January 18, 20223 yr 9 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said: RTA only has two active bus garages: Triskett on the west side of Cleveland and Hayden in East Cleveland. Not many buses are out on the road during the overnight hours. If bus drivers could not get to the garages in the first place or they could get to the garage, but then got stuck after pulling out, that would be the basis for issues throughout the system. I never recall RTA ever having a system-wide shut down due to weather, either. In years past, RTA had far more snow-fighting equipment on the rail lines and would run extra rail cars to keep the lines open. Especially not "in place".
January 19, 20223 yr I never post on this site but I just got off the skyscraper page site and read an article about the extension of the Kansas City light rail line. My favorite form of transportation is rail. I remember how hopeful I was when Cleveland was initially looking at building a light rail line along along Euclid from downtown to UC. At some point it was determined that a rail line was too expensive so it was replaced with a bus line. WTF! In the meantime other cities HAVE built light rail like Cincinnati and KC. If they could pull it off why couldn't we? Was it lack of political will? I know its very expensive to build in Cleveland but come on!
January 19, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, cadmen said: I never post on this site but I just got off the skyscraper page site and read an article about the extension of the Kansas City light rail line. My favorite form of transportation is rail. I remember how hopeful I was when Cleveland was initially looking at building a light rail line along along Euclid from downtown to UC. At some point it was determined that a rail line was too expensive so it was replaced with a bus line. WTF! In the meantime other cities HAVE built light rail like Cincinnati and KC. If they could pull it off why couldn't we? Was it lack of political will? I know its very expensive to build in Cleveland but come on! Both are streetcar systems
January 19, 20223 yr Not to derail this thread too much, but there is no hard line between "streetcar" and "light rail" any in fact most of Europe doesn't make a distinction and just calls them all "trams". Yes, Cincinnati's system primarily runs in mixed traffic, but for the most part it is built to "light rail" standards. The vehicles Cincinnati use are the shortest version of the CAF Urbos 3 light rail vehicle (LRV) but longer versions are in use in many cities around the planet. So there's not much we'd need to do to convert our "streetcar" system into a proper "light rail" system.
January 19, 20223 yr 31 minutes ago, cadmen said: I never post on this site but I just got off the skyscraper page site and read an article about the extension of the Kansas City light rail line. My favorite form of transportation is rail. I remember how hopeful I was when Cleveland was initially looking at building a light rail line along along Euclid from downtown to UC. At some point it was determined that a rail line was too expensive so it was replaced with a bus line. WTF! In the meantime other cities HAVE built light rail like Cincinnati and KC. If they could pull it off why couldn't we? Was it lack of political will? I know its very expensive to build in Cleveland but come on! 13 minutes ago, taestell said: Not to derail this thread too much, but there is no hard line between "streetcar" and "light rail" any in fact most of Europe doesn't make a distinction and just calls them all "trams". Yes, Cincinnati's system primarily runs in mixed traffic, but for the most part it is built to "light rail" standards. The vehicles Cincinnati use are the shortest version of the CAF Urbos 3 light rail vehicle (LRV) but longer versions are in use in many cities around the planet. So there's not much we'd need to do to convert our "streetcar" system into a proper "light rail" system. When the rail line was proposed along Euclid Avenue, there were plans to build the line so that it would diverge from the Blue/Green joint tracks to run on Euclid. It was also proposed that at Euclid and E.120th, the Red Line tracks would come down from the rapid transit right-of-way for street running. Opposition to that routing grew from the reasoning that if the tracks would diverge at that point, it would mean the loss of the Free Clinic building on Euclid Avenue (nobody brought up that it could have meant a new, bigger and better location). The operation on Euclid Avenue would have been provided with the Breda LRVs. Mayor Mike White's opposition helped kill the Euclid Avenue rail line. There was also a proposal to run electric trackless trolleys (the ones that run from overhead wires) on Euclid Avenue. When Hayden Bus Garage was rebuilt during the 1990's, provisions were included that would have permitted overhead wires to be installed.
January 20, 20223 yr 3 hours ago, LifeLongClevelander said: When the rail line was proposed along Euclid Avenue, there were plans to build the line so that it would diverge from the Blue/Green joint tracks to run on Euclid. It was also proposed that at Euclid and E.120th, the Red Line tracks would come down from the rapid transit right-of-way for street running. Opposition to that routing grew from the reasoning that if the tracks would diverge at that point, it would mean the loss of the Free Clinic building on Euclid Avenue (nobody brought up that it could have meant a new, bigger and better location). The operation on Euclid Avenue would have been provided with the Breda LRVs. Mayor Mike White's opposition helped kill the Euclid Avenue rail line. There was also a proposal to run electric trackless trolleys (the ones that run from overhead wires) on Euclid Avenue. When Hayden Bus Garage was rebuilt during the 1990's, provisions were included that would have permitted overhead wires to be installed. We've come close to better rail over and over and over, it is so upsetting smh.
January 20, 20223 yr Without getting lost in the differences between light rail and streetcar systems can't we just agree that any type of fixed rail line is more appealing than a bus? Personally l prefer a line embedded in the street that allows for both auto and train traffic. It seems easier and cheaper to build. It's been used in Europe for a century at least so we don't have to re-invent the wheel here. If it can be done elsewhere it can be done here. It just takes political leaders and an informed citizenry. Pisses me off that we don't have enough of both.
January 20, 20223 yr Going to be a long couple years w/City Club being built and them having to take a turn off of E9 onto Euclid. The bus was able to back out of this but oof, glad I'm not a driver on this line.
January 20, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, GISguy said: Going to be a long couple years w/City Club being built and them having to take a turn off of E9 onto Euclid. The bus was able to back out of this but oof, glad I'm not a driver on this line. We need a wow icon. Garbage truck had to back onto Lakeshore from my private (so unplowed) street Tuesday, my crack was he only got as far as he did because I shoveled the street enough to get out.
January 20, 20223 yr 57 minutes ago, E Rocc said: We need a wow icon. Garbage truck had to back onto Lakeshore from my private (so unplowed) street Tuesday, my crack was he only got as far as he did because I shoveled the street enough to get out. You almost need to turn from the left lane to get it right, I think it's less of a snow issue and more of a tight turn issue. Snow or not that platform is pretty much right there. Ope, I stand corrected. Edited January 20, 20223 yr by GISguy
January 20, 20223 yr I think that’s the snow bank driving the bus wide tbh. They’ve often use this diversion during Euclid roadworks and I’ve never seen it be a problem before. FWIW on Monday morning a Healthline got jack-knifed and beached in the snow at that stop and had to get towed out, after sitting there for at least 2-3 hours. My hovercraft is full of eels
January 22, 20223 yr This doesn't inspire the most confidence... ideastream: Greater Cleveland RTA chief operating officer explains snowstorm service shutdown. https://www.ideastream.org/news/greater-cleveland-rta-chief-operating-officer-explains-snowstorm-service-shutdown
January 24, 20223 yr RTA should do this for the next snow storm When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
January 25, 20223 yr Author Just saw these in the meeting minutes.... NOACA Planning and Programming Committee Meeting October 8, 2021 NOACA Offices The following projects are sponsored by GCRTA: • GCRTA FY 2022 Capital Program and FY 2021 Grant Revisions - The total cost of this program is $53.7 million: o METROHEALTH LINE BRT - The total cost of this project is $21 million. o E 79TH ST LIGHT RAIL STATION ADA RECONSTRUCTION - The total cost of this project is $6.5 million. o LIGHT RAIL GUARD AND RETAINING WALL REHABILITATION PH 3 - The total cost of this project is $2 million. o TRISKETT GARAGE BUS WASH REPLACEMENT - The total cost of this project is $1.7 million. o ON-BOARD ORIGIN AND DESTINATION SURVEYS - The total cost of this project is $1.2 million. o FARE COLLECTION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT - The total cost of this project is $6 million. o RAIL WORK EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT - The total cost of this project is $7.3 million. Plan and TIP Amendments; 2nd Quarter State Fiscal Year 2022: Mr. May provided background on the Plan and TIP amendments. He noted that the Plan and TIP amendments include the projects presented under PPR as well as the following additional GCRTA projects: • CUY GCRTA Bus Prev Maint 2020-24: PID 104564 – $2 million • CUY GCRTA Rail Prev Maint 2020-24: PID 104566 - $2 million • CUY GCRTA CY21-24 Roof Replacements: PID 112088 - $3.8 million • CUY GCRTA Rail Car Replacement Prog: PID 112109 - $32.5 million • CUY GCRTA Track Br Rehab over Ambler: PID 112205 - $40,000 • CUY GCRTA WFL Track Bridge Rehab: PID 113060 - $4 million Mr. May stated that no NOACA funding has been programmed for the above-referenced projects. He noted that the cost of the proposed projects to be amended to the Plan and TIP is $42.3 million and the total cost of the projects to be revised in the Plan and TIP is $44.3 million. He also noted that funding from FHWA and FTA has been provided and will be administered through ODOT. Mr. May stated that with Board adoption, the amendments will be incorporated into the NOACA Plan and/or statewide TIP amendment in January 2022. A motion was made by Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail to recommend the Plan and TIP amendments to the Executive Committee for placement on the December Board agenda. The motion was seconded by Engineer Conrad. Ms. Birdsong provided context to the last three GCRTA projects listed in the Plan and TIP amendments: • GCRTA Rail Car Replacement - GCRTA is planning to repost an RFP for the replacement of rail cars. GCRTA previously went out for solicitation which was not acceptable. GCRTA wants to come to the Greater Cleveland region with a product that will last for another 30+ years. GCRTA has solidified over half of the funding that is necessary to get to the $300 million price tag. • GCRTA Track Br Rehab - GCRTA solidified $4.3 million from ODOT recently for light rail as part of the infrastructure investment. Ms. Birdsong recognized GCRTA staff for their work and NOACA for its support in getting public transportation recognized as a viable option for people in this area. • GCRTA WFL Track Bridge Rehab - GCRTA is looking to make the repairs to the infrastructure and get it back on line to provide service to residents in a year or two. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 25, 20223 yr 5 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said: RTA should do this for the next snow storm What's keeping this fire going? And couldn't running over live fire damage some stuff on the underside of the rail cars? And do they start and lay fires for miles and miles? Seems kindof crazy/irresponsible---what if wind picks up some embers and burns down some houses or something? What am I missing here?
January 25, 20223 yr 3 hours ago, Pugu said: What's keeping this fire going? And couldn't running over live fire damage some stuff on the underside of the rail cars? And do they start and lay fires for miles and miles? Seems kindof crazy/irresponsible---what if wind picks up some embers and burns down some houses or something? What am I missing here? Using fire to keep rail switches clear of ice in winter is common practice. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
January 25, 20223 yr Author On 1/19/2022 at 6:48 PM, LifeLongClevelander said: When the rail line was proposed along Euclid Avenue, there were plans to build the line so that it would diverge from the Blue/Green joint tracks to run on Euclid. It was also proposed that at Euclid and E.120th, the Red Line tracks would come down from the rapid transit right-of-way for street running. Opposition to that routing grew from the reasoning that if the tracks would diverge at that point, it would mean the loss of the Free Clinic building on Euclid Avenue (nobody brought up that it could have meant a new, bigger and better location). The operation on Euclid Avenue would have been provided with the Breda LRVs. Mayor Mike White's opposition helped kill the Euclid Avenue rail line. There was also a proposal to run electric trackless trolleys (the ones that run from overhead wires) on Euclid Avenue. When Hayden Bus Garage was rebuilt during the 1990's, provisions were included that would have permitted overhead wires to be installed. That's not how I remember it. I replied here, including some maps, etc... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 27, 20223 yr Author The HealthLine is withering "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 27, 20223 yr 23 minutes ago, KJP said: The HealthLine is withering Without signal prioritization and infrequent stops, "BRT" is an oxymoron. They have re-invented the 6, albeit with dedicated lanes.
January 27, 20223 yr 5 minutes ago, TBideon said: I miss the 6 and 9/9x. They seemed to do the job quite well. The 32x too. The 9 was a good way to get from the center of the CWRU campus downtown. The 6 took forever.
January 27, 20223 yr Author 4 hours ago, TBideon said: I miss the 6 and 9/9x. They seemed to do the job quite well. The 32x too. A friend who lives in Little Italy prefers taking the #9 to the eastern side of downtown rather than the HealthLine or even the Red Line and then walking/connecting. He says it's actually fastest of the three options. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 28, 20223 yr 7 hours ago, E Rocc said: The 9 was a good way to get from the center of the CWRU campus downtown. The 6 took forever. The #9X and #9F were excellent ways to get downtown fairly quickly. I recall it being a regular occurrence where the #9X/9F buses were passing 4 to 6 of the #6/6A buses. If somebody's ultimate destination was downtown, they should not have to put up with the numerous intermediate stops. The #9X/9F would stop at major stops (Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic) as well as the intersecting lines like East 30th, East 55th and East 105th. When the #9 was truncated to feed the HealthLine, it hurt ridership significantly, not only with the increased number of stops, but with the time it took to do the transfer. At least the route has been restored to going downtown, but the current routing of Hough/Payne/Superior is on the northern fringe of the CSU campus. The earlier routing down Euclid was through the heart of the campus.
January 28, 20223 yr Author Not good. GCRTA has no idea how to build ridership but they're pretty good at eroding it... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 28, 20223 yr 13 minutes ago, KJP said: Not good. GCRTA has no idea how to build ridership but they're pretty good at eroding it... Does RTA have any way of counting the people who don't get on or off at Tower City, and choose not to purchase a ticket? I don't doubt these lines are underutilized, but I'm guessing we're undercounting a bit as well.
January 28, 20223 yr 3 hours ago, Ethan said: Does RTA have any way of counting the people who don't get on or off at Tower City, and choose not to purchase a ticket? I don't doubt these lines are underutilized, but I'm guessing we're undercounting a bit as well. In other words, "unofficial free fares"? It sounds like Cincinnati is including freebies, after all?
January 28, 20223 yr 20 hours ago, KJP said: A friend who lives in Little Italy prefers taking the #9 to the eastern side of downtown rather than the HealthLine or even the Red Line and then walking/connecting. He says it's actually fastest of the three options. Even more so back when the station was at 120 instead of Little Italy, it was quite dingy too. The UC Red Line station is at the absolute periphery of UC, though not as far as the line is from CC.
January 28, 20223 yr Actually had this choice yesterday. Going from stokes and euclid to 19th and euclid. 9 and healthline showed up back to back. Between the stretch the healthline is obviously much faster because it's a direct line. New busses are really nice and were actually getting to stops EARLY and being forced to wait on the timetable. I wonder if they simply don't have enough new busses to update the schedule for a faster trip through the corridor? If that were the case it seems you could have maybe every other trip be a "healthline express" (but still serving all the stops). I also wonder if accessibility plays any factor. I've had many trips where the largest delays were getting wheelchairs on/off.
January 28, 20223 yr 7 hours ago, KJP said: Not good. GCRTA has no idea how to build ridership but they're pretty good at eroding it... 6 hours ago, JB said: Why can’t RTA get some competent leadership in there? RTA does everything so anti-rider, it is amazing they have the riders that they do. How many multiple months-long shutdowns have they had? Red Line "S" curve reconstruction project. Green/Blue trunk rebuilding project. Temporary platforms for Tower City platforms where the only elevator broke down constantly. When riders are forced to ride buses that are significantly slower that provide service for the entire route or transfer to continue their trip, it is discouraging for riders. Add in unreliability due to frequent breakdowns. They bungle the wheel replacement and didn't have enough equipment to provide service. For about a year, RTA shut down the Green Line with the last downtown departure occurring at 9:00 pm (except for a few special event occurrences that did not have the best publicity). Events such as baseball, hockey and basketball games along with concerts do not end until well after 9:00 pm. So, unless somebody would be willing to leave with at least a third of the event remaining, they were forced to take other methods downtown. When one looks at other systems, they seem to avoid these issues. About 15 years ago, SEPTA completely rebuilt about 2 miles of the Market Street Elevated. This rebuild replaced EVERYTHING from the ground up: support pillars, elevated structure and tracks. Yet when SEPTA performed this reconstruction, it did not impact normal weekday riders. After the Friday evening rush hour, the line was shut down, they replaced the old sections with new, prefabricated sections that were pre-staged on site and the line was open for service for Monday morning's rush hour. This methodology impacted the fewest riders as possible. When there are prolonged shutdowns for months, many people will tire of the substandard replacement service. They will find other methods to do their commuting, get comfortable with it and they are far less likely to return when the line reopens for service. It will be very hard to get them back. Birdsong has been on the job long enough. In 2+ years on the job, she had enough time to weed out all of the poor managers that were holdovers from Calabrese and replace them with competent leaders.
January 28, 20223 yr 4 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said: RTA does everything so anti-rider, it is amazing they have the riders that they do. How many multiple months-long shutdowns have they had? Red Line "S" curve reconstruction project. Green/Blue trunk rebuilding project. Temporary platforms for Tower City platforms where the only elevator broke down constantly. When riders are forced to ride buses that are significantly slower that provide service for the entire route or transfer to continue their trip, it is discouraging for riders. Add in unreliability due to frequent breakdowns. They bungle the wheel replacement and didn't have enough equipment to provide service. For about a year, RTA shut down the Green Line with the last downtown departure occurring at 9:00 pm (except for a few special event occurrences that did not have the best publicity). Events such as baseball, hockey and basketball games along with concerts do not end until well after 9:00 pm. So, unless somebody would be willing to leave with at least a third of the event remaining, they were forced to take other methods downtown. When one looks at other systems, they seem to avoid these issues. About 15 years ago, SEPTA completely rebuilt about 2 miles of the Market Street Elevated. This rebuild replaced EVERYTHING from the ground up: support pillars, elevated structure and tracks. Yet when SEPTA performed this reconstruction, it did not impact normal weekday riders. After the Friday evening rush hour, the line was shut down, they replaced the old sections with new, prefabricated sections that were pre-staged on site and the line was open for service for Monday morning's rush hour. This methodology impacted the fewest riders as possible. When there are prolonged shutdowns for months, many people will tire of the substandard replacement service. They will find other methods to do their commuting, get comfortable with it and they are far less likely to return when the line reopens for service. It will be very hard to get them back. Birdsong has been on the job long enough. In 2+ years on the job, she had enough time to weed out all of the poor managers that were holdovers from Calabrese and replace them with competent leaders. Any chance with Bibb now in charge he could possibly get a better leader in there?
January 28, 20223 yr I'd also imagine a lot of the higher level staff are unprotected and could be replaced if she wanted to. Really want to give her the benefit of the doubt but this is shaping up to be pretty disappointing compared to all the fanfare there was when she showed up.
January 28, 20223 yr 24 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said: RTA does everything so anti-rider, it is amazing they have the riders that they do. How many multiple months-long shutdowns have they had? Red Line "S" curve reconstruction project. Green/Blue trunk rebuilding project. Temporary platforms for Tower City platforms where the only elevator broke down constantly. When riders are forced to ride buses that are significantly slower that provide service for the entire route or transfer to continue their trip, it is discouraging for riders. Add in unreliability due to frequent breakdowns. They bungle the wheel replacement and didn't have enough equipment to provide service. For about a year, RTA shut down the Green Line with the last downtown departure occurring at 9:00 pm (except for a few special event occurrences that did not have the best publicity). Events such as baseball, hockey and basketball games along with concerts do not end until well after 9:00 pm. So, unless somebody would be willing to leave with at least a third of the event remaining, they were forced to take other methods downtown. When one looks at other systems, they seem to avoid these issues. About 15 years ago, SEPTA completely rebuilt about 2 miles of the Market Street Elevated. This rebuild replaced EVERYTHING from the ground up: support pillars, elevated structure and tracks. Yet when SEPTA performed this reconstruction, it did not impact normal weekday riders. After the Friday evening rush hour, the line was shut down, they replaced the old sections with new, prefabricated sections that were pre-staged on site and the line was open for service for Monday morning's rush hour. This methodology impacted the fewest riders as possible. When there are prolonged shutdowns for months, many people will tire of the substandard replacement service. They will find other methods to do their commuting, get comfortable with it and they are far less likely to return when the line reopens for service. It will be very hard to get them back. Birdsong has been on the job long enough. In 2+ years on the job, she had enough time to weed out all of the poor managers that were holdovers from Calabrese and replace them with competent leaders. All that needs to be said is "regular Sunday service" on the Brecksville line coming into downtown on the night of Game 7 in 2016. (Yes, there were two Game 7s that year, but we all mean the same thing when we say that.) Almost as big a fail as the game not being on on the airport TVs because they couldn't reach the bureaucrat that controlled the channel selection. Some percentage of first time riders come back, because it was better than they expected. That is, if it was. It may be a small percentage, but it's not zero. Edited January 28, 20223 yr by E Rocc
January 28, 20223 yr 15 minutes ago, GISguy said: I'd also imagine a lot of the higher level staff are unprotected and could be replaced if she wanted to. Really want to give her the benefit of the doubt but this is shaping up to be pretty disappointing compared to all the fanfare there was when she showed up. She was never going to be a visionary or a transformer. Nothing in her resume suggested that.
January 28, 20223 yr 25 minutes ago, JB said: Any chance with Bibb now in charge he could possibly get a better leader in there? In the near future, it would be unlikely. Birdsong has a 5-year contract, so unless she committed some serious infraction that would justify sufficient cause for dismissal prior to the contract's end, the only hope would be for her to resign to go someplace else. Otherwise, it could become very expensive. RTA is stuck with her for more than 2 1/2 years. As Cleveland is responsible for 4 of the 10 RTA board member positions, Bibb would need to cultivate support from the county's 3 board members (with the assistance of the county's leadership) and the 3 suburban mayors who comprise the board to get a majority to not renew her contract. Edited January 28, 20223 yr by LifeLongClevelander
January 28, 20223 yr 46 minutes ago, JB said: Any chance with Bibb now in charge he could possibly get a better leader in there? (GCRTA Board) Appointments are as follows: City of Cleveland — Four members are appointed by the Mayor of Cleveland, and approved by City Council. All appointees must reside in Cleveland. Suburbs — Three members are elected by the Mayors and City Managers of municipal corporations, other than Cleveland, within Cuyahoga County. County — Three members are appointed by the Cuyahoga County Executive, and approved by the Cuyahoga County Council. At least one of these three appointees must be a resident of the City of Cleveland. In all honesty, 2/3 of the people in the county live outside of the city, and at least 5 of the ten members have to live in the city. If they want more suburban riders, maybe that needs to change. Edited January 28, 20223 yr by E Rocc
January 29, 20223 yr 20 hours ago, E Rocc said: All that needs to be said is "regular Sunday service" on the Brecksville line coming into downtown on the night of Game 7 in 2016. (Yes, there were two Game 7s that year, but we all mean the same thing when we say that.) Almost as big a fail as the game not being on on the airport TVs because they couldn't reach the bureaucrat that controlled the channel selection. Some percentage of first time riders come back, because it was better than they expected. That is, if it was. It may be a small percentage, but it's not zero. During the NBA playoffs championship round in 2016, there was a watch party at Quicken Loans Arena (one of several held during the playoff run). It was a capacity crowd. Next door at Progressive field there was another large crowd for the baseball game. Yet, with around 50,000 fans at both facilities, RTA still had its last Green Line departure at 9:00 pm. The approximately 1000 free parking spaces on the Green Line at Warrensville and Green Roads were worthless. Decisions like that show exactly how inept RTA's management was and still is as many of them are still in place. The only explanation that can be derived from shutting down the Green Line so early that sports fans would find that RTA's service was meaningless is that somebody was getting a cut of parking lot revenues. Not saying that anybody at RTA has such self-serving interests, but it is an indication that they have no idea how to operate a transit system that fills a need for the public. The parking lot owners and operators are perfectly happy to see RTA's management stay around for as long as possible Edited January 29, 20223 yr by LifeLongClevelander
January 30, 20223 yr An opportunity to voice our complaints 1. fix the HealthLine- signal prioritization, proof-of-payment made permanent - make it FAST 2. Commitment to service in inclement weather 3. update on rail car acquisition When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
February 1, 20223 yr Author Don't ask why RTA shut down its rail system Jan. 17. They have an answer for that. What they don't have an answer for is -- why was it the first all-day shutdown of the entire rail system in RTA's history?? And when are we going to stop the fires?? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 1, 20223 yr I feel like RTA would be justified in clawing back some of Calabrese’s pay. It’s just shameful the state he left the system in. Rebuilding rail cars that were past the end of their useful life was such a terrible decision. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
February 2, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said: I feel like RTA would be justified in clawing back some of Calabrese’s pay. It’s just shameful the state he left the system in. Rebuilding rail cars that were past the end of their useful life was such a terrible decision. I want to know what exactly did Calabrese find out regarding his "investigation" of Dixon's scamming of RTA's medical insurance system and how he was able to abuse the privileges of having the RTA-issued cell phone (that was only to be used for RTA-related maters). Furthermore, what was Calabrese able to get reimbursed to RTA from Dixon, somebody who was bankrupt and has since passed away? Calabrese basically slithered off with his overly compensated (and undeserved) separation package without revealing any "findings". As for rebuilding the rail cars, they had no choice or the rail system would have shut down. The replacement rail car order is more than a dozen years past due and counting. Where the real problem lies is the large number of rail cars that they scrapped prematurely from both fleets. Well over 30 have been scrapped and I don't know if any suffered catastrophic "unrepairable" damage. They have basically eliminated their pool of spare equipment. The significantly reduced fleets end up having more demands placed a smaller number of available units. It only accelerates the decline of those units. It has been stated by @KJPthat the heavy rail fleet is deteriorating faster than the light rail fleet. For most of the day, single units (181-200 group) could provide Red Line service, yet many of those single units have been scrapped. As such, they don't have enough to provide off-peak service and they are stuck with running 301-series cars that must run in a minimum of 2-car trains. Double the number of cars in service doubles the fleet mileage, wear-and-tear, power consumption and assorted other costs. To make matters worse, many of the experienced rail mechanics have left the system out of frustration and/or retirement.
February 4, 20223 yr I'll say it was nice seeing RTA out last night as I was xc skiing in the same street lol the driver was a little confused when I stopped and gave them a 🤙 haha
February 6, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 6, 20223 yr On 1/28/2022 at 4:50 PM, JB said: Any chance with Bibb now in charge he could possibly get a better leader in there? Did you forget Bibb was an RTA Board Member? He actually could have made a difference back then if he knew anything about transit.
February 6, 20223 yr 11 minutes ago, Pugu said: Did you forget Bibb was an RTA Board Member? He actually could have made a difference back then if he knew anything about transit. Good god dude - just stop. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
February 6, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said: Good god dude - just stop. He who denies the truth about things shall always walk in darkness.
February 6, 20223 yr Just now, Pugu said: He who denies the truth about things shall always walk in darkness. There’s only one person denying the truth here. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
February 6, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, KJP said: The mechanical staff at RTA's Central Maintenance Facility need to be commended on the jobs they are doing to keep the rail fleet operational. It is not their fault that top managers and bean-counters have dished out the mess they have to deal with. The mechanics were not the ones who tried to "make their numbers look good" and cancel the heavy rail replacement wheel order. They had to scramble to deal with the aftermath of equipment shortages caused by worn out wheels and work around the clock getting the new wheels installed after they arrived. The mechanics weren't the ones who decided to ignore the age of the rail fleets and not order the replacements well over a decade ago. The mechanics are the ones stuck with cannibalizing equipment for these unique fleets just to keep operations going, yet the top "leaders" have still wanted to go down the dead-end track once again by wanting to purchase another (if not two) unique fleets where replacement parts will be difficult and expensive. The mechanics have learned over and over again the lessons that RTA's top managers have never bothered to attempt to comprehend, let alone learning from prior mistakes. They are the true operational heroes of the system.
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