The Land with a couple articles on the RTA and sprawl:

 

Stuck in Cleveland: riders struggle to use public transit to get to work

 

How NE Ohio communities are building small transit solutions to solve big issue of sprawl

I think we found the solution to the RTAs low ridership; we need to bring the Transiteers back! 

 

How the Transiteers brought a cappella singing to Cleveland RTA in the 1960s

Friend riding the east-side rail lines this week said new ties were already put down trackside....

 

 

4 hours ago, KJP said:

Friend riding the east-side rail lines this week said new ties were already put down trackside....

 

 

I used to take the red line from the airport every chance I had. Not anymore, not when the rail lines malfunction and needs maintenance almost daily it seems. I used to be upset by the lack of ridership, then I realized RTA is losing the rest of its riders because of unreliability now. What a sad state of affairs this system has become. 

I must be testing/tempting fate, as I've had extraordinary luck with the red line.

 

Could June 26th break the streak?

Edited June 13, 20223 yr by TBideon
I can't spell

 

 

AND

 

On 6/10/2022 at 6:56 AM, Luke_S said:

The Land with a couple articles on the RTA and sprawl:

 

Stuck in Cleveland: riders struggle to use public transit to get to work

 

How NE Ohio communities are building small transit solutions to solve big issue of sprawl

 

Hmm, that's what the local transit agencies used to do before the forced merger.

They're there all the time and has been the situation for months. Whatcha doing RTA/police??

 

 

Good stuff - code for real-time LED transit sign for GCRTA stops.

^ Would be really great convenience to have these at CLE. 

15 hours ago, surfohio said:

^ Would be really great convenience to have these at CLE. 

Along with ticket machines like MTA or CTA and actual people working at the turnstiles.  Oh yeah, maybe getting more transit police to have more visibility on the rail lines instead of mostly being in patrol cars.  This isn't a slam, just a wish list.

On 7/7/2022 at 2:52 PM, KJP said:

They're there all the time and has been the situation for months. Whatcha doing RTA/police??

 

 

It has gotten absolutely unusable this past year. I used to take the transit to work every day for over a year and absolutely loved it. 

 

But it slowly kept getting worse. It started with the smell. It never used to but now it has this overpowering smell of urine and body odor. 

 

Then what was originally just a few homeless that kept to themselves has become a full-on shelter where they scream and yell all day and night.

 

Then they began directing at everyone that gets off the train. I bought a new bike so that I could ride the last mile or so after my stop and it was nothing but comments about my bike. 

 

The nail in the coffin was a homeless guy covered in scabs that had set shop next to the elevator shouting at people while he had a Pitbull at the end of his leash. 

 

 

I have a deep deep love for public transit and especially rail transit, but I drive to work now. The rapid is no longer useable outside of special occasions. 

 

I feel like I've been forced to abandon a lot of my values and its horrible. 

 

 

1 hour ago, TotalTransit said:

It has gotten absolutely unusable this past year. I used to take the transit to work every day for over a year and absolutely loved it. 

 

But it slowly kept getting worse. It started with the smell. It never used to but now it has this overpowering smell of urine and body odor. 

 

Then what was originally just a few homeless that kept to themselves has become a full-on shelter where they scream and yell all day and night.

 

Then they began directing at everyone that gets off the train. I bought a new bike so that I could ride the last mile or so after my stop and it was nothing but comments about my bike. 

 

The nail in the coffin was a homeless guy covered in scabs that had set shop next to the elevator shouting at people while he had a Pitbull at the end of his leash. 

 

 

I have a deep deep love for public transit and especially rail transit, but I drive to work now. The rapid is no longer useable outside of special occasions. 

 

I feel like I've been forced to abandon a lot of my values and its horrible. 

 

 

Unfortunately, I do not believe that RTA is well run organization at all. It seems these issues at the Madison could be improved with some RTA presence. The agency spends a lot of money on law enforcement but I am unaware of how these spend their day. The budget for law enforcement should allow for them to make multiple trips to the stations each day. They could do this while riding the trains as well. 

Better yet, having ticket staff at the station would be less expensive and likely more effective than law enforcement.

 

However, the agency is too poorly run to even do the basics right.

3 hours ago, TotalTransit said:

But it slowly kept getting worse. It started with the smell. It never used to but now it has this overpowering smell of urine and body odor. 

 

Yeah, when i flew in last month the smell was almost unbearable. In a more civilized society I'd imagine there would be bathrooms, or people not needing to live in the RTA station. 

Edited July 18, 20222 yr by surfohio

Unfortunately I think a lot of people face this dilemma. There are many who want to ride transit but the endless unreliability, shutdowns, and lack of any leadership or urgency renders the system almost un-useable. I’m not sure what the solution is. I just don’t see the death spiral RTA is in getting any better unless there is a massive overhaul. 

9 hours ago, freefourur said:

Better yet, having ticket staff at the station would be less expensive and likely more effective than law enforcement.

 

 

Can't do that, it's what they used to do.   Wouldn't be "progressive".

8 hours ago, mrclifton88 said:

Unfortunately I think a lot of people face this dilemma. There are many who want to ride transit but the endless unreliability, shutdowns, and lack of any leadership or urgency renders the system almost un-useable. I’m not sure what the solution is. I just don’t see the death spiral RTA is in getting any better unless there is a massive overhaul. 

 

As a quick anecdote - twice in the last month, I walked to the top of my street to wait for the 26, and as its ETA kept getting pushed further back, I ended up having to drive in to the office to make a meeting. 

6 hours ago, YABO713 said:

 

As a quick anecdote - twice in the last month, I walked to the top of my street to wait for the 26, and as its ETA kept getting pushed further back, I ended up having to drive in to the office to make a meeting. 

 

Not good. Could you imagine being some unfortunate public transit reliant guy who could lose their job for being late? 

 

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

 

Did they ever hear about night maintenance like they do on 271?

On 7/25/2022 at 9:22 AM, E Rocc said:

 

Did they ever hear about night maintenance like they do on 271?

 

RTA used to do that. Don't know why they don't anymore.

15 hours ago, KJP said:

 

RTA used to do that. Don't know why they don't anymore.

 

My guess would be the unions objected, and since the ridership is largely a captive audience they heeded them.

 

Personally I would think that kind of work would be easier during cooler nights, but I don't do it so I could be wrong.

On 7/25/2022 at 7:40 AM, KJP said:

What do you expect in a city where the transit supervisors park blocking a bus stop to get their Starbucks.  🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

 

On 7/28/2022 at 8:48 AM, Cleburger said:

What do you expect in a city where the transit supervisors park blocking a bus stop to get their Starbucks.  🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

 

The series of mind-boggling things listed here recently leaves me with no question that RTA is dying a slow death.  The system had a once in a generation or multiple generations chance to reverse its free fall in ridership.  Gas prices that neared $5.00 a gallon stared to lure new riders from their cars and start using mass transit once again.  All that RTA needed to do was to put its best foot forward.  Make the stations desirable to use.  Get the homeless out of them and clean out the reek of bodily fluids.  Have people believe they are safe. Spend the time and money to get equipment clean and reliable.  Insure that controllable delays are kept to a minimum.  Do track work where shutdowns and single-track operation are done overnight and low traffic weekends.  Have running times as close as possible to schedules so riders can expect to get to their destinations on time, if not early.   

 

What did riders get?  Homeless using stations as their personal shelters and bathrooms.  People don't feel comfortable where when hearing threats directed at them.  Breakdowns are commonplace.  Schedules are meaningless.  Equipment needs cleaning badly.  They probably do the track maintenance during the day as it is "cheaper" than doing it on nights and weekends.  They save overtime money by not working the extra hours on repairing and cleaning as well.  Have to wonder that as gas prices have started dropping significantly, how many new RTA converts have already left the system?  If gas prices again surge, based upon the negative experiences, how many would rather deal with the pain at the gas pumps instead of the pains on the senses and overall unreliability?

 

One has to ask, what has Birdsong done to correct the problems?  Talk of the replacement of the worn out rail fleet has stopped.  Are top level managers too concerned with maintaining "good" budget numbers rather than providing good service.  Supervisors are more concerned with convenience of access for their coffee and pastries instead of making sure stops are easy to use by riders.  The entire situation screams that from top to bottom, as long as they get their hefty paychecks (wondering if bonuses are being shelled out), this sort of dysfunctional system operation is perfectly acceptable.  For the existing passengers and potential new ones, be darned. 

 

The Federal Mass Transit Administration needs to dig into this situation, not just to oversee and provide guidance on rail car procurement contracts.  The system most definitely needs a complete managerial cleaning house.  Birdsong has been on the job for almost three years.  COVID cannot be used as an excuse for the problems.  She needs to be relieved of her duties immediately. The old guard leaders left over from Calabrese needs to be shown the door as well.  With the many years the old guard has had in controlling hiring, most if not all of their managers can go too.  There are many excellent and "driven" leaders and managers at other transit systems who should be brought aboard and given the POWER to clean up RTA.  This is RTA's last and only hope to survive, if it isn't already too late. 

Criminals and derelicts unnerving and at times terrorizing public transportation passengers is really a national issue.

 

If the MTAs and CTAs can't/won't handle or acknowledge these issues, even with their enormous budgets, I don't see RTA having much hope. 

On 7/31/2022 at 11:20 AM, TBideon said:

Criminals and derelicts unnerving and at times terrorizing public transportation passengers is really a national issue.

 

If the MTAs and CTAs can't/won't handle or acknowledge these issues, even with their enormous budgets, I don't see RTA having much hope. 

RTA's system does not have many major stations on its limited rail system; nowhere near the number of stations that the New York, Chicago and Boston systems have.  As such, policing them in a manner where they don't become homeless shelters reeking of vile odors should not be an issue.  For RTA, it is quite manageable if they chose to do so.  The problem is that they have decided to do nothing about it, just like they deal with many other problems.  For a system that lacks credibility as a transit system, it is indicative of the bigger problem where in the minds of the general public, RTA has become irrelevant.  As such, the death spiral continues to speed up.

Edited August 2, 20222 yr by LifeLongClevelander

You should write a op-ed or letter to the editor of the PD.

 

Ugh

 

Hey @KJP - is this Red Line train using the temporary tracks on the viaduct? If so, it’s nice for documentation.

 

 

Not that I'm aware of

8 hours ago, KJP said:

Ugh

 

lmao. I used to wonder why so few people use the Rapid to and from the airport. Over time I realized why. What an absolute sad state of affairs with public transit in this region.

16 minutes ago, AsDustinFoxWouldSay said:

lmao. I used to wonder why so few people use the Rapid to and from the airport. Over time I realized why. What an absolute sad state of affairs with public transit in this region.

 

When they decided the system would not cater to "fat cats", which apparently meant anyone who wasn't captive audience, they chose this path.   No one has had the gumption to wander off it to find alternatives since all the competition was absorbed, at least.

 

There needs to be a takeover of RTA or something. So much incompetency.

5 hours ago, JB said:

There needs to be a takeover of RTA or something. So much incompetency.

Its not just RTA.  It's the culture of the entire regional public employees.  There is no accountability and no one has pride in their work. 

And from the AAO thread....

 

Apparently RTA put out a second bid for rail cars, pushing all the adaptions to the railcars (as opposed to modifying stations and infrastructure). They did not receive any viable bids. Lots of internal inertia resisting the station upgrades that would better accommodate a unified fleet. No update on Waterfront line bridge either.

 

RTA doesn't want to adjust to the railcar market. They want the railcar market to adjust to them. If they were NYC's MTA, they might get away with that. For a tiny rail system and railcar order, it ain't happening. But when you think you matter more than you actually do, it's hard to adjust to reality. Yep, time to clean house.

29 minutes ago, KJP said:

And from the AAO thread....

 

 

 

 

RTA doesn't want to adjust to the railcar market. They want the railcar market to adjust to them. If they were NYC's MTA, they might get away with that. For a tiny rail system and railcar order, it ain't happening. But when you think you matter more than you actually do, it's hard to adjust to reality. Yep, time to clean house.

Would it be easy to clean house? I know Birdsong needs to be approved by multiple people.

2 minutes ago, JB said:

Would it be easy to clean house? 

 

If it's worth doing, it's probably going to be hard.

On 8/14/2022 at 8:23 AM, KJP said:

And from the AAO thread....

 

RTA doesn't want to adjust to the railcar market. They want the railcar market to adjust to them. If they were NYC's MTA, they might get away with that. For a tiny rail system and railcar order, it ain't happening. But when you think you matter more than you actually do, it's hard to adjust to reality. Yep, time to clean house.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 8:54 AM, JB said:

Would it be easy to clean house? I know Birdsong needs to be approved by multiple people.

 

On 8/14/2022 at 8:57 AM, KJP said:

If it's worth doing, it's probably going to be hard.

Birdsong will be at the rudderless helm of RTA for at least two more years.  Based upon past history, the board of trustees will "reward" her for navigating through COVID and buying into the fallacy of her doing a "good job".  The "reward" will be similar to what was done for Calabrese:  contract extension, bonus and/or pay raise.  Repeating history all over again, they will ignore all the problems that have grown bigger and more out of control.  If something does go bad, somebody will be thrown under the bus to take the blame.  The only way that Birdsong exits is that she sees a brewing disaster and wants to get out before you-know-what hits the fan.  With the problems that have persisted and have gotten worse, it is highly doubtful that her managerial "experience" at RTA will land her a bigger or better job at another transit system.

 

The insanity of the situation is they keep on making the same bad decisions without changing a thing while expecting a different outcome.  Federal-level control needs to come in and take over.  Cannot help but wonder what the Federal people who were involved with getting the rail car bid re-advertised think of this mess.

1 hour ago, LifeLongClevelander said:

 

 

Birdsong will be at the rudderless helm of RTA for at least two more years. 

I can't tell whether she doesn't get it, she's been too distracted by multiple maternity leaves to get her plan in place, or she's being stymied by entrenched interests within RTA, but I really want Birdsong and RTA to succeed, dmmit. 

 

We don't seem to appreciate the value of our existing rail network and how it could be leveraged to make Cleveland transit really great.  Will Ronayne make a difference as county exec?  Will he be able to work with Bibb and transit advocates to nudge RTA forward?!  <pounds head on wall>

7 hours ago, Foraker said:

I can't tell whether she doesn't get it, she's been too distracted by multiple maternity leaves to get her plan in place, or she's being stymied by entrenched interests within RTA, but I really want Birdsong and RTA to succeed, dmmit. 

While none of us can know for sure without working directly with her,  my gut is she is a life long public service employee who has mastered gaming the system and doing the least amount of work to continue her rise on the ladder.    She is fundamentally a good person, but just wants to sit back and oversee the status quo, and not try to push the envelope to initiate change.   Think Frank Jackson lite.  

 

 

they are going to wave their magic-bridge-fixing-wand and it will all be good  

RTA press release:

https://www.riderta.com/news/WaterfrontLineBridge

 

17 hours ago, Foraker said:

I can't tell whether she doesn't get it, she's been too distracted by multiple maternity leaves to get her plan in place, or she's being stymied by entrenched interests within RTA, but I really want Birdsong and RTA to succeed, dmmit. 

 

We don't seem to appreciate the value of our existing rail network and how it could be leveraged to make Cleveland transit really great.  Will Ronayne make a difference as county exec?  Will he be able to work with Bibb and transit advocates to nudge RTA forward?!  <pounds head on wall>

 

9 hours ago, Cleburger said:

While none of us can know for sure without working directly with her,  my gut is she is a life long public service employee who has mastered gaming the system and doing the least amount of work to continue her rise on the ladder.    She is fundamentally a good person, but just wants to sit back and oversee the status quo, and not try to push the envelope to initiate change.   Think Frank Jackson lite.  

Birdsong has had her nearly three years on the job.  More than ample enough time, even with multiple maternity leaves, to see the continued failures of RTA and her top subordinates.  As @KJPhas stated after witnessing lame excuses put forward by those subordinates at meetings and seemingly accepting them, RTA is staying locked in another round of incompetent management.  She has ample time to review the actions and get rid of the incompetence left by Calabrese.  If she truly wanted to make meaningful changes, they would have been done.  Even on those multiple leaves, she could have been working on a viable plan for the future.  

 

It doesn't stop with Birdsong.  Obviously, the board of trustees is perfectly content with the death spiral of RTA and those who the trustees should be answering to are content with the pathetic state of RTA as well.  Nothing will happen from the county's viewpoint as long as lame-duck Budish is around, but Bibb really hasn't said anything much about RTA, nor has the county's mayors held their fellow mayors on the board accountable, either.  Occasionally, a mayor or two will make noise about a threatened lack of bus service (like the mayors of Highland Heights and Mayfield Village did), but that is it.  The local mayors only care about their little pieces of the county and that is it.  As long as the trustees accept and welcome RTA's complete failure as well those who are responsible for naming them to the board, RTA will continue to wither away to irrelevance. 

I think Bibb tried to replace Jackson's appointees to the board but they fought it. 

14 minutes ago, freefourur said:

I think Bibb tried to replace Jackson's appointees to the board but they fought it. 

Bibb did name one trustee and attempted to name another, but there is far more that he could do.  Being the mayor, he could be far more vocal about the sorry state of affairs of the system and he hasn't.  His voice could bring far more attention to the problems and start applying pressure towards making changes.  Even if he was able to name all four of Cleveland's trustee members, it is still a minority of the 10-member board.  The one other notable statement about RTA made by Bibb was during his mayoral campaign and how buses traverse Public Square.  If he felt that altering bus routes through Public Square would "fix" many of RTA's problems, then that is truly disappointing.  

More details on WFL bridge repairs here - apparently there is an RFQ published:
 

https://www.cleveland.com/a-greater-cleveland/2022/08/rta-says-waterfront-line-will-continue-suspension-into-browns-2022-season-cites-safety-concerns.html

 

RTA announced the indefinite suspensionof the Waterfront Line, which first opened in 1996, in September 2021. It has since added four interim support towers to stabilize the bridge until repairs are completed.

RTA has completed the design of the necessary repairs to the bridge and retaining walls. Bids on the project are due Aug. 25.

Would anyone be willing to ask questions and/or make comments at the RTA board meeting next Tuesday August 23 (9-11am)? I was asked by a person with Clevelanders for Public Transit to ask questions based on my posts about the rail car bid. My schedule doesn't allow me to participate. In their experience, in-person comments are given the most weight, but calling in or submitting written comments / questions can be done at a link they post 24 hours before meetings:

https://www.riderta.com/events/board-meetings

Of course, ask about whatever you want, but specifically it would be really interesting to ask the following:

- Is RTA committed to a unified rail car fleet?

- Is RTA going to make station modifications such that a standard model from a proven vendor can be used? In other words, no customization necessary?

- Will RTA make station modifications that would enable an all light rail, single level rail car system, thus speeding boarding and simplifying ADA compliance (as compared to a system with two different platform levels)?

- What is RTAs current thinking regarding rail car procurement?

 

I'd also be really interested in learning what steps RTA is taking to recreate the success of the Van Aken District at other Rapid stations. So many dead, dangerous parking lots screaming with potential for Transit Oriented Design.

12 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

they are going to wave their magic-bridge-fixing-wand and it will all be good  

RTA press release:

https://www.riderta.com/news/WaterfrontLineBridge

 

Built by the lowest bidder...in the mid 1990's.   SMH.