February 3, 201114 yr wow. I really hope that person is ok and between this and the fire (and the annoying announcements, which drove me off RTA to begin with), I'm glad I'm not a regular rider anymore. We have a girl who just started at my job a few weeks ago and she started taking the rapid from shaker for the first time, and thought it was pretty good, until the last week or so. She is seriously contemplating going back to driving and I told her I didn't blame her. Do you ride the Shaker Lines? I ask, because I'm not sure how you can make a statement like that, I'd like to better understand and get clarity, since the experience on the Red Line is going to be vastly different than the Green/Blue Lines.
February 3, 201114 yr I don't know what's unclear about what I said. I do not and never have ridden it over there. The new girl in my department started taking it when she started here about a month ago. She's been bragging about how easy it is to get in and out of downtown and how she has been getting reading done, etc. I have heard her complain about it several times over the past week - she couldn't get a parking space where she catches it and had to drive in one day, the fire caused massive delays for her another day, they lost power due to ice another day. How is that unclear?
February 3, 201114 yr Author Couldn't find a parking spot = "It's so crowded, no one goes there anymore." Fire aboard train = Yep, that's a legit problem. But it's happened only twice in the last decade or so. Ice storm = It screwed up everything, including the roads. Am I missing some logic here or is her consideration of driving being based on emotion instead? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 3, 201114 yr I don't know what's unclear about what I said. I do not and never have ridden it over there. The new girl in my department started taking it when she started here about a month ago. She's been bragging about how easy it is to get in and out of downtown and how she has been getting reading done, etc. I have heard her complain about it several times over the past week - she couldn't get a parking space where she catches it and had to drive in one day, the fire caused massive delays for her another day, they lost power due to ice another day. How is that unclear? It's unclear because you left out the bottom in your initial post. If she cant get a space, how is that a bad reflection of the overall Shaker Rapid experience? Obviously the train is popular and she needs to get to her station of choice earlier to get a space. What station does she prefer to board? Couldn't she have driven to another station instead of driving all the way downtown? I don't find that to be an RTA specific problem, hell thats a good thing! The Fire and Ice Freezing are not normal and could happen on any system. Things like this happen all the time and the cold winter we've been having has affected all transit systems. To agree with someone contemplating going back to driving, based on what you wrote, I disagree with!
February 3, 201114 yr I would agree if the lady in McClevelands story chose to drive instead based on her experiences though.
February 3, 201114 yr I'm just telling you what I reported. Her complaints and mine may be stupid to you guys, or seem dumb, but these are the types of reasons people quit riding or avoid riding to begin with. It may or may not be the rapid's fault that the line caught fire, but the problems caused because of it cause someone to quit riding, especially when coupled with other headaches that they wouldn't get from driving - they wouldn't lose power in their car due to an ice storm, there are plenty of places to park downtown, etc. Just like it was a combination of things that caused me to stop riding. She asked me when she started whether anyone in the dept took the bus or rapid and I said no, and that I used to, and why I stopped. After her experiences recently, she told me she might have to reconsider riding because it seems like a big hassle when there are things like fires, electrical problems and parking unavailability and I empathized. Whether or not these are problems inherent to RTA or not, the more that problems can be minimized or avoided, the better. People crammed in like sardines is a problem, which was a problem for me BIG time with the bus, and that's why I quit taking it. They refuse to run more buses on that line. But the rapid is too far out of the way for me. It takes me forever to drive there after dropping off at daycare and, coupled with having to wait around for a train for 10 or 15 minutes, it made me late. When you add on the annoying voice overs, the occasional lewd pervert, the men who refuse to give even very pregnant ladies and very old women or handicapped people a seat, there are a lot of things to overcome. Then when the electricity quits or there's a fire, it's just like the last straw.
February 3, 201114 yr I would agree if the lady in McClevelands story chose to drive instead based on her experiences though. yeah, but that is a whole different situation. Were talking about someone (via hearsay), who appears to be pretty new to public transportation, complain about minor issues. Then (based on what was written) has someone agree that they shoudl go back to driving, when the issues in the larger picture are not normal operations. I've been riding the Shaker Rapid for 39 years, if they f$&k up I'll be the first to admit it. What happens to day is nothing compared to the past. Hell I've been on trains that caught fire, no A/C or heat, door that just spring open - while the train is in motion, stop for no reason. I remember taking the train (a 2 car train) to Shaker Square and the particular train I was on stalled ON Lee Rd. Smack dab in the middle of the street. RTA had drive a train from the layup yard, in front of my current house, eastbound on the westbound track, in order to tow the stalled train to Shaker Square. The week after that, there was fire in the sub station at Lee Road that knocked out power from South Park to Courtland. If it rained, you knew better than to get on/off at 93-Woodhill. This kind of stuff would happen frequently, right up until the cut the power east of Shaker Square, for the rehab. I, for one, do not miss those days!
February 3, 201114 yr Riders will continue to trickle away. I bet some of those people walking down the track in the snow are some of them. There are a lot of people riding who are very close to that "last straw" is all I'm saying, and each little thing makes it worse. I mean, the people-cramming, the fires, this stuff should not be happening.
February 3, 201114 yr I'm just telling you what I reported. Her complaints and mine may be stupid to you guys, or seem dumb, but these are the types of reasons people quit riding or avoid riding to begin with. It may or may not be the rapid's fault that the line caught fire, but the problems caused because of it cause someone to quit riding, especially when coupled with other headaches that they wouldn't get from driving - they wouldn't lose power in their car due to an ice storm, there are plenty of places to park downtown, etc. Just like it was a combination of things that caused me to stop riding. She asked me when she started whether anyone in the dept took the bus or rapid and I said no, and that I used to, and why I stopped. After her experiences recently, she told me she might have to reconsider riding because it seems like a big hassle when there are things like fires, electrical problems and parking unavailability and I empathized. Whether or not these are problems inherent to RTA or not, the more that problems can be minimized or avoided, the better. People crammed in like sardines is a problem, which was a problem for me BIG time with the bus, and that's why I quit taking it. They refuse to run more buses on that line. But the rapid is too far out of the way for me. It takes me forever to drive there after dropping off at daycare and, coupled with having to wait around for a train for 10 or 15 minutes, it made me late. When you add on the annoying voice overs, the occasional lewd pervert, the men who refuse to give even very pregnant ladies and very old women or handicapped people a seat, there are a lot of things to overcome. Then when the electricity quits or there's a fire, it's just like the last straw.
February 3, 201114 yr Riders will continue to trickle away. I bet some of those people walking down the track in the snow are some of them. There are a lot of people riding who are very close to that "last straw" is all I'm saying, and each little thing makes it worse. I mean, the people-cramming, the fires, this stuff should not be happening. All of those problems could likely be address with better funding, but there is a problem with the state and funding transit...
February 3, 201114 yr Author All of those problems could likely be address with better funding, but there is a problem with the state and funding transit... Yes. The highway and oil lobbies can spend more money on political campaigns than can the transit lobby. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 3, 201114 yr I hope she realizes that the fire, blizzard are things out of the ordinary and I hope you encouraged her to continue to ride. Why not point her here - to urbanohio - so she can see a range of experiences? I don't know how you can make a statement about the status/operations of Shaker rapid, when you state, you've never been on it. That's the equivalent of me making comments about the westside Park and Ride lines, when i've never step foot on one of those coaches. People lump in their experiences with RTA all together. Nobody says, well, you're a bus rider or well, you ride the green line, I ride the red line and it's totally different. I ride the 86, you ride the 55, totally different. The "RTA experience" is lumped together when people talk about it colloquially, right or wrong. I wouldn't refer her here or encourage her to ride because in it's current state, I do not support riding RTA, I thought that was obvious. I do support encouraged funding for and expansion of public transit in our area, and have made my opinions known to my congresspeople and senators, repeatedly, and to the White House. If RTA were to get proper funding such that they could improve - so they could run more frequent trains and buses, have updated, cleaner trains and less cluttered track areas, I'd be a big proponent of it and would have encouraged her to keep riding.
February 7, 201114 yr I know I've asked before, so please forgive me. I have a friend coming in from out of town, and we'd like to go to the West Side Market, University Circle, Little Italy, etc. I live near the W117th rapid station. Is this the best way to get around? I find the RTA website so confusing, and I've never really ridden public transit before. Any suggestions would be helpful!
February 7, 201114 yr Emmie-I'd purchase an all-day pass and take the Red Line to W. 25th, then to public square and hop on Euclid Corridor to UC and Little Italy.
February 7, 201114 yr You can also take the redline the whole way Redline. Nowadays, I would get off at the E.120th stop for Little Italy and UC. Just make sure you look at a map so you know where you're at. And as was said above, W.25th stop for the Westside Market.
February 7, 201114 yr It is so interesting that people are expected to have someone teach them to drive a car, either individually or in class, then we must study for and take a written test. I would reall like to see some education in the schools on how to ride the bus and the trains. I believe people would have a much better experience if they were taught how to go online and read the schedules, how to even understand the schedules and the maps, how to purchase one day, one week or monthly passes. It really isn't a bad system at all, it just takes some planning and some knowledge. Taking the rapid from W. 117th to the market is really easy. Once you get off at the W. 25th station, the market is right there. You will see it and can just walk in the direction of the tower. After going to the market, if that is where you want to go first, you get back on at the same stop (W. 25th) and head in the same direction (East). towards downtown. You can stay on the train and get off at the University Circle Stop. From there you will either have a hefty walk to go to University circle, you can wait for the circulator to take you. Or as gobigred suggested, when you get downtown, get off the rapid and take the escalator up. Walk out the front door to Euclid Street. There you will see the stop for the Health line (also known as the Euclid rapid bus). You can get on that and get off at University Circle. You might want to let the driver know where you are going and ask them to let you know when you get there if you are new. I did that at first, and the drivers or other passengers could always help me and tell me where to get off or on. University Circle is a big place and you might want to decide if you want to go to the Art Museum or some other museum first. If you are going to Little Italy from there, you just walk up the hill to Little Italy. It is only a few short blocks and anyone should be able to direct you. The all day pass is something you can purchase right at the station and use on the buses and the train. I think the University Circulator is a separate system. I haven't used it all that much and don't know how often it runs. I usually just walk rather than wait for it, but it is a hefty walk.
February 7, 201114 yr Or as gobigred suggested, when you get downtown, get off the rapid and take the escalator up. Walk out the front door to Euclid Street. There you will see the stop for the Health line (also known as the Euclid rapid bus). You can get on that and get off at University Circle. You might want to let the driver know where you are going and ask them to let you know when you get there if you are new. I did that at first, and the drivers or other passengers could always help me and tell me where to get off or on. University Circle is a big place and you might want to decide if you want to go to the Art Museum or some other museum first. If you are going to Little Italy from there, you just walk up the hill to Little Italy. It is only a few short blocks and anyone should be able to direct you. Actually, follow the signs at the top of the escalator to Public Square. It's not quite Euclid Ave. right there yet :-D.
February 7, 201114 yr I would still recommend the E.120th stop over the University Circle stop. Less walking in both directions for both University Circle and Little Italy. Nowadays, it's much more safe (Mostly thanks to the TOD built around it in the past 1-2 years).
February 7, 201114 yr I know I've asked before, so please forgive me. I have a friend coming in from out of town, and we'd like to go to the West Side Market, University Circle, Little Italy, etc. I live near the W117th rapid station. Is this the best way to get around? I find the RTA website so confusing, and I've never really ridden public transit before. Any suggestions would be helpful! No need at all to ask for forgiveness. I agree completely that the RTA website is needlessly confusing, especially for occasional and first time riders. It's instructions about fare buying are particularly confusing and partly out of date and I wish they would be rewritten. But as justine says, it's actually a good system once you know how to use it. Everyone's already given you good route suggestions, but to be ultra specific, your best bet is to buy an all day pass from the automatic machine at the W117th station. You can pay by credit card or with cash (exact change needed): a pass will cost you $5. The machines are awful in every way possible, but stick with it and you'll get your pass. The Red Line and HealthLine are "proof of purchase" systems, which means you generally will not need to swipe your fare card in a turnstyle or with the driver when you enter a vehicle. So you can board or exit a train or HealthLine bus at any door. You just need to have your day pass with you in case you are stopped for a random check by a transit cop. The one exception, I think, is Tower City, where I believe you do need to swipe your pass in a turnstyle to exit or enter the station. Good luck!
February 8, 201114 yr Thanks to all of those who offered to help. Didn't realize I could do a google map with public transit, so it made it much easier!
February 8, 201114 yr Thanks to all of those who offered to help. Didn't realize I could do a google map with public transit, so it made it much easier! You should cross-check those with the RTA website as I've found they're mostly correct but not always 100%. Have fun!
February 9, 201114 yr Cleveland RTA will shelve new services as ODOT cuts $10 million in statewide transit money By Tom Breckenridge, The Plain Dealer Wednesday, February 09, 2011 CLEVELAND, Ohio -- RTA will shelve plans to expand its popular trolley service and better link college campuses downtown following cuts announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT Director Jerry Wray said $50 million in federal funds committed this year to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and transit agencies statewide would be sliced by $10 million. That means the loss of $2.2 million that RTA had counted on to launch new services in the spring, General Manager Joe Calabrese said ... ... More at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/02/rta_will_put_new_services_on_h.html
February 9, 201114 yr Cleveland RTA will shelve new services as ODOT cuts $10 million in statewide transit money By Tom Breckenridge, The Plain Dealer Wednesday, February 09, 2011 CLEVELAND, Ohio -- RTA will shelve plans to expand its popular trolley service and better link college campuses downtown following cuts announced Tuesday by the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT Director Jerry Wray said $50 million in federal funds committed this year to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and transit agencies statewide would be sliced by $10 million. That means the loss of $2.2 million that RTA had counted on to launch new services in the spring, General Manager Joe Calabrese said ... ... More at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/02/rta_will_put_new_services_on_h.html *Humph* Insert pouty face here.
February 9, 201114 yr Does anybody else think that Calabresse doesn't fight the state hard enough for these funds?
February 9, 201114 yr Does anybody else think that Calabresse doesn't fight the state hard enough for these funds? I don't think anyone could change Kasich's view on transportation.
February 9, 201114 yr This blows... "Last fall, Gov. Ted Strickland committed $50 million in federal funds to boost public transit. And he proposed $50 million a year for the following two years. But under Gov. John Kasich, ODOT will cut this year's commitment to $40 million, and to $20 million each of the next two years, Wray said."
February 9, 201114 yr I like this gem at the end of the article: ODOT's Wray wants to keep ODOT's share of the state budget at $10 million a year. It's among the lowest state funding levels for public transit in the country. "ODOT is still committed to public transit," he said, "and we are working to provide sustainable, predictable funding." Predictably LOW funding! I was really looking forward to this service too... damn! Anyone else think RTA knew these services wouldn't make it but put them out there anyway to show the impact of reduced state funding? If so, good move RTA. Show the people what they could have and then watch the State take it away. This helps show people that the State is not on the side of public transit riders.
February 9, 201114 yr Author Then there's this direct response.... :-D http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,9832.msg543353.html#msg543353 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 9, 201114 yr The more I think about this, the more angry I become. What other cuts will probably be made in the future once he cuts funding even more.
February 9, 201114 yr Does anybody else think that Calabresse doesn't fight the state hard enough for these funds? I am sorry, but in my opinion, you are waaaaay off base with this thoughtless comment. As President of OPTA for two years, Joe Calabrese spent many days in Columbus, and many hours on the phone, talking to officials and legislators. Since leaving the top post, he has still devoted "significant" (as in large amounts of time) to convincing the new people in Columbus that transit has already suffered its share of cuts. Public education efforts will continue.
February 9, 201114 yr Then there's this direct response.... :-D http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,9832.msg543353.html#msg543353 Great work KJP!
February 10, 201114 yr The more I think about this, the more angry I become. What other cuts will probably be made in the future once he cuts funding even more. There's not much more that can be cut...
February 10, 201114 yr In the Kaisch era, things are only going to get worse... one thing I will give Calabrese is his tireless advocacy for increased operating funds.
February 10, 201114 yr Give ODOT credit--their funding goals do well to make sure that new build homes near freeways have adequate sound protection. Have to please the constituency. Grrr.... :whip:
February 10, 201114 yr Author Give ODOT credit--their funding goals do well to make sure that new build homes near freeways have adequate sound protection. Have to please the constituency. Grrr.... :whip: Except that federal rules, not state ones, require the sound walls whenever a road project results in a change in traffic. Yes, Calabrese has fought tirelessly for adequate state funding for transit while he was president of OPTA and since. It was disappointing to me that Strickland didn't embrace his message until there were literally weeks left in Strickland's administration. Had this state transit funding been created earlier it would have become more entrenched, and it would have been more difficult for Kasich to cut it. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 10, 201114 yr Author FTA's Rogoff tours GCRTA construction site as part of 'Build Week' 2/10/2011 On Wednesday, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff toured the construction site for the new Puritas Rapid Transit station, a rail station the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) is building as part of its Rapid Red Line. The $11.6 million station, which will replace one built in 1966, is being funded with monies from the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA), including $5.3 million in Recovery Act stimulus funds. The project is one of several around the nation that is "moving the America closer to meeting the goal President Obama set forth in his State of the Union address to win the future by investing in America," FTA officials said in a prepared statement. "Building brand new rail stations like the Puritas station will allow us to revive construction jobs while improving the daily commute for thousands of Cleveland residents for generations to come," Rogoff said. READ MORE AT: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/FTAs-Rogoff-tours-GCRTA-construction-site-as-part-of-Build-Week--25768 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 14, 201114 yr Author What this piece doesn't say is that until the last two years, RTA ridership has been stable since the mid-1990s. So it sounds like the PD is after some sort of change -- again. What do the PD's editors care since few of them live in Cuyahoga County? Greater Cleveland RTA ridership is down 39% since 1990, 66% since record high in 1980 Published: Monday, February 14, 2011, 9:00 AM By Rich Exner, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority recently reported a 10 percent drop in ridership for 2010. This means RTA ridership is down 39 percent since 1990 and 66 percent since its record year of 129.7 million riders in 1980. RTA reported ridership of 44.7 million in 2010. Below is a chart showing year-by-year ridership since the formation of the regional transit agency in 1976, after the merger of several municipal public transit services. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 14, 201114 yr http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/02/14/odots-new-leader-finds-budget-tighter-than-in-90s-tenure.html?sid=101 What can Ohio expect from new ODOT director Jerry Wray? This story is worth reading from today's Columbus Dispatch.
February 14, 201114 yr Why isn't there any bus service from Downtown Medina to Downtown Cleveland. Just a question. I hear it all the time. This is a location where people could save a decent chunk of gas money getting to the city everyday by taking the bus. The same could be said for Chardon, Elyria or even Ravenna.
February 14, 201114 yr Author Because all transit systems in Ohio are county-based by state law. For a transit service to cross county lines, there has to be an inter-local agreement between GCRTA and the collar-county transit agency, a $1 per rider surcharge, as well as an operating subsidy contribution from the collar county. In this case, the collar-county transit agency is Medina County Public Transit (http://www.medinaoh.org/Economic_Development/Medina_County_Public_Transit). Note that there is also the Brunswick Transit Alternative which has inter-local agreement with GCRTA to run buses on the #451 route from Brunswick (Laurel Square) to downtown Cleveland (http://www.brunswick.oh.us/Service-and-Streets/BTA.html and http://www.riderta.com/pdf/251-451.pdf). "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 14, 201114 yr Why isn't there any bus service from Downtown Medina to Downtown Cleveland. Just a question. I hear it all the time. This is a location where people could save a decent chunk of gas money getting to the city everyday by taking the bus. The same could be said for Chardon, Elyria or even Ravenna. While it doesn't directly link with Ravenna, there is a PARTA bus that goes between Kent and Cleveland.
February 14, 201114 yr Author Yes. And at Kent you can connect with the Ravenna bus route. But PARTA's Kent-Cleveland service operates only twice daily from Public Square via CSU, Southgate and Twinsburg. It is a public service so anyone can ride it... http://www.partaonline.org/pdfs/Cleveland_Express.pdf You can also take the Rapid to Hopkins Airport and transfer to the Oberlin bus, but you have to make reservations for some trips and it is very expensive ($15). This was a $2 bus ride offered by Lorain County Transit on a very frequent schedule, but LCT got out of it because the county and the state chose not to support public transit. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 15, 201114 yr Isn't there a bus that runs to shoregate in Willowick? Sure there is, I took the 12 this morning and the 39F this afternoon. RTA 30 (from Windermere, but only on nights and weekends), 39 (from downtown) 39F (from downtown, but only during rush hour) Laketran 3 (between Wickliffe and Mentor, but only on weekdays) 6 (between Wickliffe and Mentor, but only on weekdays) 12 (from downtown, but only during rush hour)
February 15, 201114 yr ^ I thought they were saying that it could only stay in county though. Willowick is apart of lake county
February 15, 201114 yr ^ I thought they were saying that it could only stay in county though. Willowick is apart of lake county Shh! I'm hoping no one notices that so they don't take away my bus. :-D Seriously, I believe there's some kind of agreement between Laketran and RTA, but I have no idea where I heard that.
February 15, 201114 yr Author ^ I thought they were saying that it could only stay in county though. Willowick is apart of lake county http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4504.msg544254.html#msg544254 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
Create an account or sign in to comment