily newspapers).

Re: Courtesy stops If people could just "stand anywhere", then the trolleys would be way off schedule. We strongly encourage people to wait at designated stops. Yes, you can wave down a trolley if you are not at a designated stop, but stopping there is at the operator's discretion, based on traffic conditions and other variables. DING! DING!

When we say that ridership is up or down in a given month, we are comparing this year to last year -- June 2013 vs June 2012. As I have previously noted, June 2012 was a terrific month because of special events, It would be hard to beat the ridership for last year.

^ Thanks. I will pass this along to our map maker.

It has been a roller coaster year, with challenges from the tunnel work, the S-curve, and the Shoreway closed for two weeks for Captain America. The rest of the year should be smoother, starting with this week, when 20,000+ visitors come in for the National Senior Games.

Ridership update: YTD: total system up 1 percent, HealthLine up 6.2 percent, rail is even June: total system down 2.3 percent, HealthLine up 7.7 percent, rail down 6.7 percent Note that in June 2012, ridership was boosted by Marine Week, and the first full month of the Horseshoe Casino

Because of demand, RTA is increasing service for the National Senior Games, July 19- Aug. 1. The additional service is: Open to all customers. All normal fares apply. All farecards and passes are accepted. RTA will increase the number of HealthLine vehicles in operation. From 7 a.m.-7 p.m., frequency will be every 8 minutes or better, 7 days a week. B-Line trolley operates seven days a week, from 7 a.m.-7:15 p.m., with a frequency of 10 minutes on weekends, 5 minutes on weekdays. There will be a bus shuttle between the Convention Center and Baldwin-Wallace, where some events are being held. For complete details: http://www.riderta.com/news/july-19-aug-1-additional-senior-games-service-open-all