^

City Council members - Kevin Conwell, Sabra Pierce Scott, Zack Reed, Roosevelt Coats

 

State Rep - Eugene Miller

 

State Senator - Shirley Smith

 

Oh, and one politician was patting herself on the back - Debbie Sutherland.  But, just for a bit.

 

^^ Very excellent analysis rockandroller -- you rock, baby!  :clap:

 

-- sorry I missed all the "fun"...

 

    ---Sounds like ol' Mike Polansek's been enrolled in Dennis 101 classes  :drunk:

Very discouraging.

 

We saw here today, and have seen here in the past, the main issue with Cleveland - it's leaders are horrible, fueling the uninformed opinions of the general public. 

 

And what is worse, many suburbanites are going to see this and think "those people of Cleveland can't manage anything right...I'll stick to my suburb and my car."

 

HUH?  RTA is a county agency and blame, even from suburbanites, can't be placed on the city or city leaders.

 

When you have city councilman, Kucinich, etc - who talk about this issue, get their facts wrong and do nothing to actually help the RTA fix the problem, much of the blame falls on their shoulders.  Instead of helping, they continue to fuel the negative opinions of the general public and create the scene we saw yesterday.  And the leaders representing the people were from Cleveland, not other cities.

Even if it is a county agency, I'd like to thing the county's largest and "capital" city, with the most users and routes, needs to take some sort of initiative.  Cleveland is the soul of Cuyahoga County and this city must be a priority.  It's not like we're demanding Brooklyn Hts. city council to do something about it...Technically, maybe Cleveland isn't held accountable but all of these "officials" work hand-in-hand, side-by-side and passing responsibility off to the next person isn't acceptable. 

 

 

State Senator - Shirley Smith

 

I was really impressed when she spoke- she's a very articulate person.

 

Oh, and one politician was patting herself on the back - Debbie Sutherland.  But, just for a bit.

 

My favorite part was when she called for more rail.  I had to really fight to hold back the snorts.

Even if it is a county agency, I'd like to thing the county's largest and "capital" city, with the most users and routes, needs to take some sort of initiative.  Cleveland is the soul of Cuyahoga County and this city must be a priority.  It's not like we're demanding Brooklyn Hts. city council to do something about it...Technically, maybe Cleveland isn't held accountable but all of these "officials" work hand-in-hand, side-by-side and passing responsibility off to the next person isn't acceptable. 

 

 

 

thats what I'm getting at.  None of the cities within cuyahoga county are working together to improve transit services or funding. 

 

In addition, many of the leaders (Mayor's/City Managers) appear NOT to understand what the real issues are or effectively communicating that to their cities residents.

 

Instead, like Polensek, they are pointing the finger at RTA and using misconceptions (like employee salaries, the Healthline, etc.) to add further confusion.

 

Lastly, no offense, bur RTA's communication style and media relations information is very lax.  This should have been the lead story in today's PD and every local media outlet with an RTA media rep pointing out the facts.  Instead the PD slants it as a mob scene.

Maybe I should run for a seat if this is my competition.

 

I'd vote for you.

 

that'd require you reside here. :wink:

 

"Decisons are made by those who are present."

Maybe I should run for a seat if this is my competition.

 

I'd vote for you.

 

that'd require you reside here. :wink:

 

"Decisons are made by those who are present."

 

Dangit!!

well as long as you live in Strongsville or Westlake or Beachwood, the city of Cleveland could be nuked and everyone else would still be fine... :|  That's the attitude out there isn't it?  :-(

That was the ugliest meeting I have ever been to.  When it became clear I would not get the opportunity to speak, I sneaked out a few minutes ago because it really started to feel like everyone was going to riot.  People were chanting "boycott! boycott!" and I started to get that bad feeling like when the air turns funny and it's time to go.

 

This meeting was poorly organized.  The location was not sufficient to hold all the attendees.  Expecting people to fill out a long and detailed form when there are 300 people in line in order to get in the door of the auditorium was a big, big mistake.  You cannot "organize" that many people in such a short amount of time, and comments should have been taken at the mike in a first come, first served type of manner as they are in other open house type meetings.  What resulted was a huge backlog of angry people waiting in line and hundreds that were never able to get into the auditorium.  It also resulted in my not being able to read my prepared letter of support, which would have been probably the ONLY voice of support in the whole auditorium.  Though I was first in line at the mike, it became clear after a few speakers that I would not get my turn so I left.  And no, I didn't fill out a form.  From the back of the line, it became clear to me about 5 minutes to 12 that if I took the time to wait in line and fill out the form, I would not get into the auditorium, so I just pushed my way in with the others who also didn't want to fill it out.

 

mr. calabrese needs an editor for his presentation; waaay too many slides.  He also needs a speaking coach.  Neither of the other two people should have presented at all.  It took 35 minutes for the boring PPT slides to be over and by then people were like a cork ready to pop with anger.

 

About half the people there just ignored the information that was being presented, the other half out and out do not believe it.  This is a huge, huge PR nightmare for RTA and I as a citizen and a rider do not know what can be done to turn the tide and make people understand.  However, I have a few suggestions.

 

If this particular type of forum "requires by law" that all these presentations be given before people can get up to speak, then have another type of meeting that does not have a court reporter and such regulations.  Or just pass the slides out and make it available to people on paper.  Honestly, if you can't do that, webcast the slides and just have an open forum.  Nobody wanted to see all that junk and the last guy with all the details of every single cut or reduction in service, it was like everyone was getting slapped in the face each route he described.  It went ON and ON and ON, route after route, to loud shoats or groans or boos from the audience.

 

People came to this meeting wanting to be heard, and rightly so.  This being a lunchtime meeting, taking 35 minutes to present budgetary figures and excel charts is NOT a productive use of time or a way to win over the crowd.  A less factual, conversational speech should have been prepared for mr. calabrese to describe the budgetary problems RTA is facing and WHY, and what people can do to help.  No one should have talked after Calabrese.  Presenting MORE facts and MORE data to an already angry crowd only serves to make them angrier, and to ask for more facts.  They definitely need more transparency in their organization in terms of budget and salary, whether it's painful or not. 

 

Some points heard within the crowd and culled from my conversations with people around me:

- how much are the salaries of the people speaking? (this was demanded repeatedly; if there's nothing to be ashamed of and the salaries are truly in line with others in similar orgs, provide that data, along with the salaries from other cities' public transit companies)

 

- HOW will the EC project actually be cheaper to run than the current 6?  One woman told me she was tired of hearing about how multi-million dollar buses and big, expensive concrete structures in the road with a bunch of landscaping is going to be cheaper, HOW will it be cheaper?  Can you explain that to me, she said?  And I could not.

 

- HOW will the EC project actually translate into more money for the city, and show us the justifications RTA had for their investment into this project. While they did say that 83% of that project is federal funding, what about the other 17%?  Could that 17% have been enough to prevent these cuts and fare increases that are proposed? If so, the RTA ridership would overwhelmingly have preferred the money go to keeping existing services instead of investing in EC project; there needs to be more transparency as to how and why this is a 'money making' project and good investment for everyone.

 

RTA needs an impassioned and concise speaker who can match the passion of the damaging, angering comments of a guy like Mike Polensick, who was the first one allowed to speak (a big mistake if you ask me).  Harping on RTA as the bad guys and blaming them for "putting this on the backs of the poor, on hardworking families" does nothing but incite even more anger and equally does NOTHING to effect change.  It does nothing to make people write their representatives and congresspeople. 

 

The data was sitting up there staring people in the face but RTA did not have a compelling enough speaker to be able to translate it to real people.  Someone to point at the red line of budget being reduced in OH vs. other states and say "I AM OUTRAGED TOO!  PLEASE WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPEOPLE AND SENATORS AND GET US SOME MORE MONEY!" 

 

RTA also DESPERATELY needs to put forth their black and/or women executives, and if they don't have any, GET SOME.  It looked like the old white guy's show up there and the vast, vast majority of the crowd was female, African-American or both.

 

I did see JMasek and introduced myself.  I felt bad for him, he looked like a drowning man.  I'm sorry I couldn't present my thoughts of support and suggestions to people on what to do to get more funding.  For what it's worth, had I been given the mike, this was the letter I intended to read:

 

"I believe there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding between RTA and its riders.  As a citizen, I gather as much information as I can about an issue before making a decision.  I would like to ask my fellow riders to reconsider their venomous attitudes and to get some more information before they attack RTA.

Nobody told anyone to move to the suburbs.  Nobody demanded that you to buy a house in Medina County or in Lorain.  People left the city and moved to the suburbs.  Now we are all paying a price for that lifestyle.  For years, our citizens have made it clear to our local, state and federal government representatives that they wanted funding for our roads and bridges, so we could drive everywhere - the ever-present orange barrel is a problem of our own making.  Now that using a car has become prohibitively expensive, people are turning to public transportation.  Or there are people who have chosen public transportation as an option for years and are now finding it may no longer be available to serve them where they chose to live.  Again, where they CHOSE to live.

I live in the suburbs.  I choose to live there for a variety of reasons, but nobody put a gun to my head and made me move there, and certainly nobody from RTA told me to.  Taking public transportation to and from work every day is important to me.  If RTA had to cut service to my surburb, I WOULD MOVE.  You say you can't move because the economy is so bad you can't sell your house?  That is not RTA's fault!  RTA didn't tell you to move, didn't tell you to buy a house, didn't promise to be available to everyone forever and ever, amen.

Things change.  Not that long ago in our country's history, people used to be able to take trains everywhere, all across the country.  Train travel faded out as cars became the preferred method of transportation, and now it too is a skeleton of what it once was.  Economies change.

Increased fuel costs are affecting all modes of transportation in all states.  Just yesterday I read that JetBlue airlines is going to start charging a $7 fee for a pillow and blanket.  Northwest is going to start charging an $80 "fuel surcharge" on top of already increased ticket prices.  Across the country, public transportation companies are dealing with dramatically increased fuel costs and they have to make adjustments to continue to operate.  What makes Ohio different is that unlike many other states, state funding for public transportation here is pathetic compared to what other states receive. I think before speaking out against RTA, all riders should look at the leaflet they have prepared called "RTA Budget Crisis 2008."  For example, the brochure points out that in addition to the rise in fuel costs from $5M a year in 2002 to a projected $25M in 2009, state funding has dramatically declined.  Typical state contributions for public transportation in the last 10 years in other states have gone up approximately 130%.  Our state's contributions have DECLINED by 40%!    In Ohio we allocate $16M a year to public transportation.  Our neighboring states are in the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS.  Why does no one realize this?   

RTA is not made up of a bunch of mean, greedy bastards who think it's funny to screw the public by cutting services and increasing fares just when the public really starts depending on them in droves. Use your heads, people. They are a BUSINESS, and like any other, need to propose changes that can help make up for their huge budget deficit while continuing to operate. 

 

The solution is just not a simple one, contrary to what Mr. Kucinich suggests.  In fact, it's Mr. Kucinich and our other elected officials who are the ones who can make the difference here, but the public has to urge them to action.

I suggest if you are upset about the proposed cuts and increases, you go to your federal, state and local representatives' websites and contact them by phone or email, and urge them to increase funding for public transportation in Ohio.  If you don't know who to contact, go to congress.org, where you can put in your zip code and get lists of ALL your senators and congressional representatives, with links to their websites and methods to contact them.  It is up to YOU to make the difference in how Ohio's public transportation funding is structured.  Instead of sitting around in your big house in the suburbs complaining that RTA is mean or stupid, DO something to fix the problem!"

I attended both the meeting at the library and the meeting at City Hall later that evening.  Calabrese and his fellow thugs deliberately and repeatedly lied to the crowd about everything from rider numbers to the national averages for fare rates.  One gentleman who stood up to speak — and for the record, you've no business whining about not getting a chance to do so when you could easily have filled out a form while seated — brought with him a printout citing the actual numbers, as opposed to the deceptions Calabrese and Co. used in their attempts to deceive riders.

 

You are correct that the boy and his goons did a very poor job of presenting these meetings.  They weren't set up to allow for any real participation between Calabrese and the riders; the rant sessions that followed were a mere formality, and the pig didn't even bother to listen as people poured out their hearts and practically begged RTA not to eliminate their sole means of transport to and from work, school, doctor-hospital visits, and visits with friends and family.  At no time did Calabrese show respect for the people whose fares and tax dollars pay his inflated salary.

 

Maybe you enjoy being lied to.  I don't, and neither did most of the 500 + riders and representatives who showed up to voice their anger.  I told that boy Calabrese exactly what I think of him, and I have no regrets.  I can live with myself, having stood up and told the truth.  You, on the other hand, need with all due respect to pay attention to what went on at those meetings.  You also needed to stick around and listen to people speaking, because you missed valuable information debunking the lies told to us by Calabrese and his thugs.

 

The fact is, and this exposes another lie told by Calabrese, is that no one is forcing him to make these cuts and fare hikes; riders suggested changes in some of the routes to be cut or reduced that made a great deal of sense, such as converting lines like the 83 to circulator buses and making the green trolley buses pay-for rides or else eliminating them.  These changes either occurred to RTA, or should have occurred, long before announcing the cuts in services and the fare hikes.  I suspect this entire charade is simply an exercise in extortion, placing the responsibility for going down to Columbus and demand state funding on the riders (and offering no transportation to take us down there).  Calabrese wants us to do his work for him, because he won't do it himself.

 

The decision to cut services and raise fares has already been made, and I suspect the meetings, required by law, were only window dressing — the obligatory rant-and-rave session before the hammer comes down.  Your boy Calabrese is no one's friend (certainly not yours).  I hope you're able to recognize this.

Lovely first post :roll:

 

With your tone, I'm sure people will just swoon to your opinion.

 

 

^^Wonderful job refuting facts and statistics with your own facts and statistics.

 

Welcome to urban ohio.

 

I don't understand your need to call the RTA folks "thugs".  It takes away from the point you want to make, if there is one.

 

For those who attended did RTA management really say "go to columbus" or did they ask us to "contact" our elected officials in Columbus.

Not even worth responding to.

archangel that has to be one of the most misinformed posts i've read here...

 

no reason for fare hikes or service cuts?  are you aware of the increase costs in fuel?

"free" trolley? are you aware that currently dollar bank PAYS RTA to keep that "free".

 

wow. i could tear apart most of that post but I won't waste my time.  Do yourself a favor and start directing your anger to the state which has pretty much reduced funding for public transit down to a change collection jar.

Lovely first post :roll:

 

With your tone, I'm sure people will just swoon to your opinion.

 

 

Riiiight...just like the posts from people attacking Kucinich and Polensik are constructive, huh?  Or is it a standing rule here to insult only the elected officials who stand up and speak out in defense of their constituents and against Calabrese and his fellow liars?

well when people try to blame the federally funded euclid corridor as part of the "budget crisis", or think that if you lower fares and increase service you'll balance the budget... and show such an unbelievable lack of understanding of the issue (kind of like you) they tend to get ridiculed.

I think Kucinich is absolutely wrong on this - instead of trying to work with RTA *and* energize constituents into lobbying for more transit funding, he resorts to the same tired divisiveness that's held our region back for years (but kept him in office).

 

It's also very disturbing that a respected elected official would suggest that RTA completely disregard the realities of higher fuel costs (i.e. lowering fares and extending service). Is HE planning to pay for that? Maybe if he could get money back from his presidential run :roll:

 

Looking at your profile, you list your website as liberal-pride.org. On that site, there's a section for "Rules and Guidelines" of that site's forum. I'll direct you to Rule #1, and suggest you apply it to this forum as well:

 

.....................

"1.) BE CIVIL. Don't use language that lowers the tone from that you would expect during civil discourse. Attacking your opponent personally is not appropriate. What is considered civil in heated political discourse? For example, don't say "you're an idiot." Instead, you may say "that's an idiotic position." Name-calling is generally frowned upon (there may be the odd exception, for example, if it is done in jest and the recipient knows it's in jest. But keep in mind that if you'd be offended by someone calling you nasty or uncalled for names, you're better off not doing it to others).

 

Don't post just to get others riled up, or otherwise disrupt the ongoing discussion. We know debates can and do become heated, but that is no reason to resort to cruel, disrespectful, or otherwise disruptive behavior that lowers the tone of discussion. We here at Liberal-Pride.org are about quality of discussion. We are not about creating an environment where people post just to anger others, or otherwise provoke a negative reaction.

......................

"The decision to cut services and raise fares has already been made"

 

A final decision???

 

 

archangel that has to be one of the most misinformed posts i've read here...

 

no reason for fare hikes or service cuts?  are you aware of the increase costs in fuel?

"free" trolley? are you aware that currently dollar bank PAYS RTA to keep that "free".

 

wow. i could tear apart most of that post but I won't waste my time.  Do yourself a favor and start directing your anger to the state which has pretty much reduced funding for public transit down to a change collection jar.

There is no excuse whatsoever for raising rates so outrageously, nor is there reason for cutting services so drastically.

 

Some facts for you:

 

http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/07q4rep.pdf

 

The actual rider percent increases do not match up with what Calabrese stated at the meetings.

 

In December 2006, the total ridership was 4,607.1.  By December 2007, that number had dropped to 3,882.0.  Similarly, for November 2006, ridership was stated at 6,871.3.  In November 2007, it was 5,206.1.  Only for the month of October 2007 was there an increase from the previous year, from 6,106.7 to 6,522.6.  The quarterly and year-to-date changes are as follows: -11.23% and -9.87%, respectively.

 

I'm sure you'll tell me I'm misinterpreting the numbers, but I'm seeing a clear decrease.  Bear in mind that the numbers cited above are from 2007.  In 2008, the numbers break down thus:

 

http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q1rep.pdf

 

Trips for January 2008 were 4,423.2, went down to 4,141.3 in February, and rose a little in March to 4,260.2.  In 2007, ridership is listed at 4,550.1, so we're seeing a decrease from that year to 2008.  March 2007 saw 4,982.0 — again, a decrease in the following year.  Where are these significant increases in ridership Calabrese and RTA are boasting?  I'm not seeing them.  By the way, one of the reasons given for eliminating or cutting services in routes was — wait for the drumroll — insufficient ridership.  Gee, do you suppose there's a discrepancy between what's being boasted and what's reality?  Why is there such a discrepancy?  No explanation was given.Calabrese lied, and so did the others who claimed increased ridership.  And you want to accuse me of not having my facts straight? 

 

I am a student at Tri-C Western campus who is already registered for the Fall Semester.  How do you propose I get to and from classes in October — which is about midway through — once Clabrese eliminates the 68 bus line and detours the 145 from stopping anywhere close to a reasonable distance from the campus?  Is Calabrese going to arrange for students and employees who rely on RTA to obtain alternative transportation, and out of his own pocket since we cannot afford to make other arrangements?  Is he going to reimburse us our tuition once we've had to drop our classes and register at Metro Campus for Spring semester?

 

The children now running RTA have a lot to answer for, and you're not doing yourself any favors by turning a blind eye to what's going on.

I've covered Kucinich for Sun for more than a decade and worked in rail/transit advocacy circles for 25 years. I'm continually amazed at Kucinich's inability to understand basic principles like -- his past proposals that RTA make all of its services free yet he offers no funding boost to compensate for it.

 

What Calabrese says is the cold, hard truth, and not just for RTA. All transit agencies are facing the same funding crisis. Why is this so difficult for people to understand the underlying causes that are common to all of these agencies?? Do a little research, folks. It's not that difficult.

62 people at noon at CPL, very quiet crowd

The children now running RTA have a lot to answer for, and you're not doing yourself any favors by turning a blind eye to what's going on.

 

umm mr. college student, were you this outraged while state spending was cut?  What have you been doing.  Why are you not outraged with your state and federal elected officials?

 

 

I'm confused. Archangel is saying Joe is a liar, and that ridership is really down.

 

Okay (follow that previous assumption), so if ridership is down, so is revenue, and...drumroll...services have to be cut to cover the shortfall in farebox revenue. Add in the fuel costs issues....voila!

 

And I didn't need a degree from Tri-C to follow that.

 

-----

 

I feel like you are whining about Joe "lying", and whining about services being cut, but the crux of your argument is that Ridership (see also: Revenue) is down. So what do you expect to happen? Are you Kucinich? Do you live in fairy tale economics land?

What Calabrese says is the cold, hard truth, and not just for RTA. All transit agencies are facing the same funding crisis. Why is this so difficult for people to understand the underlying causes that are common to all of these agencies??

 

Because clearly the vast majority of people don't understand a balance sheet, how a business works, how a business whose budget relies on funding from local and state governments work, how they are required by law to not run a deficit, and what needs to be done to continue to actually make a business like this not be $20M in debt.  Putting tiny band-aids on huge, gushing bleeders does not fix large, budgetary problems in an organzation.  There truly seems to be such a selfish position in the public that they have convinced themselves that everyone at RTA is 100% motivated by hatred, and that there's no other reason to suggest these changes other than the people running the agency are just downright mean and don't want sick people to be able to get their meds or little old ladies to be able to get to church.  It is a ridiculous, narrow-minded, uninformed and selfish viewpoint.  I mean it is such idiocy to think this way, I cannot comprehend it.  People do not propose changes like this because they are mean and want to poke a stick in the eye of Clevelanders just because it's funny.  It's just a really uninformed point of view and shows no understanding of how to run a business, and no personal responsibility for moving away from the things they need to be close to, or for getting rid of their car or whatever they did that makes them so dependent upon a service that there is no guarantee will be around forever.

 

 

 

I am a student at Tri-C Western campus who is already registered for the Fall Semester. How do you propose I get to and from classes in October — which is about midway through — once Clabrese eliminates the 68 bus line and detours the 145 from stopping anywhere close to a reasonable distance from the campus? Is Calabrese going to arrange for students and employees who rely on RTA to obtain alternative transportation, and out of his own pocket since we cannot afford to make other arrangements? Is he going to reimburse us our tuition once we've had to drop our classes and register at Metro Campus for Spring semester?

 

Then it looks to me like you better start banging the drum of your state representatives to increase transit funding or you're f'd.

It's like they expect RTA officials to start farting money out of their butts.  I don't see any understanding of basic budgetary principles or any realistic, substantial suggestions on where the shortfalls could be made up, nor any action on the part of all the "outraged" citizens in contacting those in the government who make the decisions about funding.  They just think RTA should stop being so "mean" for what they think is no reason.

It's like they expect RTA officials to start farting money out of their butts.  I don't see any understanding of basic budgetary principles or any realistic, substantial suggestions on where the shortfalls could be made up, nor any action on the part of all the "outraged" citizens in contacting those in the government who make the decisions about funding.  They just think RTA should stop being so "mean" for what they think is no reason.

 

My question to those who are outraged, I know you hate this MayDay, is where the H, E double hockey sticks have you been over the past 10 years??  Nobody says a word!

 

Now that the budget will be out of whack and drastic changes from RTA, RTA and it's management are labeled as villains.  Clevelanders have to change their perception of public transporation and their way of using it.

 

I'm not saying I agree with every RTA decision, but when it come to Dollars and Sense, the outraged seem to not understand -I wonder what their household budgets are like?  :wink:

The children now running RTA have a lot to answer for, and you're not doing yourself any favors by turning a blind eye to what's going on.

 

umm mr. college student, were you this outraged while state spending was cut?  What have you been doing.  Why are you not outraged with your state and federal elected officials?

 

 

I just got off the phone with my state representative and am about to call my state senator.  I'm also making calls today to the offices of Kucinich and Brown (Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless).

 

What are you doing?

using painful large red font, ouch

I just got off the phone with my state representative and am about to call my state senator.  I'm also making calls today to the offices of Kucinich and Brown (Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless).

 

What are you doing?

 

My letters have long ago been written and personally delivered.

The children now running RTA have a lot to answer for, and you're not doing yourself any favors by turning a blind eye to what's going on.

 

umm mr. college student, were you this outraged while state spending was cut? What have you been doing. Why are you not outraged with your state and federal elected officials?

 

 

I just got off the phone with my state representative and am about to call my state senator. I'm also making calls today to the offices of Kucinich and Brown (Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless).

 

What are you doing?

 

already done it... several times.  And if you'd started there in the first place you would have realized there is very little rta can do with the next to nothing they can recieve.  What did all of state public transportation agency's get this year? 19 mil, 16 mil?  Not to RTA, but to all public transportation agencies in the state. I think Illinois and pennsylvania each give something propesterous close to 800 million.  And you still think RTA is at fault here?  Funding is going down every year in our state.  At some point it was going to come to a head.  Direct your anger in the right places.

I just got off the phone with my state representative and am about to call my state senator. I'm also making calls today to the offices of Kucinich and Brown (Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless).

 

But, but, if everyone at RTA is just 100% lying and really, unbeknownst to us the government hasn't gutted public transportation funding while other states have drastically increased their funding, but in fact in Ohio they've just been blowing RTA away with so much money that their headquarters is actually in Beverly Hills in some swank, multi-million dollar mansion and all the honchos are smoking Cubans and driving Lamborghinis and swilling Cristal champagne, why would contact your representatives and senators?

ArchangelM, you are definitely not going to win any "who's doing more" or "who supports transit more" contests on this board.

 

Apparently, as Rockandroller laid it out, we're just a little better at budgetary arithmetic than many of the most outspoken disgruntled riders.

 

Which isn't to say we don't think the cuts stink, because we, of course, do.

This is Jerry Masek, Media Relations Manager and Publications Manager at RTA. I wear two hats, because there is a hiring freeze at RTA, and many employees here are learning to do more with less. [email protected]

 

I introduce myself as a courtesy, because there are newcomers to the list. Welcome.

 

A words about ridership numbers. Even within the transit industry, there is no agreement as to the best way to count riders. Several methods are acceptable, and not every agency uses the same method. That is unfortunate, because it creates the confusion which has been cited.

 

The most important thing is to use one method consistently, so you are comparing apples to apples. For instance, your scale at home may be 5 pounds off, but if you use it all the time to monitor your weight gain or weight loss, then you have achieved your purpose. The same goes for counting riders.

 

I am a communications professional with almost 40 years experience. The last 20 years have been in the public sector, and the last 8 years have been at RTA. I am proud of my work here, because I have used transit daily for 20 years, and wish more people did.

 

I am neither a child nor a thug. I am a human being, and appreciate being treated with respect due all human beings. Name-calling is juvenile and has no place here in a forum for adults.

 

I do respect your viewpoints, and know that you will respect mine. Again, welcome.

There is no excuse whatsoever for raising rates so outrageously, nor is there reason for cutting services so drastically.

 

Some facts for you:

 

http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/07q4rep.pdf

 

The actual rider percent increases do not match up with what Calabrese stated at the meetings.

 

In December 2006, the total ridership was 4,607.1.  By December 2007, that number had dropped to 3,882.0.  Similarly, for November 2006, ridership was stated at 6,871.3.  In November 2007, it was 5,206.1.  Only for the month of October 2007 was there an increase from the previous year, from 6,106.7 to 6,522.6.  The quarterly and year-to-date changes are as follows: -11.23% and -9.87%, respectively.

 

I'm sure you'll tell me I'm misinterpreting the numbers, but I'm seeing a clear decrease.  Bear in mind that the numbers cited above are from 2007.  In 2008, the numbers break down thus:

 

http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q1rep.pdf

 

Trips for January 2008 were 4,423.2, went down to 4,141.3 in February, and rose a little in March to 4,260.2.  In 2007, ridership is listed at 4,550.1, so we're seeing a decrease from that year to 2008.  March 2007 saw 4,982.0 — again, a decrease in the following year.  Where are these significant increases in ridership Calabrese and RTA are boasting?  I'm not seeing them.  By the way, one of the reasons given for eliminating or cutting services in routes was — wait for the drumroll — insufficient ridership.  Gee, do you suppose there's a discrepancy between what's being boasted and what's reality?  Why is there such a discrepancy?  No explanation was given.Calabrese lied, and so did the others who claimed increased ridership.  And you want to accuse me of not having my facts straight? 

This is a classic, making a case for the opposite side of the debate without realizing it.

He is funny if nothing else.

I just e-mailed the following to Cong. Kucinich.  I'm going out on a limb because I'm relying on what I read on this board as to the nature of his comments because I was unable to attend that meeting (which is the one I would have gone to, had I been able):

 

Mr. Kucinich:

 

I hear that you attended the RTA public meeting in Rocky River regarding their proposed cuts to transit services.  I had planned to attend, but I had to work late and couldn't get there in time.  It is my understanding that you, among other things, stated (and this is a paraphrase) that if RTA increased service, lowered fares, and improved marketing it would increase ridership enough to balance their budget.

 

If this is a correct summation, please provide me with the specific data that backs up your claims.  Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of how public transit works knows that it's just not that simple (please note I'm not claiming to be an expert).  As an elected official, it's your job to know better.   

 

RTA's budget problems stem from the following (in no particular order):

 

1. County sales tax revenue is down due to the economic downturn.

 

2. The state of Ohio has significantly reduced its support of

public transit over the past several years.  The state of Ohio's budget for public transit is among the lowest in the country.  In fact, it is so low now, that the entire state budget is less than RTA's annual diesel fuel bill.

 

3. The federal government underfunds public transit, and we've had an administration that has been openly hostile to public transit.  So much so that they want to take money from the federal mass transit account to pay

for highways.

 

4. The rising cost of diesel fuel.  RTA has no control over the cost of diesel fuel, which, as you are well aware, has significantly increased in price in recent years.  Prices will continue to rise because the age of cheap oil is over.

 

If my understanding of your remarks are accurate, I am disappointed that it seems you chose to blame RTA rather than admit to the chronic underfunding of public transit by the federal and state government and offer to do something constructive about it—like make a push in Congress to increase transit funding and help push the Ohio legislature to increase funding as well.

 

It is also my understanding that you criticized the Euclid Corridor Project (ECP) as if it is somehow partly responsible for RTA's budget situation.  If you did make remarks of this nature, then again, please provide me with specific data to back up your claims.

 

If you did make such comments, then I am further disappointed.  The ECP is a sound investment.  Not only is it once again making Euclid Avenue the premier street in Cleveland, it will lower RTA's operating costs along corridor because:

 

1.  The hybrid buses are more fuel efficient than conventional buses, thus reducing fuel costs.

2.  Larger buses mean more passengers, and thus more passenger-miles per vehicle.

3. Larger buses mean fewer drivers are needed.

4. Improved signal operation means reduced delays, which will save fuel.

5. The rebuilt street means less wear and tear on buses and reduced maintenance costs, because prior to the ECP, Euclid Avenue was in an abysmal state of repair.   

 

It should also be noted that the roomier, more comfortable articulated buses will also attract riders and increase fare revenue, thus improving the financial performance of the route.

 

I also have to ask: when was the last time you were on Euclid Avenue?  Have you taken notice of all of the commercial and residential building construction and renovation that the project has already spawned (with more on the way)?  This is economic development which will ultimately mean increased business activity and an increased number of residents which in turn will increase city and county tax revenue, including sales tax revenue which will help RTA's budget.  Very little of this development would be occurring without the ECP.

 

RTA and transit agencies all across the state need additional funding, not blame-game grandstanding.  Please work on behalf of your district in this regard.

 

If my understanding of your comments is incorrect, I apologize and would appreciate clarification. 

 

Thank you for considering my comments.

 

By the way, whoever said it was pointless to contact Voinovich is incorrect.  If his office starts getting a lot of calls and mail about the same issue, he will have to pay attention in some fashion.  After all, he wants to get re-elected.

"(Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless)."

 

Voinovich has worked closely with RTA on a number of projects as Mayor, then Governor and now US Senator. If I wanted something done in Washington, he is the first person I would call. Having worked for him for five years, I have much personal respect for him. But then, that's my opinion.

 

nice post Gildone!  :clap:

well said Gildone, most of my letters are usually equal to the UO equivalent of calling the politician an "asshat"

"(Voinovich won't do anything, so calling him is pointless)."

 

Voinovich has worked closely with RTA on a number of projects as Mayor, then Governor and now US Senator. If I wanted something done in Washington, he is the first person I would call. Having worked for him for five years, I have much personal respect for him. But then, that's my opinion.

 

 

Thanks for posting this, Jerry.  I have no doubt that he is competent in many areas.  I only wish he and his staff had a better understanding of intercity passenger rail and Amtrak issues.  He was openly hostile to passenger rail when he was governor, and based on responses many people received from his office earlier this year about S. 294, he has a long way to go on this particular issue.  Well, I don't want to get this thread off on a tangent, so I'll stop here...Back to the transit issues...

I went to tonights meeting in Brooklyn.  There was about 50 people there and seemed to be better organized than I read the other ones were like.  The only people that showed from any office was the mayor from Bay who is running for CC, who spoke first and left immediately and Santiago. 

 

Pretty much everyone said the same thing.  Don't cut the circular's and we would rather pay more than loose any services.  People seemed very concerned (as was I) that a lot of the service to steelyards was being cutting.  They had several business from there to speak.

 

I thought they did a good job explaining why the cuts are happening and why they were short money.  I would like to see RTA be more aggressive in getting people to write their representatives.   

 

On a positive note, any questions anyone asked me or anything I heard someone complain about I had an answer to because of this thread.  Go urbanohio !!! 

"I would like to see RTA be more aggressive in getting people to write their representatives."

 

Did you see the table of pre-printed letters to each state legislator? We had people there with to help you determine who represented you, and then we had a pre-printed, pre-addressed letter to that rep. All you needed to do was add the stamp and envelope. We tried to make it as easy as possible. The word from Columbus is that letters, e-mails and phone calls are being received. We need to continue the pressure.

^Are these available online anywhere?

^ www.jointheride.com

 

As early as Monday, we will have post cards available for posting on the buses, for our customers to get, sign, add postage, and mail to the Governor requesting State funding for transit.

Are there any plans by RTA to step up maintenance at the W25th street rapid station?  The stair way in particular is in horrible shape.  Very rusty handrails and treads (is a fresh coat of paint really asking for much?  It's standard metal maintenance that appears to not have happened since the station was built) and an antiquated landing size that doesn't allow enough room for two people to pass eachother at the same time.  I would think for a relatively new station this wouldn't be a problem, but they are definetly poorly laid out.

 

Ask and you shall receive.  As proof that jmasek and jetdog pass along our suggestions and comments, the railings at the W25th Street Station have gotten a fresh coat of paint and are looking good.  Well done RTA.

As early as Monday, we will have post cards available for posting on the buses, for our customers to get, sign, add postage, and mail to the Governor requesting State funding for transit.

 

That was more as what I was referring to.  I did see the letters and they did a great job at the meeting constantly reminding people of them.  My thought was the people at the meetings represented a small percentage of RTA ridership.  It would be good to have people set up at the TC, UC, the rapid stations, and any other larger hubs to disseminate letters and information to the masses. 

 

On a side note, Voinovich has been one of the only people who has responded back to my letter.  He sent a nice 2 page outline of what his office plans to do.  I was rather impressed to be honest.  Usually it is a standard thanks for your comments and concerns letter.