So the downfall of using the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center for Megabus reared its ugly head on Dec 24th at 4 pm when I arrived via Megabus from Chicago. Apparently they have one bus bay reserved for Megabus. Well, an earlier Megabus bus was delayed by the accident/pileup on I90 that day and was still sitting in that bay. As we pulled in RTA would not let our bus park and unload. They told the driver he needed to pull back out and sit on the side street until the other bus left. This resulted in us sitting idle on the bus about 25 minutes. Cars waiting to pick up passengers piled up double parked on 21st street. At least one passenger (who had no checked bag) started yelling at RTA personnel to let him off and they had no right to keep us on the bus. I heard a couple people comment with dismay as they watched the RTA bus they wanted to transfer to pull away. Everyone was pissed. The situation seemed silly, and made RTA look kind of stupid. No thinking outside the bureaucratic box they live in.

 

The transit center had probably at least half, and maybe even 3/4 of the other bays empty. Is it really that hard for RTA management to allow an alternative unloading area for the 15 or so minutes it takes? The other Megabus was just sitting there, the passengers were long gone. I guess it was waiting on new passengers to arrive for another departure. If all of those empty bays were scheduled to suddenly fill up with RTA buses, why not just allow the Megabus to unload on a sidewalk adjacent to the transit center?

 

To put this in perspective, the Canal St/Union Station boarding area in Chicago is a chaotic mess. Tons of people milling about waiting, multiple buses pulling in and out to jockey for space, and traffic on Canal St gridlocked. To sit on a bus in Cleveland and look out the window and see empty bus bays, and blocks of empty sidewalks surrounding the center just seems dumb, however the situation seemed to throw RTA into a conundrum that they had no idea how to handle in a logical manner at this "transit center".

 

(cross posted in Ohio-Midwest Inter-City bus discussion)

 

Thanks for posting this here.

So the downfall of using the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center for Megabus reared its ugly head on Dec 24th at 4 pm when I arrived via Megabus from Chicago. Apparently they have one bus bay reserved for Megabus. Well, an earlier Megabus bus was delayed by the accident/pileup on I90 that day and was still sitting in that bay. As we pulled in RTA would not let our bus park and unload. They told the driver he needed to pull back out and sit on the side street until the other bus left. This resulted in us sitting idle on the bus about 25 minutes. Cars waiting to pick up passengers piled up double parked on 21st street. At least one passenger (who had no checked bag) started yelling at RTA personnel to let him off and they had no right to keep us on the bus. I heard a couple people comment with dismay as they watched the RTA bus they wanted to transfer to pull away. Everyone was pissed. The situation seemed silly, and made RTA look kind of stupid. No thinking outside the bureaucratic box they live in.

 

The transit center had probably at least half, and maybe even 3/4 of the other bays empty. Is it really that hard for RTA management to allow an alternative unloading area for the 15 or so minutes it takes? The other Megabus was just sitting there, the passengers were long gone. I guess it was waiting on new passengers to arrive for another departure. If all of those empty bays were scheduled to suddenly fill up with RTA buses, why not just allow the Megabus to unload on a sidewalk adjacent to the transit center?

 

To put this in perspective, the Canal St/Union Station boarding area in Chicago is a chaotic mess. Tons of people milling about waiting, multiple buses pulling in and out to jockey for space, and traffic on Canal St gridlocked. To sit on a bus in Cleveland and look out the window and see empty bus bays, and blocks of empty sidewalks surrounding the center just seems dumb, however the situation seemed to throw RTA into a conundrum that they had no idea how to handle in a logical manner at this "transit center".

 

(cross posted in Ohio-Midwest Inter-City bus discussion)

 

The transit center always seems to only have a few busses. Im amazed that they would not let them park in one of the empty spaces to unload.

We citizens should demand the inclusion of public transportation in this measure....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4500.msg690520.html#msg690520

So what happend to the Red Line today?  Some wire issue caused shuttle busing to be implemented between 98th and 25th.  It didn't seem like that much snow or ice had fallen, but it did cause a nice delay for the morning commute.  I persoanlly thought RTA did a good job communicating the issue, the text alerts seemed to comeout pretty quick and our driver was making announcements to everyone that boarded.  As it was ruch hour she did mention that the 26 would take you downtown from 98th, and there were people at the station providing updates.  The only thing I would mention is that it would be nice to mention any other bus routes that go downtown from the stops prior to 98th.

 

Also, really good to see that everything was back up and running pretty quickly.  That could have caused a major headache tonight.

 

To my knowledge only West Park is the only station prior to W. 98 with downtown bus service (via the 22).  Much of the downtown service that used to exist on other lines (e.g., 25, 75) was eliminated during the budget cuts circa 2008.

So the downfall of using the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center for Megabus reared its ugly head on Dec 24th at 4 pm when I arrived via Megabus from Chicago. Apparently they have one bus bay reserved for Megabus. Well, an earlier Megabus bus was delayed by the accident/pileup on I90 that day and was still sitting in that bay. As we pulled in RTA would not let our bus park and unload. They told the driver he needed to pull back out and sit on the side street until the other bus left. This resulted in us sitting idle on the bus about 25 minutes. Cars waiting to pick up passengers piled up double parked on 21st street. At least one passenger (who had no checked bag) started yelling at RTA personnel to let him off and they had no right to keep us on the bus. I heard a couple people comment with dismay as they watched the RTA bus they wanted to transfer to pull away. Everyone was pissed. The situation seemed silly, and made RTA look kind of stupid. No thinking outside the bureaucratic box they live in.

 

The transit center had probably at least half, and maybe even 3/4 of the other bays empty. Is it really that hard for RTA management to allow an alternative unloading area for the 15 or so minutes it takes? The other Megabus was just sitting there, the passengers were long gone. I guess it was waiting on new passengers to arrive for another departure. If all of those empty bays were scheduled to suddenly fill up with RTA buses, why not just allow the Megabus to unload on a sidewalk adjacent to the transit center?

 

To put this in perspective, the Canal St/Union Station boarding area in Chicago is a chaotic mess. Tons of people milling about waiting, multiple buses pulling in and out to jockey for space, and traffic on Canal St gridlocked. To sit on a bus in Cleveland and look out the window and see empty bus bays, and blocks of empty sidewalks surrounding the center just seems dumb, however the situation seemed to throw RTA into a conundrum that they had no idea how to handle in a logical manner at this "transit center".

 

(cross posted in Ohio-Midwest Inter-City bus discussion)

 

 

I probably would have pushed the damned door open.  Which is one of the reasons I drive damned near everywhere I suppose.  :)

 

Leaving aside the fact that this center probably should have been built in conjunction with 34th street (it’s not like all three rapids go there or anything…) this, on its face, looks like a classic example of how one over-officious employee can do more damage than all the PR in the world can fix.  I would presume that Megabus users have their own ‘net based communities and fora.  I pretty much guarantee that this experience went viral within two to three hours, with GCRTA painted in the worst light possible.

 

The irony is this might not be RTA’s fault, but based on Megabus cutting their costs and only arranging for one bay, with no plan B for an (inevitable) case like this.  If that’s the case, RTA needs to get that word out.  If not, a little bit more contingency planning might be worthwhile.  Does the agency have a “B Team” that’s job is to imagine scenarios and plan reactions?

 

So the downfall of using the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center for Megabus reared its ugly head on Dec 24th at 4 pm when I arrived via Megabus from Chicago. Apparently they have one bus bay reserved for Megabus. Well, an earlier Megabus bus was delayed by the accident/pileup on I90 that day and was still sitting in that bay. As we pulled in RTA would not let our bus park and unload. They told the driver he needed to pull back out and sit on the side street until the other bus left. This resulted in us sitting idle on the bus about 25 minutes. Cars waiting to pick up passengers piled up double parked on 21st street. At least one passenger (who had no checked bag) started yelling at RTA personnel to let him off and they had no right to keep us on the bus. I heard a couple people comment with dismay as they watched the RTA bus they wanted to transfer to pull away. Everyone was pissed. The situation seemed silly, and made RTA look kind of stupid. No thinking outside the bureaucratic box they live in.

 

The transit center had probably at least half, and maybe even 3/4 of the other bays empty. Is it really that hard for RTA management to allow an alternative unloading area for the 15 or so minutes it takes? The other Megabus was just sitting there, the passengers were long gone. I guess it was waiting on new passengers to arrive for another departure. If all of those empty bays were scheduled to suddenly fill up with RTA buses, why not just allow the Megabus to unload on a sidewalk adjacent to the transit center?

 

To put this in perspective, the Canal St/Union Station boarding area in Chicago is a chaotic mess. Tons of people milling about waiting, multiple buses pulling in and out to jockey for space, and traffic on Canal St gridlocked. To sit on a bus in Cleveland and look out the window and see empty bus bays, and blocks of empty sidewalks surrounding the center just seems dumb, however the situation seemed to throw RTA into a conundrum that they had no idea how to handle in a logical manner at this "transit center".

 

(cross posted in Ohio-Midwest Inter-City bus discussion)

 

 

metrocity, I'm checking into who within the Authority might best be able to address your concerns. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

 

As has already been mentioned, there are a number of factors and multiple organizations in play here. Personally, I'm not interested in finger-pointing, just problem-solving.

Lots of frustrations from the folks at the W 117th Rapid station on NYE.  Of course one of the machines was out of order and the line wrapped around the hallway because most people were traveling with friends and the ONE functioning machine wouldn't let you specify a quantity greater than 1.  So everyone had to buy an individual ticket which took in inordinate amount of time because it kept rejecting the even smallest crinkle in a dollar bill.  And most people had to squint or slouch over to line up the buttons with the selections on the screen.  Lots of boo's from customers, I gotta say.

 

Also, I noticed the escalators at the West Blvd station are still inoperable.  I overheard several people joking that "RTA will never fix these and the elevator rarely works!"  Any truth to this?  I haven't ridden the Rapid in a while and with all these new customers riding on NYE I didn't exactly hear great reviews of the transit lines.

Lots of frustrations from the folks at the W 117th Rapid station on NYE.  Of course one of the machines was out of order and the line wrapped around the hallway because most people were traveling with friends and the ONE functioning machine wouldn't let you specify a quantity greater than 1.  So everyone had to buy an individual ticket which took in inordinate amount of time because it kept rejecting the even smallest crinkle in a dollar bill.  And most people had to squint or slouch over to line up the buttons with the selections on the screen.  Lots of boo's from customers, I gotta say.

 

Also, I noticed the escalators at the West Blvd station are still inoperable.  I overheard several people joking that "RTA will never fix these and the elevator rarely works!"  Any truth to this?  I haven't ridden the Rapid in a while and with all these new customers riding on NYE I didn't exactly hear great reviews of the transit lines.

 

Another issue with those machines. Hopefully they still accepted credit/debit card, or that would have been even worse. I have experience a lot of machines where card purchases no longer work.

 

I heard from a friend that Tower City was a disaster after the event was over.

 

As for the escalators, RTA claims they are all working

http://www.riderta.com/elevator-escalator-status

Would be awesome of RTA could find a sponsor to support free NYE service after a certain hour. Easier said than done, I'm sure.

Any official date for the Little Italy station? Its already 2014!

Any official date for the Little Italy station? Its already 2014!

 

Oh Laaaaaaawd!

Lots of frustrations from the folks at the W 117th Rapid station on NYE.  Of course one of the machines was out of order and the line wrapped around the hallway because most people were traveling with friends and the ONE functioning machine wouldn't let you specify a quantity greater than 1.  So everyone had to buy an individual ticket which took in inordinate amount of time because it kept rejecting the even smallest crinkle in a dollar bill.  And most people had to squint or slouch over to line up the buttons with the selections on the screen.  Lots of boo's from customers, I gotta say.

 

Also, I noticed the escalators at the West Blvd station are still inoperable.  I overheard several people joking that "RTA will never fix these and the elevator rarely works!"  Any truth to this?  I haven't ridden the Rapid in a while and with all these new customers riding on NYE I didn't exactly hear great reviews of the transit lines.

 

One of the two ticket machines at West 117th is frequently out of order.

 

 

Oh Laaaaaaawd!

 

Who are you? Are you new here?

Any official date for the Little Italy station? Its already 2014!

 

Oh Laaaaaaawd!

 

 

whoa...

As for the escalators, RTA claims they are all working

http://www.riderta.com/elevator-escalator-status

 

I used to live off West Blvd and took this Rapid to the airport often.  I can't remember a time when those escalators actually worked.  They were particularly noticeable on NYE as a crowd of people walked up them together... very slippery! 

 

I'm not saying we need escalators everywhere, but if there's no money to keep repairing them, how about just put in regular stairs with at least some kind of traction on them... the metal strips on escalators can get slippery, full of garbage like cigarette butts, etc.  Some basic concrete stairs would be so much better than inoperable escalators.

 

As has already been mentioned, there are a number of factors and multiple organizations in play here. Personally, I'm not interested in finger-pointing, just problem-solving.

 

That's the best way to get things done, of course, everyone from W. Edwards Deming to Ronald Reagan has spelled that out.  Much depends on how CYA the mentality is.  Large organizations often end up that way unless it's aggresively thwarted.

 

I've been known to say I'm a good delegater, immediately specifying that I am not trying to sound like Dilbert's boss.  The key is establishment of decision criteria for people on the line, and then moving forwards, not second guessing. 

 

That's where having people who's jobs are to test the system with "what if"s and determine responses helps.

Lots of frustrations from the folks at the W 117th Rapid station on NYE.  Of course one of the machines was out of order and the line wrapped around the hallway because most people were traveling with friends and the ONE functioning machine wouldn't let you specify a quantity greater than 1.  So everyone had to buy an individual ticket which took in inordinate amount of time because it kept rejecting the even smallest crinkle in a dollar bill.  And most people had to squint or slouch over to line up the buttons with the selections on the screen.  Lots of boo's from customers, I gotta say.

 

Also, I noticed the escalators at the West Blvd station are still inoperable.  I overheard several people joking that "RTA will never fix these and the elevator rarely works!"  Any truth to this?  I haven't ridden the Rapid in a while and with all these new customers riding on NYE I didn't exactly hear great reviews of the transit lines.

 

Another issue with those machines. Hopefully they still accepted credit/debit card, or that would have been even worse. I have experience a lot of machines where card purchases no longer work.

 

I heard from a friend that Tower City was a disaster after the event was over.

 

As for the escalators, RTA claims they are all working

http://www.riderta.com/elevator-escalator-status

 

Our website is only as good as the information it's provided with. I'm checking with the folks responsible to ensure that those status values accurately reflect the reality of every location. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

 

Who are you? Are you new here?

 

 

That was especially true over the last few months.

 

EDIT: BTW, I realize the bus routes will have trouble in today's windy snowstorm "Hercules" (dumbest thing ever to name winter storms, IMHO), but I understand the rail lines are also having trouble too with delays up to one hour.

 

Who are you? Are you new here?

 

 

That was especially true over the last few months.

 

EDIT: BTW, I realize the bus routes will have trouble in today's windy snowstorm "Hercules" (dumbest thing ever to name winter storms, IMHO), but I understand the rail lines are also having trouble too with delays up to one hour.

 

Well It's a new year KJP and there is only one place to and that is UP!  STAY POSITIVE MAN!!

So the downfall of using the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center for Megabus reared its ugly head on Dec 24th at 4 pm when I arrived via Megabus from Chicago. Apparently they have one bus bay reserved for Megabus. Well, an earlier Megabus bus was delayed by the accident/pileup on I90 that day and was still sitting in that bay. As we pulled in RTA would not let our bus park and unload. They told the driver he needed to pull back out and sit on the side street until the other bus left. This resulted in us sitting idle on the bus about 25 minutes. Cars waiting to pick up passengers piled up double parked on 21st street. At least one passenger (who had no checked bag) started yelling at RTA personnel to let him off and they had no right to keep us on the bus. I heard a couple people comment with dismay as they watched the RTA bus they wanted to transfer to pull away. Everyone was pissed. The situation seemed silly, and made RTA look kind of stupid. No thinking outside the bureaucratic box they live in.

 

The transit center had probably at least half, and maybe even 3/4 of the other bays empty. Is it really that hard for RTA management to allow an alternative unloading area for the 15 or so minutes it takes? The other Megabus was just sitting there, the passengers were long gone. I guess it was waiting on new passengers to arrive for another departure. If all of those empty bays were scheduled to suddenly fill up with RTA buses, why not just allow the Megabus to unload on a sidewalk adjacent to the transit center?

 

To put this in perspective, the Canal St/Union Station boarding area in Chicago is a chaotic mess. Tons of people milling about waiting, multiple buses pulling in and out to jockey for space, and traffic on Canal St gridlocked. To sit on a bus in Cleveland and look out the window and see empty bus bays, and blocks of empty sidewalks surrounding the center just seems dumb, however the situation seemed to throw RTA into a conundrum that they had no idea how to handle in a logical manner at this "transit center".

 

(cross posted in Ohio-Midwest Inter-City bus discussion)

 

 

metrocity, I'm checking into who within the Authority might best be able to address your concerns. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

 

As has already been mentioned, there are a number of factors and multiple organizations in play here. Personally, I'm not interested in finger-pointing, just problem-solving.

 

I've found out some additional information. A few key points:

 

RTA's contract with Megabus allows them to use one, and only one, bay at the Transit Center. This is true regardless of time of day, day of week, or occupancy status of any other bays. The bays are essentially "assigned seating" per route.

 

Megabus' typical schedule is such that they will not have more than one bus pulling in or out of the facility at a time. However, Megabus has been known to add service at peak load times, such as holidays. Normally, they'd give us advance notice, so we'd be aware of possible increased activity. We'd heard nothing to that effect for Christmas Eve. The only weekday service I currently see from Chicago to Cleveland was a scheduled 2:45pm arrival, so Megabus getting to the Transit Center at 4:00pm means that bus was either very delayed or was extra service.

 

4:00pm is evening "prime time" for RTA coaches to load passengers and pull out of the Transit Center. Empty bays now may not be empty 5 minutes from now, and buses don't just appear and disappear from the bays. There's pull-in/pull-out traffic flow to be considered. RTA's supervisor may have prevented Megabus from discharging at another bay, and in doing so, was enforcing the contract provisions and best practices to maintain traffic flow.

 

Megabus is required to have one of their supervisors on-site at the Transit Center any time one of their buses is on-site. The Megabus supervisor, if present, may have had the discretion to have their bus unload at curbside, offsite from the Transit Center. If they did not exercise that discretion, that is their prerogative, and is something they would need to address. The double-parked cars on E 21 may have precluded that option.

 

I'd hope that what was encountered was an exceptional case. This facility-sharing is still a very new relationship with Megabus, and bumps in the road will undoubtedly come up from time to time. We'll handle them in the best way possible given all the factors involved.

^Thanks for the info JeTDoG, it's very much appreciated. The 4 pm arrival from Chicago is the regular schedule I believe, it leaves Chicago at 8:15 am and I have taken that one a few times. The other bus may have been from another destination since they have added other routes...maybe it was from Detroit since she would have come in on I90 west as well (I heard the other driver tell our driver that she was stuck on I90 due to the car pileup but I didn't see the destination sign). Or they may have added an earlier Chicago departure as you said, but I didn't see one when I purchased my ticket so it may have been sold out. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the fault of Megabus and not RTA though, Megabus does seem mismanaged sometimes and I am tiring of it. As popularity went up, it seems the service level has gone down.

 

(dumbest thing ever to name winter storms, IMHO), but I understand the rail lines are also having trouble too with delays up to one hour.

 

Another point of agreement, Wow.  It's like we want them to feel welcome.

The first work at the Little Italy-University Circle Station will be demolishing a bridge, then contruction begins. I'm sure the weather will be a factor in when things are dione.

 

Question:

 

Why does the #16 (and my co-worker says the #2 as well) divert 2 blocks from East 55th (between Euclid and Chester) to East 59th Street? http://riderta.com/routes/16 I first thought it was because at that section of road East 55th is 2 lanes each direction and there is no dedicated turning lane onto Euclid but then I thought the bus would be able to stop to the north of Euclid...

 

For what it's worth then, google maps is incorrect because it has a bus stop on the southeast corner of chester and 55th (requires you to be zoomed in quite a bit)(RTA, I'm not sure of your responsibility, if any, to notify googlemaps of changes to your routes, but just an FYI in case people get confused).

 

Question:

 

Why does the #16 (and my co-worker says the #2 as well) divert 2 blocks from East 55th (between Euclid and Chester) to East 59th Street? http://riderta.com/routes/16 I first thought it was because at that section of road East 55th is 2 lanes each direction and there is no dedicated turning lane onto Euclid but then I thought the bus would be able to stop to the north of Euclid...

 

For what it's worth then, google maps is incorrect because it has a bus stop on the southeast corner of chester and 55th (requires you to be zoomed in quite a bit)(RTA, I'm not sure of your responsibility, if any, to notify googlemaps of changes to your routes, but just an FYI in case people get confused).

 

Thanks for the question. That small jog on the #16 (no longer on the #2, since the #2 now only serves E 79) was put in place to facilitate more effective connections between the #16 and the HealthLine.

 

I'll check out the status of the stop on SE corner of Chester & E 55. It's entirely possible  that the service was removed without the stop being removed (yes, routes and the stops they use are separate entities). In that case, Google might show a "last known good" value of what service used to use that stop (in this case, the #2). This would allow service to a stop to be suspended without having to actually be removed and reinstated.

 

You'll notice that Google correctly doesn't show any schedule times for the #2 at that stop, and any trip plans made will not use that stop if no routes actually serve it. This change only took place less than 3 weeks ago, so it might also take some time for the change to filter down.

RTA mechanical failure strands passengers on train Friday evening

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Riders on an eastbound Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority train were stuck inside for about an hour Friday evening due to a mechanical failure.

 

The Red Line train halted around East 29th Street and Kinsman Road, said RTA spokesperson Pat Kearney. The train was heated. Kearney said she did not know many people were on board. The failure occurred around 7:30 p.m.

 

Kearney said the weather did not cause the mechanical failure.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/01/rta_mechanical_failure_strands.html

^how did this not make the New York Times?

^^E. 29th and Kinsman Road????  Such a place doesn't exist... A geography lesson is due Ron Rutti and the PeeDee.

^... also ... "Because the problem area was close to other RTA rail lines, all lines experienced some delays," Kearney said. (actually, at E. 29th (and Broadway) the Red Line is more than just "close" to other RTA rail lines, it literally shares tracks with them).

 

And then The Red Line was reduced to one operating lane while repairs were made.  ("lanes"!?  Really?  I thought trains rode on railroad tracks) 

 

This isn't just about knit picking with PD journalists, this is about how little thought or attention to detail goes into a transit article, so much so, the writer literally likens a rapid transit line to a bus on a freeway.  The fact that this was posted in our sole metropolitan daily newspaper, and not questioned, is indicative as to why we, as a city, are often so clueless when it comes to mass transit.

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 1m

Due to broken down trains on the eastside & westside, all rail delayed at least 20 min until they can be moved. So sorry for inconvenience.

 

Monte the Color Man ‏@Monte_Colorman 6m

Stuck on a @GCRTA train for the last 45 minutes.  This is ridiculous.

 

natekelmes ‏@natekelmes 4m

@GCRTA communication is key. Thank you RTA!  Operator 101594 has been clear as to why our train is stopped.  Kudos to Richard!

 

BTW, GCRTA also has replaced the Waterfront Line with shuttle bus service. GCRTA also had problems several days ago too at East 29th and had to order shuttle buses for the Red, Blue and Green lines....

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 3 Jan

@natekelmes shuttles have been ordered for an issue at e 29th st btwn tower city & green rd until further notice. Sorry for inconvenience.

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 3 Jan

Red, Blue & Green line trains replaced w/ shuttle buses btwn Tower City & ends of lines until further notice. Thx for your patience.

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 1m

Due to broken down trains on the eastside & westside, all rail delayed at least 20 min until they can be moved. So sorry for inconvenience.

 

Monte the Color Man ‏@Monte_Colorman 6m

Stuck on a @GCRTA train for the last 45 minutes.  This is ridiculous.

 

natekelmes ‏@natekelmes 4m

@GCRTA communication is key. Thank you RTA!  Operator 101594 has been clear as to why our train is stopped.  Kudos to Richard!

 

BTW, GCRTA also has replaced the Waterfront Line with shuttle bus service. GCRTA also had problems several days ago too at East 29th and had to order shuttle buses for the Red, Blue and Green lines....

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 3 Jan

@natekelmes shuttles have been ordered for an issue at e 29th st btwn tower city & green rd until further notice. Sorry for inconvenience.

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 3 Jan

Red, Blue & Green line trains replaced w/ shuttle buses btwn Tower City & ends of lines until further notice. Thx for your patience.

 

And again, none of that service information is on the website.  The Red Line has an alert, but it's about track maintenance.  But hey, at least they're on Twitter.

UPDATE:

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 6m

Shuttle buses to replace Red Line service btwn West Park & airport. Train serv btwn WP & Windermere on delay of at least 25 mins.

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 6m

Blue and green lines running but on a delay.

Has this been happening more often lately? It's also unfortunate as people are more likely to take the rapid to avoid driving long distances on the bad roads and end up with a negative experience of RTA.

 

Has this been happening more often lately? It's also unfortunate as people are more likely to take the rapid to avoid driving long distances on the bad roads and end up with a negative experience of RTA.

 

It seems like there's a partial shutdown of the rail lines like once a week lately... Maybe I'm wrong. But for people who aren't regular riders the perception of reliability isn't too good. 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 1h

Red Line train service replaced w/ shuttle buses btwn Airport & Windermere until further notice.

 

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 1h

Blue and Green line trains are running but with delays of 30 mins. Thx for your patience this morning.

 

 

Edit: Heard that a 77F bus on I77 is broke down on the side of the highway. Be prepared for delays.

I wonder if this is being caused by the lack of a "constant-tension" electric wire in its overhead catenary power systems? Older rail systems lack constant tension, which is basically a way of using weights to keep the electric wire taut regardless of temperature. Wires sag in heat and can snag on a train's pantograph, or pull tight in cold and separate causing the loss of power to a section of rail corridor. To modernize this system is not cheap -- potentially $2 million to $4 million per track-mile. However, the annual maintenance cost savings may be enough for GCRTA to debt-finance the 20 percent local match to an 80 percent federal rail modernization grant. We need a reliable rail system!

 

All Red Line service shifted to buses

By Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer

Email the author | Follow on Twitter

on January 07, 2014 at 8:20 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- RTA said within the last hour that its entire Red Line rapid system is being served by buses this morning.

 

Also, the Blue, Green and Waterfront lines are running on significant delays, with reduced service.

 

Most buses are also running well behind, RTA said.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/01/all_red_line_service_shifted_t.html

Sounds like RTA is having a heck of a time today, but this picture from twitter gives some insight into the issues. Crazy!!!

Wow!

Crazy! Is that due to a water leak?

Sounds like RTA is having a heck of a time today, but this picture from twitter gives some insight into the issues. Crazy!!!

 

Of course people will blame RTA for this.

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 12m

Waterfront line trains will be replaced with shuttle buses until further notice.

 

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA 11m

Red line trains btwn Tower City & Airport replaced with shuttle buses in both directions until further notice.

Crazy! Is that due to a water leak?

 

I would think so.  It was noted after the wall TC collapse last spring that there are significant infrastructure issues at Tower City.  One only need ride through the eastern approach tunnels to note the crumbling, badly decaying condition they are in -- much of it looks untouched since the Vans dedicated Terminal Tower in 1930.  ... Sadly, this morning I heard some goofy Republican noting that the word infrastructure is just a code word for "liberals" to get work for their union pals... With that kind of stupid, childish mentality, it's little wonder why we can't get any friggin' thing done in this country.

An example that rail systems that use overhead electric lines (without constant-tension wires!!) to power their trains are having trouble in this cold weather (not just GCRTA)....

 

Northeast Alliance ‏@NEAlliance4Rail 7m

Major delays on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor due to downed wires | http://6abc.com  http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9383863

 

The difference is that Amtrak is starting to replace its against catenaries with constant-tension wires. The projected cost for the 224-mile, 2- to 6-track-wide NYC-WDC section is $1.4 billion....

http://www.nec-commission.com/cin_projects/catenary-power-supply-systems

 

The projected cost for the 224-mile, 2- to 6-track-wide NYC-WDC section is $1.4 billion....

http://www.nec-commission.com/cin_projects/catenary-power-supply-systems

 

So Joe C. would probably estimate $1 billion for RTA ;)

So Joe C. would probably estimate $1 billion for RTA ;)

 

Oh at least! :)

 

My guesstimate? It could be in the $125 million to $250 million range.

GCRTA just tweeted...

 

Red line east side btwn Tower City & Windermere back to train service in both directions. West side btwn Airport & TC still shuttles WB only

The  Red Line was back up and running this morning.  I just want to thank all the RTA workers who put up with the cold and an Ice wall apparently.

The  Red Line was back up and running this morning.  I just want to thank all the RTA workers who put up with the cold and an Ice wall apparently.

 

x2

So Joe C. would probably estimate $1 billion for RTA ;)

 

Oh at least! :)

 

My guesstimate? It could be in the $125 million to $250 million range.

 

I have $160 million including an upgrade to 1500VDC for better energy efficiency  and lower maintenance costs. maybe less Depending on how many pole need to be replaced and how long the system would need to be shut down.

 

Also the NEC numbers are for much higher tension than a Light Rail system like we have in Cleveland, which would require less robust Poles and Wires than the NEC

 

OH year when are those 80 year old tunnels beneath Tower city going to be redone?

 

 

I never saw an answer to this question, how many trains will the new UC AND Little Italy platforms be able to hold at once? With the change to a more dense neighborhood in LI and rail ridership increasing I would hope at least 4 trains could be held at once.