I think I saw one out on the road yesterday?

Choosing to Ride the Bus

 

People always want to extend their sympathies to me when I tell them I got where I was going by riding a Metro bus.  Maybe I'm poor, can't get my car fixed, don't have a car, don't have a driver's license or have some other reason that I'm down on my luck and must abide by a bus schedule, pay a couple bucks and sit with all those people who aren't riding by choice. But even though I'm not especially poor on most days and own a reliable car, I've gotten into an old habit again recently: riding the bus to work.

 

What got me? Convenience, for starters.  The bus that passes near my office in Cheviot heads out of the city going northbound on Elm Street on the west side of Washington Park. I live on the park's east side, so I have a short walk out my front door and across the park to the bus stop across from Memorial Hall. Voila, I'm on my way.

 

About 15 to 20 minutes later -- depending on traffic and the number of stops for boarding and unloads -- I get off the bus just about 50 paces to my office's front door.  On the way home it's even better because the bus ride is usually light (thanks to my "negative commute" that goes against the rush hour traffic) and it drops me about 20 feet from my front door. I've signed up for Metro's "Guaranteed Ride Home" program, so if I have to get home in a hurry because of an emergency or unexpected late hours (say, past when the last bus heads back downtown at midnight) I can get reimbursed up to 80 percent of the cost to get me home, up to $45. And I can do that four times a year.

 

Read full article here:

http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A145838

They also have them all over San Fran. Very nice!

 

yes, SF and Boston have them in large numbers.

 

This is particularly needed on some of the uptown routes by UC and the hospitals...I cannot tell you how many times I have had to squeeze on those busses, and not even at rush hour.

Cincinnati Metro: Get to know our buses

 

The Metro bus system is offering prospective riders a chance to get acquainted with commuting by mass transit this coming Friday.  Metro will display one of its buses on Fountain Square downtown between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., inviting people to climb aboard, check out the seating, learn how the fare box works and practice using the front-mounted bicycle rack. They’ll also be able to get information and bus schedules, and see Metro’s online trip planner.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/08/18/daily8.html

I'm really glad they're doing this.  Why, you ask?  Well, each time I've tried to get my bike on the rack, and I asked for help from the driver, they outright refused to help me.  So I was forced to just forget it and keep riding.  All three times.

Metro facing tougher times ahead

http://www.pulsedt.com/blogs/default.asp?Display=2637

 

Metro may be facing tough financial times. And that means tough decisions before the end of the year.

 

Metro's 2009 budget is still being developed, and so nothing is final yet. But the preliminary projections are that rising fuel costs alone will result in a $3 million deficit.

 

"Balancing Metro's 2009 budget will be extremely difficult, and some hard decisions are ahead," says Metro CEO Marilyn Shazor.

 

Metro has not ruled out service changes and fare increases to balance the budget, but spokeswoman Sallie Hilvers says raising the cost to ride is something the bus system wants to avoid if it can.

 

Metro provides bus service in Hamilton County, and portions of Butler, Clermont and Warren counties. It provides about 23 million rides per year in Greater Cincinnati.

 

To help keep costs down, the non-profit Metro bus system hedged between 80 and 90 percent of fuel purchases in 2008, securing prices averaging just under $2.45 per gallon. While it will again lock in fuel prices in 2009, Shazor expects much higher fuel costs per gallon, possibly increasing the fuel budget to $12 million from about $9 million in 2008.

 

Each dollar increase in a gallon of fuel has a $3.6 million impact on Metro's budget, according to Shazor.

 

"With fuel increases, the economics of transportation are changing, perhaps irrevocably. Now, more than ever, we need a long-term plan to provide and fund a sustainable transit system that spurs growth and improves mobility across the region."

 

The cost of fuel is not the only budget pressure looming for Metro.

 

Shazor says federal, state and local funding is not anticipated to keep pace with the rising costs of operating the bus system. She said Metro already struggles to meet capital needs, especially replacing old buses and an obsolete radio communications system.

 

Until the 2009 budget picture is clearer, Metro has deferred pilot programs that it had intended to begin in 2008, including neighborhood shuttles and an overnight jobs shuttle.

 

Hilvers said Metro has been working aggressively to reduce costs behind the scenes.

 

For one, Metro moved to a high-deductible health insurance plan. And most recently, Metro moved to new offices in the Gwynne Building at Sixth and Main streets, Downtown. Moving from the Kroger Building is expected to save Metro more than $1 million over the new 12-year lease.

 

"When you're publicly funded, you're always looking for ways to stretch your dollars," Hilvers says. "We look at any expense where we might save money that doesn't impact our customers."

 

Metro's new address is 602 Main St., Suite 1100. Moved along with the administrative offices were SORTA board offices and The Everybody Rides Metro foundation.

 

All Metro phone numbers remain the same.

 

Metro offices had been in the Kroger Building for 20 years. Hilvers says Metro began looking for a new home two years ago strictly as a means to save money.

 

The Gwynne Building was especially attractive to Metro because it is just one block from Government Square.

 

Hilvers says the proximity allows Metro greater access to its customers at the Square and to the sales office in the Mercantile Building. The square footage is about the same as its former home.

 

The Gwynne Building is known as the home of Richter and Phillips, but was the original site of Procter & Gamble in the early 1900s. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

City gives Hamilton County deadline for fixing Metro bus system

 

Still locked in an impasse about how regional bus service should be funded and controlled, Cincinnati officials have given their Hamilton County counterparts until late this month to offer a counter-proposal.  If county commissioners fail to do so, some Cincinnati City Council members say they'll follow through on a process they began in June and cancel the contract with the current mass transit provider. If that happens, city officials will create a new agency to control and operate the bus system.

 

That means someone other than Metro -- the bus provider for the past 35 years -- potentially could be operating Cincinnati's bus system by March 2009.  Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials were supposed to meet in August for a "transportation summit" to end a dispute about the current agency's governing structure and possibly give more control to Cincinnati and outlying suburban jurisdictions like Butler, Clermont and Warren counties. (See "Bumpy Ride for Now," issue of July 9.)

 

Hamilton County Commission President Todd Portune had envisioned the summit as a crucial step in ending the dispute between the city and county. In a June 22 guest column in The Cincinnati Enquirer, he wrote, "...the leadership of the region should prepare to convene this summer at a summit; agreeing not to leave the effort until commitments have been made and direction charted on how we will accomplish the goal of securing a regional transit authority that is regionally funded and that provides regional, multi-modal service to our region."

 

Read full article here:

http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A145990

Turning control of SORTA over to city would make no sense

Editorial by Edmund Adams

 

In the decade of the 1980s, when I served on the SORTA board (the governing body of Queen City Metro), city of Cincinnati council members on several occasions floated the idea of the city taking over the transit system. I told them then what I’d tell them now: bad idea.

 

City Hall has the best of all worlds. It is guaranteed four of the nine seats on the SORTA board by virtue of the 1968 resolution of the county commissioners creating SORTA. It has approval authority over Metro funding requests, fare increases and service extensions outside the city. It has an unlimited right to recommend changes in the system. It benefits mightily from the extent to which Metro transports non-city residents to jobs within the city. And, notwithstanding all of that, the city is not responsible for Metro.

 

Why in the world, I would ask, would the city, which has never been known for its efficiencies or a wealth of available funding, want to take on – and be responsible for – such a massive operation?

 

The city argues that Metro is not regional. Au contraire. Maybe not as regional as we’d all like, but regional nonetheless. SORTA is the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority. Its routes run in Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties. Sixty-some percent of its riders are said to live outside the Cincinnati city limits. With five Hamilton County designees on the SORTA board, it already has governance that is more regional than city.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/08/editorial5.html

Council votes to unravel Metro; Mallory disagrees

 

Cincinnati City Council has unanimously endorsed a proposal to cancel the city’s contract with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority for the purpose of creating a new regional transit agency to cover Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont counties.  But Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory said he will prevent the measure from coming to a vote.

 

The motion establishes a six-month time frame during which city and Hamilton County officials would negotiate a new structure for the parent of Cincinnati’s Metro bus system. Board seats would be awarded based on the amount of funding contributed to the system by its organizing members. Cincinnati Councilman John Cranley and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune have been trading proposals on how the Greater Cincinnati Regional Transit Authority should be structured.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/08/daily20.html

Tokens Provide Metro With a New Ticket to Ride

http://www.pulsedt.com/blogs/default.asp?Display=2734

 

Shiny, newly minted tokens that reflect a new era of Metro are being distributed by the transit system.

 

The new tokens are now being accepted in all Metro fare boxes. These new tokens come as Metro, operated by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) celebrates its 35th anniversary.

 

The 60,000 newly minted tokens do not replace existing tokens that were minted in the 1960s, but are in addition to the 425,000 already in use. The expansion of tokens is due to increased rides provided through the Everybody Rides Metro (ERM) Foundation. Through partnerships and local agencies, ERM provides bus tokens to low-income individuals to support self-sufficiency.

 

"Metro has come a long way in 35 years. We're thrilled to see the community's transit options growing through the foundation, resulting in the need for additional tokens," says Marilyn Shazor, Metro CEO.

 

If you're a collector, you can buy an uncirculated token for $1.50.  For more information on purchasing tokens to ride Metro, visit www.go-metro.com or visit the Metro sales office at 120 East Fourth St., Downtown.

I still haven't decided if taking the Metro daily to work is worth it.

 

I mix it up now that I'm in Cincy. I take public transit as much as I can to work on the #4 line, which is one block from my apartment and one block from work, and it takes 20 minutes and is $1.50.

*For a day, that's $3.

*For a week, that's $15.

*For a month, that's $60.

*For a month with a pass, that's $55.

 

I can drive, which takes <10 minutes (4.5 miles) and I pay .1785 cents per mile (at 21 MPG and $3.75/gallon).

*For a day, that's $1.61.

*For a week, that's $8.05.

*For a month, that's $32.2.

 

Quite a bit cheaper for me to drive, but then I need to add in oil changes, maintenance, wear and tear, and the pleasure of having someone else drive me to work.

 

If my commute was from the suburbs, at 15 miles, and I pay .1785 cents per mile with the same mileage.

*For a day, that's $5.36.

*For a week, that's $26.78.

*For a month, that's $107.

 

At that, at Zone One, it's considerably cheaper.

 

Zone Two is $75 for a monthly pass, and it's still cheaper.

^ Where you save money is by taking advantage of your monthly pass to go to other destinations (DVD rentals, grocery store, dinner, etc).

^ Where you save money is by taking advantage of your monthly pass to go to other destinations (DVD rentals, grocery store, dinner, etc).

 

Plus parking costs where they apply..

For the fourth time, a Metro bus driver refused to help me with the bike rack.  I'm starting my job in Hamilton in a few days, and I'm thoroughly aggravated with Metro bus drivers.  Prior to my riding a bike, I saw them help riders in the past.  What does it take?!

 

Not all of us can learn how to use a new device for the first time in just 30 seconds.

 

Gah.

***Just stand in front of the bus looking perplexed for a few minutes.  Eventually he'll have to help.  If he's a real prick he might honk his horn and flash his lights, but he can't run you over.

 

Quick question...I'm trying to plan a trip to Cincy this winter and I'm wondering if they have ANYTHING going to Union Terminal to pick up passengers at 3AM

taxi

It only takes a second to fill out the required information for your new card.  They they will have it sent to your current address within 3 business days.  You can do so at the following link - https://www.uc.edu/af/facilities/metro/

 

UC students must get new IDs for Metro rides

 

Nearly 1 million riders took advantage of the University of Cincinnati’s contract with Metro in which the Cincinnati transit company provides free rides to UC employees and students.  In fact, the service was so heavily used that UC officials are putting new rules in place to ensure that people can’t use expired UC ideas to get free rides. Starting Oct. 19, qualified riders will have to use a special identification card that will be reissued each quarter to currently enrolled students and current employees.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/29/daily13.html

Glad you posted that.  Just registered for my new card.

Oh, that makes me SO happy.  I get free rides on the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) with my UW-Milwaukee ID and I use it every day.  I was worried about switching to UC next year because I didn't think they had a similar pass. 

 

That reminds me.  Our pass also gets us free rides on Wisconsin Coach Lines which are regularly scheduled coach routes from Milwaukee to various surrounding cities (Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, etc.)  I tried looking for a similar service in Cincinnati and couldn't find anything.  Are there any scheduled routes between Hamilton, Dayton, Oxford, etc?

Are there any scheduled routes between Hamilton, Dayton, Oxford, etc?

 

Not at all.  I'm currently riding the 17 Seven Hills bus to Forest Park, then riding my bike to Hamilton for my daily commute.

 

Don't hold your breath for a regional system quite yet...although it's a possibility.

 

Or just buy a bike. :)

HAHA, I'm worried about THAT too.  I'm definitely bringing my bike down when I move there, but I hear it's not quite as flat there in Cincinnati.  Hmm....

 

If I'm living in OTR and riding to school at UC on my bike, there's definitely a disincentive to going to class.  That ride home will be fun though.

HAHA, I'm worried about THAT too. I'm definitely bringing my bike down when I move there, but I hear it's not quite as flat there in Cincinnati. Hmm....

 

If I'm living in OTR and riding to school at UC on my bike, there's definitely a disincentive to going to class. That ride home will be fun though.

 

Well, if you're living in OTR, you can easily put it on the bike racks on the fronts of each bus.  That won't help you get more accustomed to riding in Cincinnati, but hell...I ride 20-35 miles per day, and I still can't get up Vine Street all the way.  Then again, I'm riding a commuter bike, which makes it more difficult.

Ex-Councilwoman Cooper joins SORTA board

 

Minette Cooper, a former Cincinnati City Council member, has joined the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority’s board of trustees. The nine-member board oversees the Metro bus system and Access transit for people with disabilities.

 

Cooper, a former kindergarten and Head Start teacher, served on council from 1995-2003, including a stint as vice mayor. She currently is chief consultant at Cooper and Associates, advising candidates on campaign issues. Cooper recently earned a master’s degree in education from Xavier University, and she has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Howard University.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/29/daily25.html

^ Good. A rail supporter. One of the first Cincinnatians to make the trip to Portland.

^^Who is she replacing?

Not sure.  That article is from the CBC as well as the go*METRO news page.

She's a county appointee, so she probably replaced Robert Mecklenborg -- Jake's uncle -- who is running for state rep. Someone is checking.

UC*Metro to require new IDs to ride buses

 

The questionable student status of some riders and unanticipated levels of ridership will require users of the UC*Metro program to use a new Metro-issued swipe card beginning Oct. 19.  The current program provides all University of Cincinnati students, faculty and staff with free rides on all Metro buses as long as they have a UCID.

 

Over the past year, Metro drivers have noticed a large number of people who do not appear to be affiliated with the university obtaining free rides with a UCID.  “There seem to be people who are riding and based on their usage pattern it doesn’t appear they are necessarily current students, faculty members or employees,” said Sallie Hilvers, spokeswoman for Metro. “It’s not fair to UC and the students who are paying for it that people ride free who don’t really deserve to.”

 

With the new system, riders will need to apply for a new card each quarter to ensure people who leave the university will not be able to take advantage of the system by using an old ID, according to Hilvers.  The initial swipe card will be provided free of charge to current UC community members, but a replacement card will cost $50.  According to Hilvers, the fee is there as a deterrent to keep people from registering for multiple cards and passing them out to ineligible riders.

 

Read full article here:

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/news/uc_metro_to_require_new_ids_to_ride_buses

“It’s not fair to UC and the students who are paying for it that people ride free who don’t really deserve to.”

 

but UC is paying a fixed price so it doesn't actually make a difference.

but UC is paying a fixed price so it doesn't actually make a difference.

 

WOW! 

 

{cross-posted from UrbanCincy}

 

I'm really unhappy with this decision. I'm sure the system was being abused by non-current students or that IDs that fell into the wrong hands, but all this will do is make UC students less likely to ride the bus. Many students that might have just randomly tried riding Metro will not go through the hassle of requesting a pass online every quarter.

Well, my issue is that I ordered one two weeks ago, and I still haven't received mine.  That has me worried, since I rely on my student ID to commute.

“It’s not fair to UC and the students who are paying for it that people ride free who don’t really deserve to.”

 

but UC is paying a fixed price so it doesn't actually make a difference.

 

2 things:

 

1. It isn't fair to UC or Students because METRO could charge UC more because of greater than anticipated usage (caused by those with invalid UCIDs). If UC gets charged more, the general fee paid by ALL UC students increases... since the general fee goes toward paying for those types of services.

 

2. I ordered my METRO card the day it was announced (9/30-ish) and received my card today... 10 days later.

2. I ordered my METRO card the day it was announced (9/30-ish) and received my card today... 10 days later.

 

Okay, glad to hear that.  I guess I should be receiving mine very soon.  Thanks.

Instead of requiring a special card, why not actually do something about all the invalid UCIDs floating around?  Maybe change the design every 4 years and require all current students to trade in their old ID to get a new one... and make former students turn in their old ID when they graduate.

 

Even if Metro just stopped accepting the old white UCIDs and only accepted the new red ones (which have been used since ~2005), this problem would be mostly solved.  And UC could just let any students with the old white IDs trade them in for a new one for free, just this once.

Instead of requiring a special card, why not actually do something about all the invalid UCIDs floating around? Maybe change the design every 4 years and require all current students to trade in their old ID to get a new one... and make former students turn in their old ID when they graduate.

 

Even if Metro just stopped accepting the old white UCIDs and only accepted the new red ones (which have been used since ~2005), this problem would be mostly solved. And UC could just let any students with the old white IDs trade them in for a new one for free, just this once.

 

That would cost even more money to replace the old ones.  A complete waste of resources.  Metro has swipe cards for other people--seniors, high school students, etc.  Those cards are paid for one way or another.  I think it's a good idea that they're using this method because it's aligned with all the other prepaid fare types. 

 

The old way just inefficient, which also left it up to the driver to count the UC passenger in the system.  (Ever notice how they press a button after you board with your UCID...?)  That's no good way to accurately count how many people are using a certain type of service.

Why don't they do a larger fare increase for the buses coming from the outside suburbs? Seems fair to me longer ride = more money

This isn't that big a deal, not so long ago, a fair number of UC students spent the time to buy the student/staff passes which required a separate card entirely. At least its better than ten years ago when the cards were plastic and had to be punched every day.

Well if/when Metro moves to 'Smart Cards' then UC Student IDs could be 'charged' each quarter automatically for current students/faculty.  Then when you get on the bus you simply wave your ID.  This same thing could be used for UC athletics and how they go about admitting students into games.

Why don't they do a larger fare increase for the buses coming from the outside suburbs? Seems fair to me longer ride = more money

 

Then you'd be discouraging suburban ridership.

 

But that's the whole point of the regional bus system that council motioned to approve last month.

Well if/when Metro moves to 'Smart Cards' then UC Student IDs could be 'charged' each quarter automatically for current students/faculty.  Then when you get on the bus you simply wave your ID.  This same thing could be used for UC athletics and how they go about admitting students into games.

 

IF there is a Metro by that point.

 

I'm not sure if it would be any different (or the timetable on that implementation) would be any different if the city took control.

^The main thing that would change is who controls the organization.  I would imagine that all the staff and operations would remain the same...just controlled by the City instead of these suburban forces.

^I'm sure that the staff and operations would remain the same too.  But the decision to implement something like a Smart Card technology would be largely decided by the city.

^I think it would have more to do with money than anything else.  I think that if Metro had the money to implement the system right now they would.  I don't see why the City would have any part in that kind of decision.  Why do you think they would?

^I think it would have more to do with money than anything else. I think that if Metro had the money to implement the system right now they would. I don't see why the City would have any part in that kind of decision. Why do you think they would?

 

That's exactly what I'm saying.  If the city felt that it was a good investment for the fleet, then they'd spend the dollars.  Metro as a non-profit company just doesn't have the resources to do that right now.  Do you know any non-profit private transit agencies that have the technology?

^I think it would have more to do with money than anything else. I think that if Metro had the money to implement the system right now they would. I don't see why the City would have any part in that kind of decision. Why do you think they would?

 

The existing scanners for the monthly cards are in pretty bad shape and will need to be replaced soon anyway. 

TANK rates going up

By Kevin Kelly, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 30, 2008

 

Neil Radulski is a relative newcomer among the commuters who ride the No. 11 bus each weekday.

 

The commute soon will cost the Fort Thomas resident and fellow Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky passengers a little more.

 

“Yeah, the regular riders have brought it up and discussed it,” Radulski said. “We’re none too happy about it. But what are you going to do?”

 

Read More...

Metro boosts commuter ridership by 18%

 

Cincinnati’s Metro system said its ridership on its long-distance express routes has jumped more than 18 percent over the past year.  The bus system said the number of riders on its most far-reaching routes rose from October 2007 to October 2008 as follows: West Chester Express (Route 42X) up 10 percent; Harrison Express (Route 52X) up 24 percent; Kings Island Express (Route 71X) up 21 percent; and Eastgate Express (Route 82X) up 18 percent. That’s an average of 1,980 rides per weekday, versus 1,730 a year ago.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/11/17/daily3.html

 

^If gas prices don't skyrocket again, we might not see such a boost in ridership from the Oct-2009 report.  May still be on the rise, but I wouldn't guess as much.

I'll be interested to see if ridership tails off or not.  I've always thought that the main obstacles to using an existing transit system are lack of familiarity and getting past the wall between personal and public transit for the first time.  I wonder how many people who started riding during the gas spike will opt to keep riding now that prices have fallen again.