How many extra rides can be attributed to the Cavs season running through mid-June?  It was a nice coincidence to have a lot of dual games going on at Gateway this spring. 

part of the increase in rail ridership may be attributed to the normalization of fares - there is no longer a difference between a bus and rail fare or an express and local fare (except for park-n-ride).  people who choose bus routes b/c of cost, now have an incentive to use the rail if it serves the same area.

 

there will also apparently be new bus shelters coming to the downtown transit zone.  they will be painted silver to tie in with the ECP and are supposed to mimic some of the same theme of the ECP shelters, but at much less cost per shelter.  these are scheduled to start appearing this fall on superior.  i haven't seen any pics though. 

not that its any consequence to absolutely anything, last weekend on the turnpike, i passed one of the ECP shelter curved roof dealies

 

(the effort to appropriately place my ramble in the ECP thread is clearly not worth it, however typing this sentence is)

not that its any consequence to absolutely anything, last weekend on the turnpike, i passed one of the ECP shelter curved roof dealies

 

(the effort to appropriately place my ramble in the ECP thread is clearly not worth it, however typing this sentence is)

 

I appreciate your contributions nonetheless. :)

More about Tober. This is a staff editorial....

 

http://www.charlotte.com/opinion/v-print/story/238384.html

 

Posted on Thu, Aug. 16, 2007

Tober's lonely train

 

It's hard to imagine it now, but in 30 years, the controversy and cost

overruns of the South Corridor Light Rail line likely will be a speck in

the transportation history of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

 

......

 

http://www.charlotte.com/news/story/237091.html

Personally, I like Ron Tober. He was always fair, open and friendly with me, but he also had an "empire building" MO of big capital projects when he was at RTA. He was probably the right guy for RTA at the time -- a Cleveland native who came home with a pretty solid transit resume and was a cheerleader for Cleveland and transit here. When he was hired in 1988, RTA was mired in some scandals that was distracting the agency from its core mission. Even Tober's "empire building" which were too expensive for RTA to afford from an operational cost perspective, helped spark a sense of pride and long-term thinking at RTA. But his desire for taking on too many big capital projects at one time (Euclid Corridor, Waterfront Line, Waterfront Line Extension/Loop, Blue Line Extension to the east/south, Red Line extension to Berea, and commuter rail routes), as well as his poor, if not verbally abusive treatment of staff caused a board revolt against him. The public reason for his departure from RTA was his wife's unidentified health problems required Tober to move to a warmer climate.

 

Let's not forget that Tober's main 'pet' project, which was foolishly rejected by local officials, was the very-much-needed Dual-Hub subway-rail tying into the existing Red Line network.  Its failure led to the less-than- 1/2-a-loaf ECP; a new, untested, lesser technology that is not physically compatible and cannot mesh with the proven technology of rapid rail -- which we already had in place!!!! ... I think once the Waterfront Line finally spawns Wolstein's East Bank development -- the largest TOD in this town since the Terminal complex and Shaker Sq, folks (not you) will stop carping at it...

 

... look, there's never an excuse for any leader to abuse underlings and humiliate them, esp publicly and if Tober was about that, to hell with him... That said, I also recognize that in Cleveland, especially, you have to be a bastard on some level to get things done; to break through the typical Cleveland lethargy.  Whether you like them or not, more seemed to get done here in the 90s when the Dynamic Trio of Mike White, Ron Tober and Dick Jacobs ruled their respective roosts and, in each case, their much lesser replacements (Jane, Calabrese and el-cheapo Dolan) have seemed to stall progress and send Cleveland back to its usual struggling – not true on all fronts, of course, we seem to be slowly pulling out of it, but…

 

In Cleveland we favor personality over progress; nice guys and consensus-builders rather than those who produce.  In sports we turn away the Steinbrenners, Belichick’s (hated here b/c he dumped popular but past-his-prime B. Kosar, but who’s only gone on to become the best coach in NFL history), Marvin Lewis’ and Lou Pinellas in favor of the Gabe Pauls/Vernon Stouffers, Charlie Manuels, Eric Wedges, and Romeo Crennells – nice guys but, well, you see our teams never win anything (often/usually $$, or rather, the chance to save $$ rules around here).  On the field & court we like tend to go for the choir boy types rather than the nasty boys who only win!  Universally we thumbed our nose at nasty NBA’s Rasheed Wallace who, though imploded this year, mightily helped propel the Pistons in ’04 to the trophy we’ve collectively covet but are still waiting for as the 43rd year since the last one ticks off --  I do pin a lot of hope in the rare, more nasty, bottom-line guy like Dan Gilbert who, as owner for once, here, is also filthy rich.  Note, though, he had to 1st ruffle a lot of Cleveland feathers by coming in and doing the right thing firing the popular but non-producing Paul Silas... and it's no mistake that pushy Danny Boy, who in 2 years got the Cavs into its 1st ever Championship, is from outside conservative Cleveland.

 

You’ve got to knock heads around here to get things done and individuals who do so are often loathed.  Joe Calabrese in many ways is the perfect kind of Cleveland leader.  He charms and preens but does little to promote transit progress; in fact, he retards it – and, in so doing, makes him a hero in many quarters here, … the oft conservative Crain’s Cleveland Business being among them. 

 

Maybe Ron Tober made some errors, pissed people off and had ugly cost overruns for rail in Charlotte for the trolley, light rail and commuter rail (which we’re still desperately trying to build here).   But Charlotte, NC, an overgrown conservative backwater, is being dragged kicking and screaming into the realm of modern cities in the process – it’ll be all the better b/c of Tober. Ditto here in Cleveland where his “… big capital projects” as you put it (jump starting Red Line station rebuilding, the Tober walkway the stimulated Gateway and, yes, the Waterfront Line) will make/are making Cleveland a much better city.  Hell, as much as I dislike ECP, it is transit progress and will draw a lot of national curiosity for Cleveland and, without Tober’s dogged agitation for Dual Hub, the Euclid corridor may have been stuck with absolutely nothing…

 

clvlndr, I respectfully disagree with some of the points you've made:

 

the less-than- 1/2-a-loaf ECP; a new, untested, lesser technology

 

Untrue; the first dedicated busway in the US opened in 1973, and "lesser" is a relative term with no basis, other than "it's not rail".

 

more seemed to get done here in the 90s when the Dynamic Trio of Mike White, Ron Tober and Dick Jacobs ruled their respective roosts

 

Please don't lump Mike White in there -- the continued fallout from the airport fiasco has shown him to be an unindicted (as of this point, at least) criminal with more concern for feathering the nests of his cronies than anything else.

 

Universally we thumbed our nose at nasty NBA’s Rasheed Wallace who, though imploded this year, mightily helped propel the Pistons in ’04 to the trophy

 

And that's done exactly WHAT for the city of Detroit? Their urban core is rotten and continuing to decay, as evidenced by the inner-city  neighborhoods that are degrading back to wilderness. Add in the fact that the formation of DARTA was invalidated by the courts, and you've got a blight trifecta in the making...

 

it’ll be all the better b/c of Tober.

 

"Post hoc, ergo propter hoc", a common fallacy of timeliness implying causation -- had Tober's "grand plans" been implemented here in the form he suggested, we'd all likely be facing higher taxes, lesser overall service, and a bloated infrastructure that our tax base would be unable to operationally support.

 

Federal dollars help to build most (all?) of these types of projects, but federal dollars CANNOT be used for operational expense. It is the responsibility, ultimately, of the impacted community to provide day-to-day operational fiscal support. Thanks, but with as many issues as Cleveland is facing, I'll take a little fiscal conservatism.

 

Don't get me wrong, I wish the city of Charlotte all the best, and I hope it does work for them, but it's a hell of a gamble. I'm a gambling man with my own money, but I'll not often encourage dragging the great unwashed masses along with me. They deserve responsible (which at times means conservative, or at least pragmatic) leadership.

gotta love cheap shots at detroit.

gotta love cheap shots at detroit.

 

no cheap shot intended, but I'd have to think Cleveland's a damn sight better off than they are... just consider popular media, we get "Welcome to Collinwood"  :-D, they get "Eight Mile"  :shoot:

8/23/2007

from Progressive railroading.com

 

Greater Cleveland RTA approves URS planning/design pact for Cedar-University Rapid Station

 

On Tuesday, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board authorized a contract with URS Corp. for architecture/engineering planning and design services for the new Cedar-University Rapid Station.

 

The board also authorized:

 

• The general manager/secretary-treasurer to enter into an interagency agreement with the city of Shaker Heights for a Warrensville/Van Aken transit-oriented development with the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative.

 

• A contract with Aaron Landscape Inc. for improvements to the Avalon Station.

 

• And a contract with Schirmer Construction Co. for the rehabilitation of the Abbey Avenue Bridge.

 

Meanwhile, Greater Cleveland RTA Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Joe Calabrese reported that July rail ridership represented a 12.2 percent increase compared with July 2006’s total, and that year-to-date ridership was up 8 percent.

no cheap shot intended, but I'd have to think Cleveland's a damn sight better off than they are... just consider popular media, we get "Welcome to Collinwood"  :-D, they get "Eight Mile"  :shoot:

 

Hey! "Eight Mile" is one of my favorite movies of all time!

gotta love cheap shots at detroit.

 

no cheap shot intended, but I'd have to think Cleveland's a damn sight better off than they are... just consider popular media, we get "Welcome to Collinwood"  :-D, they get "Eight Mile"  :shoot:

 

And the PD just ran a big article on asphalt farming to reclaim communities in Cleveland, does that mean Cleveland is declining to pre-1900 Agrian society? 

 

This isn't a pissing match, nor is it tolerated to make cleveland's flame brighter by blowing out the flame of another.

The general manager/secretary-treasurer to enter into an interagency agreement with the city of Shaker Heights for a Warrensville/Van Aken transit-oriented development with the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative.

 

Today I saw a rendering of Stark's vision for that area, and it's quite stunning and nothing short of brilliant. It would turn the area into a street grid, rather than a six-point intersection that's a traffic and accident nightmare. I asked for a copy of it but he wasn't willing to give me a copy, in part because the city of Shaker Heights may not be fully supportive of the concept. I gave him some transit-related suggestions, such as designing the rail terminus in such a way to allow the rail line to be extended at some point in the future. But everything else in the rendering (looking north-northeastward and downward at a about a 30-degree angle) was super. It looked like a European satellite town, with 3-5 story buildings, lots of mixed use, and streets that included greenspace and plazas. I wish I could provide the rendering to all of you. It was that terrific.

That's really good to hear, KJP.  An endorsement from you should be worth something!

 

Nice running into you this evening, by the way!  An Urban Ohioan's work is never done.

I might be in the PD sometime soon for a story unrelated to transit, but I advocated TOD in my quotes. Keeping the revolution close to my heart!

8/23/2007

from Progressive railroading.com

 

Greater Cleveland RTA approves URS planning/design pact for Cedar-University Rapid Station

 

On Tuesday, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board authorized a contract with URS Corp. for architecture/engineering planning and design services for the new Cedar-University Rapid Station.

 

 

So how does Studio Techne fit into this?

8/23/2007

from Progressive railroading.com

 

Greater Cleveland RTA approves URS planning/design pact for Cedar-University Rapid Station

 

On Tuesday, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board authorized a contract with URS Corp. for architecture/engineering planning and design services for the new Cedar-University Rapid Station.

 

I'm glad to see this too, but I'm really a little disturbed that work re the long, long, long E. 120 discussed station rebuild, relocation is dragging along. What's going on here? As outdated  the U.Circle station is, it still is functional, well-located and safe enough to draw large crowds, esp during rush hour (and esp tap into the huge the Univ Hospital workforce/commuter base).  But E.120 is in such poor shape, so dank and out of the way, it is hampering growth and needs to be addressed before any more rebuilds imho.  Frankly, even though much focus has been on relocating nearer to Little Italy, even rebuilding on the same site, with better lighting, safety and access would be far better that what's being allowed to sit there and rot.

 

 

^ i dont know if thats dead, im pretty sure the CIA expansion has taken on the train station there

^I sure hope so, zaceman.  CIA's McCullough (?) building and Case's massive dorm expansion of a few years ago, has really pumped in new life to this once moribound section of Euclid.  A new Rapid station could further enhance this area as well as the adjacent Triangle. ... if you, or others, have any news on E. 120th's rebuild/relocation, please share.

A streetcar from Pittsburgh will be on display at this Saturday's subway tour. See....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=13806.msg215285#new

speaking of old choo choos

 

when do the old CTS guys come out? Even if for show....

Hello. I'm Jerry Masek, a public information officer for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, officially called RTA...unofficially, we're probably called a lot of things. I formerly worked in Media Relations, now I work in Publications. Either way, I am qualified to speak for RTA on most issues. I have ridden RTA daily, usually from Puritas to Tower City, for more than 20 years.

 

I have been told that many of you often raise legitimate concerns about RTA. In the past, perhaps RTA has not been as active in cyberspace as we could -- or should. My presence here tells you that is about to change.

 

Someone once said their goal in life was not to know all the answers, but to understand all the questions. I am still trying to do both. If I do not know the answers, I will try to find them and keep you informed.

 

I will try to drop in around lunch, and again in the evening. If you have an urgent question, you can always send e-mail to [email protected]. Some days, my work schedule will preclude being on at all. Your understanding is appreciated.

 

And away we go....

 

Good to have you on board Jerry.  It can get lively here when it comes to discussing almost anything connected to public transportation, whether it GCRTA, COTA, TARTA, SORTA or whatever the acronym. But your joining in can enlighten us from an insider's view.

I would recomend a facebook page. 

I echo noozer's comments - you'll find lots of folks here who are passionate about public transportation and its importance to a vibrant city.  It'll probably also help to have some thick skin  :-)  I applaud you for signing on and for being on the board - welcome!

 

In any case, if you haven't already, you may want to check out these 2 (long) threads about the RTA generally and the Euclid Corridor Project in particular:

 

General RTA thread:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4504.0

 

Euclid Corridor thread:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2840.0

 

 

 

Welcome aboard, Jerry! Glad to have your expertise and knowledge here. Yes, you'll find some transit-passionate people here. I'm allegedly one of them. And if you can't figure out who I am by my initials/acronym, you haven't been working in government long enough!

 

Also, you may want to check out some of the TOD, station-area planning, Lorain-Cleveland commuter rail and other transit-related threads here.

Welcome aboard, Jerry (in stereo)... A thick skin is, indeed, needed.  Those who watch the transit boards know I've been one of the tougher critics of RTA, in particular, of your boss.  I have not been particularly impressed with his commitment to expansion, esp rail, and it's potential to lead in the smart growth of the city which, while doing better in many ways, has many, many ills (you're not here to discuss crime and the sub-prime/foreclosure debacle that's turning Cleveland into a ghost town, but...), among them, its no-growth sprawl which, I believe, judicious rail growth could arrest.  The Lakefront East and the planned West Shore commuter rail proposal, among the ideas which I'd think RTA would embrace... more later...

 

Nevertheless,  I'm glad you're here, it should be interesting... but I don't expect to change my position because of it (as recommended, try and wade through the mountains of transit-related threads).  Nothing personal on my part, at least I try not to be.  But hopefully your presence will correct me (and others) when me/them are in error or out of bounds.

 

Again, welcome.

Hi and welcome.  I'm the resident autophile and sprawl defender.  Still, I rode RTA every weekday for 3-1/2 years while in college, so I may have an idea or few.

 

One is decentralization.  Fifteen or twenty years ago, I recall a suburban politician saying RTA was too downtown oriented.  It was true then, and if anything downtown is less important to the business world than it was then.

 

Also, keep in mind that suburbanites in general fear the inner city.  Don't try to disparage this fear, and don't think it can be changed anytime soon.  Work around it.

 

On a more specific basis....can existing railroads be used for commuter rail/rapid transit?  If so, perhaps a couple megastations could be built in, say Solon and Strongsville.  Huge parking lots...nominal fee with a transfer, free with a monthly pass (lots of pass only automated exits).  The train only stops at Hopkins, Tower City, Cleveland Clinic, and those two stations. 

 

Then open the Tower City/Gateway walkway to commuters...and maybe put in a moving sidewalk.

 

I'm sure there's holes in this idea besides the fact that it's probably "elitist" and certainly unPC.  I'm a materials engineer, not a Civ-E or an urban planner.

 

But it can't be said that it's not "outside the box".  >:)

Welcome to the forum, Jerry. As others have said, a thick skin will be helpful but most people here are able to articulate a strong feeling without resorting to insults.

 

However, as a resident of the city who has been car free for over five years (thanks in large part to RTA) - when I hear this:

"Also, keep in mind that suburbanites in general fear the inner city.  Don't try to disparage this fear, and don't think it can be changed anytime soon.  Work around it."

 

It's not in RTA's best interests to help residents further maintain an auto-centric and unsustainable lifestyle simply because of some preconceived fears and/or thinly-veiled racism. If they made the choice to move to a suburban area that's poorly served by transit, they likely won't be hopping on a bus or train in the first place. E Rocc's comments may be outside the box, but they're simply way off base for a transit agency that could help redevelop the supposedly fear-inducing inner city. If you want to look at what happens when decentralization is the M.O. of a city, go about 60 miles to the southeast and tell me how healthy Youngstown is. You don't need to be an urban planner for that.

Glad you are here, Jerry. We look forward to hearing your input.

"It's not in RTA's best interests to help residents further maintain an auto-centric and unsustainable lifestyle simply because of some preconceived fears and/or thinly-veiled racism. "

 

What you're talking about is what you see as the best interests of the city and region, and perhaps even "good for" the people involved.  In any case we're not talking, for the most part about racism.  It's more "classism" perhaps,  even more cultural caution, and in this case a perception of safety.  In cases like this, perception is reality.

 

Fundamentally, RTA is a business.  To be sure, its a tax subsidized business, and profit is not its only motive.  But it and passenger miles should be the main motives.

 

It's not RTA's job to revive the central city or to promote the mixing of diverse populations.  It's RTA's job to move people from place to place in exchange for fares.  If they can profitably get people to replace a 50 mile car round trip with 10 miles in a car and 40 miles on a train, have they accomplished something?  Perhaps something that will further subsidize buses in poorer areas....

  But it and passenger miles should be the main motives.

 

 

This just gave me a thought. A brief one, but a thought nonetheless.

Airlines have been attracting passengers for years with their frequent flier/miles programs (as ill conceived as some of them are). Has GCRTA, or any transit agency ever given thought to this type of program that could partner with local and national businesses (even airlines)?

Again, just a random thought.

This will be an interesting thread for sure.

  But it and passenger miles should be the main motives.

 

 

This just gave me a thought. A brief one, but a thought nonetheless.

Airlines have been attracting passengers for years with their frequent flier/miles programs (as ill conceived as some of them are). Has GCRTA, or any transit agency ever given thought to this type of program that could partner with local and national businesses (even airlines)?

Again, just a random thought.

 

Isn't that the point of the weekly and monthly passes?

w28th, I think this runs the risk of being a duplicate thread. Jerry probably should've said hello at the Greater Cleveland RTA discussion thread.

 

Musky, I responded to your post at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4504.msg216902#msg216902

Is it?

What do you get besides a small discount?

Just me being ignorant.

I know, I know, it's shameful, but I've driven my car to work downtown for the last year. I'm planning on switching to the bus in the next couple weeks to save some money -- quick question though. Does anyone know the relative security of the parking lot at W. 117 and Madison outside the Rapid station? On rare occasions, I need to get to my car, and on those days I'd plan to park my car at the station and then take the Rapid to it and then go wherever I need to go - during normal business hours.

 

Normally I'm not such a weeny about this stuff, but my buddy and I went to the Rapid station eight months ago and someone had stolen the wheels of a car and had it up on rocks. Granted, I don't know if that car had been sitting there for days or what....

 

Fundamentally, RTA is a business.  To be sure, its a tax subsidized business, and profit is not its only motive.  But it and passenger miles should be the main motives.

 

It's not RTA's job to revive the central city or to promote the mixing of diverse populations.  It's RTA's job to move people from place to place in exchange for fares.  If they can profitably get people to replace a 50 mile car round trip with 10 miles in a car and 40 miles on a train, have they accomplished something?  Perhaps something that will further subsidize buses in poorer areas....

 

For the same reason, I respond to the above quote in the GCRTA thread.

Is it?

What do you get besides a small discount?

Just me being ignorant.

 

That's it. Plus employers who pay for the transit passes can get tax deductions. We're you thinking of getting t-shirts or a mug or something? ;)

 

As for parking at the West 117th station (RTA now calls it the Highland Square Station), I can't speak to the safety of it because any car thefts, thefts of property from cars or vandalism never appears in the CPD brevity reports I get at work. RTA police patrol the lot, so it's their jurisdiction to do the reporting and investigation. However, I do see RTA police parked at the lot fairly often, watching. 

 

 

Fundamentally, RTA is a business.  To be sure, its a tax subsidized business, and profit is not its only motive.  But it and passenger miles should be the main motives.

 

It's not RTA's job to revive the central city or to promote the mixing of diverse populations.  It's RTA's job to move people from place to place in exchange for fares.  If they can profitably get people to replace a 50 mile car round trip with 10 miles in a car and 40 miles on a train, have they accomplished something?  Perhaps something that will further subsidize buses in poorer areas....

 

I'm in total disagreement over this statement. RTA is not a tax-subsidized business. It is a political subdivision of the state. Not only is profit not its primary purpose - it's not even one among many purposes. Certainly, it needs to be solvent and a wise steward of taxpayer money, but to focus on increasing revenues at the expense of the community it serves is contrary to its role as a government agency. And with 40% of RTA's board appointed by the Cleveland mayor (and with 100% of the board appointed by government leaders in Cuyahoga County), I think that the body would have an interest in reducing urban sprawl. Moreover, I challenge your revenue projections. If I understand your argument correctly, you're saying that the revenue that would be generated by suburbanites who would only ride the train if you didn't have stops in the inner city or near suburbs would exceed the revenue generated by inner city residents and near suburbanites who would ride the train if they had an accessible stop. I don't buy that.

^Exactly, and to add to that isn't it something like 25% of Cleveland households do not own a car? Add that stat with the fact that most households in Solon and Strongsville probably have at least two cars and tell me where RTA's business is at.

 

Furthermore building train stations that serve only Solon and Strongsville, population 44,000 seems like a huge waste of tax dollars since most households have cars and don't use mass transit anyway.

 

E Rocc, whether you realize it or not your comments are definitely classist and borderline racist.

 

Fixed

w28th, I think this runs the risk of being a duplicate thread. Jerry probably should've said hello at the Greater Cleveland RTA discussion thread.

 

Musky, I responded to your post at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=4504.msg216902#msg216902

 

Definetly a duplicate, but I think now that there is an RTA representative officially on the board it will create some interesting conversation, and depending on how rambunctious Mr. Masek is, probably a good arguement or two.  Welcome aboard Jerry.

Just a minor correction -- 25 percent of Cleveland households don't have a car. There is no data that I'm aware of on how many Cleveland residents don't have a car, or how many households depend on cars that aren't reliably maintained.

 

The percent of households without a car is higher on the east side of Cleveland. For example, in the Forgotten Triangle near East 55th, Kinsman and Woodland, 55-70 percent of households have no car.

Speaking of having a thick skin I  sure hope E Rocc does...he has now been called a racist (not directly but by implication) in two different transportation threads.  Odds are he is not but perhaps he should spend more time gathering his thoughts.

JMasek, welcome to the thread (although I'm not a frequent poster).  I work for COTA, as a planning intern, although I'm not an official public representative, but I fully support your dive for information.  I am a supporter of public transportation and find the limitations of using it in Ohio and the midwest in general a great challenge but perhaps one that can be faced and slowly conquored.

 

One thing that both the GCRTA and COTA face is the negative imagery of bus use.  Nevermind the issues with route design, to get someone to ride the freaking bus you basically have to convince them its not filled with heorine addicted, insane, derelicts that just try to steal their things.  People see buses and just think shuttles for the poor, of course there are those that love using the bus especially park and ride express services, but even some of those lie primarily empty (Dublins :P) because of negative imagery.

Airlines have been attracting passengers for years with their frequent flier/miles programs (as ill conceived as some of them are).

 

I think a key difference is that airlines compete against one another for passenger loyalty.  RTA is RTA, they're competing against cars (and bikes and bipedalism) and the monthly pass, weekly pass, is a benefit for loyalty and frequent use rather than attracting passengers.  One needs to make 20 round trips on a bus in a month or RTA has made money on the deal, and alas: there are typically 20 working days in a month.

 

So maybe it would be nice to add some kind of fringe benefit to buying a weekly or monthly farecard to entice a user who works 5 days a week but knows will needs to drive his/her car one night of the week and during the weekends.  Some promotion with food or retail outlet, I don't know.

That's what I'm talking about!

E Rocc, whether you realize it or not your comments are definitely classist and borderline racist.

 

Ooo.... next you should call him a Nazi. :roll:

Thanks for joining the board, JMasek.  It is always good to have someone who can give accurate info and can explain issues from the official point of view.  As you can see, in addition to questions, you'll get lots of suggestions here.  Some may even be good.

Welcome JMasek!

 

Lets toss you a softball.....What is RTAs criteria for providing service?  Why do some area get a circulator, for instance?  How often do you reevaluate customer needs and allocate resources accordingly?

 

Alright, I will cut to the chase....how do we get more rail lines in Cleveland?  :)