GCRTA has been doing some deals with businesses downtown and in UC that if you show you transit fare media (day pass, farecard, etc), you get a discount on their stuff. Maybe do media tradeouts, social networking, website listing of participating business, etc. to get the word out with the new Flats businesses?

 

If they work with GCRTA on this, they can get more people to their businesses than the current parking lots will accommodate! Shocker!

^Very good news... Back in the late 90s, if you took the Rapid (WFL) into the Flats, you could use your pass or ticket and pay only $1 on the Water Taxi, which was normally $4-5.  Great way to reduce traffic down in that tight district.  It would be sweet if that could be reinstituted with the new (much better) Water Taxi the Metroparks is starting this fall.

Content Marketing World is in town bringing 3,500 visitors from 50 countries. Just thought I'd mention I've been listening to visitors conversations all day as people arrive.  One I'd like to point out is between two young women who arrived from Canada. One took Uber from the airport which was quick and easy and the other took the Rapid. The one who rode the rapid was expressing some pretty strong dissatisfaction with her trip, citing the fact that there were very few others riding which made her uncomfortable (she was comparing her trip to experiences in Chicago DC and New York) and she also mentioned some confusion walking to her hotel from Tower City. Some of this is out of our control but if you see anyone wearing the CMworld badge, help them out! Hopefully we have more positive experiences going forward. On the other hand, everyone seems to love the city overall.

Content Marketing World is in town bringing 3,500 visitors from 50 countries. Just thought I'd mention I've been listening to visitors conversations all day as people arrive.  One I'd like to point out is between two young women who arrived from Canada. One took Uber from the airport which was quick and easy and the other took the Rapid. The one who rode the rapid was expressing some pretty strong dissatisfaction with her trip, citing the fact that there were very few others riding which made her uncomfortable (she was comparing her trip to experiences in Chicago DC and New York) and she also mentioned some confusion walking to her hotel from Tower City. Some of this is out of our control but if you see anyone wearing the CMworld badge, help them out! Hopefully we have more positive experiences going forward. On the other hand, everyone seems to love the city overall.

 

I was on the Rapid Monday night and was wondering about how many people from CMworld would be taking the Red Line from the airport. As I was on the train, there were not one, but two people blasting music from their phones, puddles were forming at the doors from dripping water from the air conditioning, there was trash on the seats and floor throughout the train, and then of course the painful slow zone from W 65th to Ohio City (which I believe is lifted now?!). It made me kind of embarrassed at the thought of the possibility of someone from out of town being on that train heading to downtown for the first time.

 

Also, regarding the Red Line corridor:

 

 

Cleveland Foundation adds clout to public art project to freshen Red Line Rapid before RNC 2016

 

By Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer

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on September 09, 2015 at 8:20 AM, updated September 09, 2015 at 8:46 AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A $150,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation has added momentum to a project to install public art along the Red Line Rapid between Cleveland Hopkins International airport and downtown in time for the Republican National Convention in 2016.

 

The project, which could involve five to seven installations, will salute winners of the 80-year-old Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which "recognize books that contribute to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of diversity," according to the awards website.

 

The foundation's grant comes on top of $357,000 allocated in June by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2015/09/cleveland_foundation_adds_clou.html

Content Marketing World is in town bringing 3,500 visitors from 50 countries. Just thought I'd mention I've been listening to visitors conversations all day as people arrive.  One I'd like to point out is between two young women who arrived from Canada. One took Uber from the airport which was quick and easy and the other took the Rapid. The one who rode the rapid was expressing some pretty strong dissatisfaction with her trip, citing the fact that there were very few others riding which made her uncomfortable (she was comparing her trip to experiences in Chicago DC and New York) and she also mentioned some confusion walking to her hotel from Tower City. Some of this is out of our control but if you see anyone wearing the CMworld badge, help them out! Hopefully we have more positive experiences going forward. On the other hand, everyone seems to love the city overall.

 

This is unfortunate.  Do you know what time these ladies caught the Rapid?  What hotel they were staying in? ... I always follow the New York subway late night rule of riding in the first car, preferably close to the motorman or woman.

 

... btw on Saturday we rode the Red Line over the river to Ohio City where he flea market was going on in Market Square.  The trains were busy and, of course, OC was packed... On the train, we also noticed the AC sweat that was dripping on the floor right near the front door... There was also water on the floor on the westbound Tower City platform where there were cones and yellow tape surrounding it...

 

On the Health Line last night to The 9 from TC 4 RTA cops got on at 2nd street and surrounded the front and back doors.  However none of them checked tickets, they just stood around looking menacing... I question RTA's deployment of its cops.  Many of the Rapid stations you'd expect them at are not there, and on and on...

Time of day was early afternoon or mid morning on Tuesday and they were staying at the Westin

Time of day was early afternoon or mid morning on Tuesday and they were staying at the Westin

 

I'm kinda surprised the Red Line would be so empty at that time of day.  Maybe the airport station itself would be sparse, but usually trains are pretty busy/full by the time they reach downtown ... at least, that's been my experience flying in and using the Rapid.

 

I can understand difficulty reaching the Westin.  It's fairly distant from Tower City -- actually the WFL's North Coast station is closer; I used it coming from Shaker, and it was a snap -- and with Public Square blocked off as it currently is, it makes it even more confusing.  Seems like the CMworld planners could have done a better job directing meeting participants given these factors but, of course, I'm not privy to what actually was provided.

It's been a few months since I have ridden the Rapid, but I was driving home from work the other day and noticed that one of the trains in Shaker Heights was covered in a disgusting billboard for an online sports betting company. I mean, it wasn't just an ad on the side like you see on some buses, the entire train was painted green with white text for this company. What a disgrace. I'm just glad that when I had family in town in June that when we rode RTA down to the Tribe game that the trains hadn't yet been vomited on by Kermit the Frog.

It's not paint, it's a vinyl material used to 'wrap' the vehicle.

 

 

You'll want to add the transit agencies of NYC, Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland and plenty more to your list of practitioners of this "disgraceful" practice. As you can see from the first link, this has been happening with other transit agencies for years. If RTA wasn't doing the vehicle wraps to generate ad revenue, they'd be getting criticism for missing out. I'm a graphic designer by trade and I think the wraps add unnecessary visual clutter to the environment, especially if the ad's design is garish like the one you cited, but do you have a better suggestion that would be just as profitable?

 

http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/updated-with-photos-history-channel-wraps-nyc-subway-to-offset-mtas-financial-woes/2816

 

http://www.transitchicago.com/advertising/#photos

 

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/02/22/good-question-how-do-they-wrap-ads-on-lrt-cars/]http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/02/22/good-question-how-do-they-wrap-ads-on-lrt-cars/]http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/02/22/good-question-how-do-they-wrap-ads-on-lrt-cars/

 

 

Wrap, paint, whatever the case may be, it's still garish.

 

How about we put less money towards the Opportunity Corridor and more towards the RTA? And then to make up the shortfall for the Corridor project, place tons of ugly ads along that road instead. Heck maybe any driver that will be regularly using the Corridor should be required to either pay a toll or put an ugly ad on their car.

Wrap, paint, whatever the case may be, it's still garish.

 

How about we put less money towards the Opportunity Corridor and more towards the RTA? And then to make up the shortfall for the Corridor project, place tons of ugly ads along that road instead. Heck maybe any driver that will be regularly using the Corridor should be required to either pay a toll or put an ugly ad on their car.

 

Brilliant idea.  :roll: Have you ever been in another city?  Putting ads on subway cars, cabs, busses, anything that moves, has been going on for years everywhere. I'm pretty sure no one's family would care or think less of a particular transit agency because of it.

Wrap, paint, whatever the case may be, it's still garish.

 

How about we put less money towards the Opportunity Corridor and more towards the RTA? And then to make up the shortfall for the Corridor project, place tons of ugly ads along that road instead. Heck maybe any driver that will be regularly using the Corridor should be required to either pay a toll or put an ugly ad on their car.

 

The toll idea was discussed long ago, it's not horrible but was ruled out.  The "ugly ad on the  (private) car" idea is just plain ....okay, the words I want to use won't pass muster here.  It's already common practice on buses or trains elsewhere and if anything makes them distinctive.  Every marked bus or train is already an advertisement for the transit agency.

Most times, a mesh decal is used so passengers in the transit vehicle can see out. Not so lucky on the articulated buses used on the former #55 on Clifton where solid decals are used for the branding of the Cleveland State Line. In some seats, you cannot see out of the bus at all past the "shwoosh" decal.

Actually RTA is one of the last big-city transit systems to start wrapping their trains, to my knowledge.  Philly's SEPTA even wraps their still-newish (2010) Regional Rail cars. Chicago has wrapped L cars since at least the early 2000s (I remember the braggadocious championship wraps L-cars wore after the ChiSox won the 2005 World Series)... I don't like train wrapping- from both the outside and inside, where the photo-screen (?) technique used blurs the view out the window.  Wraps are indeed over-the-top garish but, unfortunately, that's the era we're in-- millennials like big, "fat head" in-your-face posters and ads... That dark green fantasy football ad (with teeth-looking things) that's recently popped up on RTA's Blue-Green cars (and now on some buses) is particularly ugly and off-putting.  Back in the olden days, the PCC streetcars used on the Shaker Rapid held modest advertising placards on their sides, and that did the job ... no more.

Ad wraps are older than that....

 

Clark Bars are (were?) made in Pittsburgh

 

And the infamous Terrible Trolley of the 1980s

Well, it's Pittsburgh... what do you expect?  Not surprised anything garish or ugly would start there ... The Terrible Trolley?  They got that right.

I actually like the Pittsburgh trolley wraps...they seem to tie in nicely with that city's history and sports scene.  Random ad wraps can definitely be ugly, but those two Pitt examples are kinda cool and nostalgic looking.  Especially love the clark bar one...looks like an old candy bar ready to be eaten!

^Agreed. That Clark bar train looks very cool!

Wrap, paint, whatever the case may be, it's still garish.

 

How about we put less money towards the Opportunity Corridor and more towards the RTA? And then to make up the shortfall for the Corridor project, place tons of ugly ads along that road instead. Heck maybe any driver that will be regularly using the Corridor should be required to either pay a toll or put an ugly ad on their car.

 

The toll idea was discussed long ago, it's not horrible but was ruled out. 

 

OC tolls would be great... Instead, we had Governor, now presidential candidate, John Kasich raise OC funding from Ohio Turnpike tolls, and there was not a peep of discontent... Imagine even the proposal of raising taxes or to fund RTA maintenance or construction... There would be mass demonstrations.  It's all about community priorities.

Wrap, paint, whatever the case may be, it's still garish.

 

How about we put less money towards the Opportunity Corridor and more towards the RTA? And then to make up the shortfall for the Corridor project, place tons of ugly ads along that road instead. Heck maybe any driver that will be regularly using the Corridor should be required to either pay a toll or put an ugly ad on their car.

 

The toll idea was discussed long ago, it's not horrible but was ruled out. 

 

OC tolls would be great... Instead, we had Governor, now presidential candidate, John Kasich raise OC funding from Ohio Turnpike tolls, and there was not a peep of discontent... Imagine even the proposal of raising taxes or to fund RTA maintenance or construction... There would be mass demonstrations.  It's all about community priorities.

 

Perhaps, but keep in mind that people (not to mention trucks, etc) that use the Turnpike could never imagine themselves making use of RTA, but might use the OC.  That matters.

Carl Monday Investigation: Taxpayers taken for a ride?

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/30055836/carl-mondaytaxpayers-taken-for-a-ride

 

Just curious, is anybody taking the WFL Rapid to the new Flats East Bank area?  Do you plan to this weekend?  It seems that, despite all the new development at FEB, WFL trains are as empty as ever, yet the surrounding streets and lots are jammed with people.  What's the deal?  Should the WFL's hours be expanded past 10:30p especially on weekends?  As I said, I'm just curious.

 

My personal observation, having used the Rapid 2 weekends ago (Labor Day), is that the trains are about as convenient as you'd want, stopping a less than a half block from the boardwalk, and closer than that to the Aloft restaurants and the coming Flip Side burger joint... But maybe that's just me.

Carl Monday Investigation: Taxpayers taken for a ride?

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/30055836/carl-mondaytaxpayers-taken-for-a-ride

 

 

Forever re-defined at the Berea Public Library, he was....

 

Just curious, is anybody taking the WFL Rapid to the new Flats East Bank area?  Do you plan to this weekend?  It seems that, despite all the new development at FEB, WFL trains are as empty as ever, yet the surrounding streets and lots are jammed with people.  What's the deal?  Should the WFL's hours be expanded past 10:30p especially on weekends?  As I said, I'm just curious.

 

My personal observation, having used the Rapid 2 weekends ago (Labor Day), is that the trains are about as convenient as you'd want, stopping a less than a half block from the boardwalk, and closer than that to the Aloft restaurants and the coming Flip Side burger joint... But maybe that's just me.

 

No brainer.  People who make the effort to head downtown aren't going to have any interest whatsoever in making sure they catch the last train at 10:30pm

 

 

Just curious, is anybody taking the WFL Rapid to the new Flats East Bank area?  Do you plan to this weekend?  It seems that, despite all the new development at FEB, WFL trains are as empty as ever, yet the surrounding streets and lots are jammed with people.  What's the deal?  Should the WFL's hours be expanded past 10:30p especially on weekends?  As I said, I'm just curious.

 

My personal observation, having used the Rapid 2 weekends ago (Labor Day), is that the trains are about as convenient as you'd want, stopping a less than a half block from the boardwalk, and closer than that to the Aloft restaurants and the coming Flip Side burger joint... But maybe that's just me.

 

No brainer.  People who make the effort to head downtown aren't going to have any interest whatsoever in making sure they catch the last train at 10:30pm

 

So you believe RTA should extend WFL hours, at least on weekends, beyond 10:30p?  If so, I would agree.  In 2013, RTA reopened the WFL on weekdays when the FEB Phase I E&Y/Aloft complex opened to handle workers of the buildings.  Why haven't they responded by lengthening service to accommodate patrons of Phase II?

Although my experience with the Flats shortly after the Waterfront Line opened in 1996 is that people would take the WFL to the Flats and a taxi home -- even though the WFL ran to 2 a.m.

^We had a blast on the East Bank over the recent Labor Day holiday.  We really enjoyed the excitement of the new clubs (Crop Stix had just opened) and loved having drinks on the upper deck of Alley Cat gazing at all the boats and people along the Boardwalk... We took the Waterfront Line down but, since it was closed when we left around 11-11:15p, we simply walked back through the Warehouse District back to Tower City for our Rapid home.  (the elevator to the 6th floor to the Aloft then out the E&Y main entrance, saved a lot of creepy, uphill walking under the Main Ave. bridge tunnel up Main Ave. 

 

I remember back in the day when both the Flats and the Waterfront Line were peaking -- sometime between 1996 and 1999, people were flocking to the trains in both directions.  One weekend evening, a HS friend and I wrode a 2-car train from Shaker right down to the Flats; stopped by Hooters for a burger (and some female eye candy, of course) and boated across to the West Bank on the Holy Moses River Taxi (which was only $1 buck with our RTA transfers), to Shooters, then back again... There were plenty of people riding the trains home at 2a, while Old River Road was a parking lot -- our trains zipped through the crossings as we just smiled at the sight of the frustrated drivers... This scenario could happen again, ... if RTA cooperates.

I did that in the summer of 1996, but headed home on the Red Line when I lived in Berea (until November 1996). The last Red Line train westbound from Tower City was about 2:20 a.m., and I seem to recall catching the next-to-last train. It was a two-car train that was about 3/4 full. I had a good buzz when I boarded the Waterfront Line in the Flats and by the time I got back to my car parked at Brookpark station, I was sober. It was just a few minutes from there to home on the Berea Freeway, as I lived on the north side of Berea at Rocky River Drive and Emerson Avenue from 1993-96. But that was in a different era of RTA, before its sales tax revenues dropped like a rock.

FYI the Waterfront Line....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1823.msg773338.html#msg773338

FYI the Waterfront Line....

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1823.msg773338.html#msg773338

 

 

 

Just curious, is anybody taking the WFL Rapid to the new Flats East Bank area?  Do you plan to this weekend?  It seems that, despite all the new development at FEB, WFL trains are as empty as ever, yet the surrounding streets and lots are jammed with people.  What's the deal?  Should the WFL's hours be expanded past 10:30p especially on weekends?  As I said, I'm just curious.

 

My personal observation, having used the Rapid 2 weekends ago (Labor Day), is that the trains are about as convenient as you'd want, stopping a less than a half block from the boardwalk, and closer than that to the Aloft restaurants and the coming Flip Side burger joint... But maybe that's just me.

 

No brainer.  People who make the effort to head downtown aren't going to have any interest whatsoever in making sure they catch the last train at 10:30pm

 

So you believe RTA should extend WFL hours, at least on weekends, beyond 10:30p?  If so, I would agree.  In 2013, RTA reopened the WFL on weekdays when the FEB Phase I E&Y/Aloft complex opened to handle workers of the buildings.  Why haven't they responded by lengthening service to accommodate patrons of Phase II?

 

If they want to service the entertainment district peak crowds, it's a must.

 

Cleveland’s looming rail shutdown

kjprendergast on September 30, 2015

 

In the next few years, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) may be compelled to shut down one or all of its three rail lines just as millennials and real estate developers are repopulating city neighborhoods and making rail more cost-effective here. That bright future may be derailed by multiple factors converging at the same time.

 

On Oct. 5, 1975, GCRTA began bus and rail operations funded mostly by a countywide 1-cent sales tax. It funded the merger and rebuilding of 10 decayed municipally owned transit networks including the Cleveland Transit System and the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit. But what passed for “regional transit” 40 years ago doesn’t today. In the 21st century, “regional” means multi-county as more of Greater Cleveland’s commuting patterns extend beyond the county line.

 

Worse, more of Cuyahoga County’s tax base has bled into surrounding counties as well, meaning a steep reduction in GCRTA funding. The reason is the cultivation of GCRTA funding ends at the county line. Services and ridership have suffered as a result. In 1970, Cuyahoga County had 1.8 million people. In 2010, it fell to under 1.3 million. Cuyahoga’s population continues to fall faster (-20,294 residents) than any other county in the nation except Wayne County (Detroit). The six-county Greater Cleveland-Akron metro area’s population has remained stuck at 2.9 million people for 50 years. This no-growth sprawl means fewer people are buying things in Cuyahoga County which means less sales tax revenue for GCRTA.

 

In most major cities in the USA, roughly one-third of transit agency revenues come from fares, one-third comes from a local tax and another one-third comes from the state. GCRTA gets no money from the state, despite the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) identifying GCRTA’s rail capital requirements as a critical need in a recent ODOT report to the legislature. Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly have failed to lead on this important economic development jobs-access issue affecting more than 1 million Ohioans.

 

READ MORE and see graphics and embedded links at:

http://allaboardohio.org/2015/09/30/clevelands-looming-rail-shutdown/

"In most major cities in the USA, roughly one-third of transit agency revenues come from fares, one-third comes from a local tax and another one-third comes from the state. GCRTA gets no money from the state, despite the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) identifying GCRTA’s rail capital requirements as a critical need in a recent ODOT report to the legislature. Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly have failed to lead on this important economic development jobs-access issue affecting more than 1 million Ohioans."

 

But Kasich sure ran up here to Cleveland to do all he could to ram the Opportunity Corridor through, including using Turnpike toll revenue to get it done.  So it is with our moderate, forward-thinking republican gov, ... er, presidential candidate.

 

 

That was a really well written article.

"In most major cities in the USA, roughly one-third of transit agency revenues come from fares, one-third comes from a local tax and another one-third comes from the state. GCRTA gets no money from the state, despite the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) identifying GCRTA’s rail capital requirements as a critical need in a recent ODOT report to the legislature. Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly have failed to lead on this important economic development jobs-access issue affecting more than 1 million Ohioans."

 

But Kasich sure ran up here to Cleveland to do all he could to ram the Opportunity Corridor through, including using Turnpike toll revenue to get it done.  So it is with our moderate, forward-thinking republican gov, ... er, presidential candidate.

 

Because transit riders tend to vote for Democrats. Kasich's constituency drives cars (or flies first-class or in private planes!). Sadly, this is short-sighted. If conservatives want to win over voters in urban centers, than fund transit to give people access to more jobs, education, etc. Transit expands the labor pool and thereby reduces labor costs for business owners who are the conservatives' traditional constituents. Conservatives wouldn't have to gerrymander districts to stay in power.

 

That was a really well written article.

 

Thanks. I HATED writing it.

Yes it was very well written... btw was this reported in the PD or anywhere else on local media?  Because if it was I didn't see it... No offense to AAO and the fine work you guys do, but important articles like this one, including a quote from Mr. Calabrese himself stating the rail system could shut down without added funding, is only reaching a limited, like-minded audience in the AAO newsletter/website.  A wide swath of Clevelanders need this very-important information cause most simply are unaware.

No media was at the RUN conference. But some reporters have seen today's AAO tweets that directed them to the blog posting. So we'll see...

No media was at the RUN conference.

 

Very sad.

Interesting. Someone just asked me about increasing the countywide income tax on persons earning more than $100,000 to pay for GCRTA state-of-good-repair improvements. He thinks a 0.5% increase would generate $50 million to $100 million per year.

 

If used to retire bonds, this would be more than sufficient to address all of GCRTA's capital deficiencies as well as allow some expansion such as the Red Line extension to Euclid and other expansions.

^Is there a county income tax? Does Ohio law allow for it?  I took at quick look at the RTA enabling statute, and I believe it authorizes RTAs only to levy property taxes (with voter approval) [EDIT: and also a sales tax, of course].

 

The capital needs are obviously huge, but some of the solution might be about prioritizing other discretionary money. Maybe instead of the new pedestrian bridges to and at North Coast Harbor and the public share of the PHS chandelier fund, we should have shorn up Tower City Station.  Obviously there are a lot of priorities out there, but some this spending seems more like frills to me.

 

[Edited for typo]

There is no such thing as a county income tax.

Does Ohio law allow for the county to levy an income tax?

 

My idea was for Transportation Improvement Districts established for existing and future fixed-guideway transit corridors in Cuyahoga County and possibly extending into adjoining counties. TIDs can be established by counties with ODOT's approval or be established by ODOT outright. Here are TID corridors 2,000 feet on either side of transit corridors that would have to generate about $1,500 per acre (from whatever source) for state-of-good-repair and more from existing-route and new-route TIDs for expansion....

 

TIDs along existing rail/brt corridors:

Cleveland rail-brt TID map by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

TIDs along future rail/brt corridors (KJP plan -- no one else's right now):

Cleveland rail-brt expansion TID map1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

I don't believe Ohio law allows for a county income tax.  However, the affected municipalities could do it.  Or they could all merge into the county, eliminating both the distinction and the problem.  In politics, wherever there's a will there's a way. 

 

Besides, there are other funding mechanisms available to RTA-- it already gets a dedicated stream of county sales taxes.  And county sales taxes recently went up, by decree, to fund the MM/CC and presumably the Hilton as well.  Maintaining our rail service seems at least equivalent to that need.

^Pretty sure the county used up the last of the discretionary sales tax cap for the MM/CC/hotel, so any further increases would have to be approved by the voters. But yeah, good point about the MM/CC/hotel. That's an example of a huge chunk of discretionary county money going somewhere that may or may not really have been such a high priority.  There's been tons of public money spent that, unlike the Opportunity Corridor, could have been redirected to RTA's infrastructure by local officials.

 

KJP, the TID proposal is interesting. I believe it would be County Council who would need to create the district(s) (here's the relevant Ohio code provision: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5540). I need to think about it some more. There is an inherent fairness to it, though. A rail system is arguably a frill to such a dispersed, low congestion region, so we may have to force Shaker Heights property owners, for example, to put their money where their mouth is to preserve the light rail lines.

I know it’s probably not top of the list of priorities, but are there any plans to replace the god-awful tickets machines that RTA uses? I remember the first time I used one, it took me at least 4-5 minutes to buy a ticket once I’d firstly navigated the ridiculously elaborate user interface and then found a machine that actually read my card. Yesterday at Hopkins I helped an out of towner who I watched for a full minute trying to figure it out. I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve helped people do this and I don’t ride the RTA that often!

I know its probably not top of the list of priorities, but are there any plans to replace the god-awful tickets machines that RTA uses? I remember the first time I used one, it took me at least 4-5 minutes to buy a ticket once Id firstly navigated the ridiculously elaborate user interface and then found a machine that actually read my card. Yesterday at Hopkins I helped an out of towner who I watched for a full minute trying to figure it out. Ive lost count the amount of times Ive helped people do this and I dont ride the RTA that often!

 

Everyone who accepts credit cards is looking at brand new liability rules as of today.  I suspect these 2007-era machines are not up to code anymore, which could lead to significant exposure for RTA.

Construction updates per RTA e-news - Oct. 1, 2015

 

Oct. 5-17: Buses replace Waterfront Line trains, rail upgrades continue

 

RTA continues to invest in rail improvements, and that means service must be interrupted at times. From Oct. 5-17, RTA's 67R buses will replace Waterfront Line trains. Crews will be improving two grade crossings in the Flats -- at Robert Lockwood Drive and St. Clair Avenue. Look for 67R bus stop signs. At Tower City, buses will stop in front of the Horseshoe Casino on Public Square.

 

Oct. 11-29: Brookpark Station construction causes Red Line bus bridge

 

From Oct. 11-29, buses will replace Red Line trains between the Puritas and Airport stations. This will allow RTA to continue construction on a new Brookpark Rapid Station. The Red Line will operate as far west as Puritas, where customers will board a 66R bus to reach the Brookpark and Airport stations. On Oct. 18, Browns fans who normally park at Brookpark should use parking lots at the Puritas, West Park or Triskett stations.

Construction updates per RTA e-news - Oct. 1, 2015

 

Oct. 5-17: Buses replace Waterfront Line trains, rail upgrades continue

 

RTA continues to invest in rail improvements, and that means service must be interrupted at times. From Oct. 5-17, RTA's 67R buses will replace Waterfront Line trains. Crews will be improving two grade crossings in the Flats -- at Robert Lockwood Drive and St. Clair Avenue. Look for 67R bus stop signs. At Tower City, buses will stop in front of the Horseshoe Casino on Public Square.

 

Oct. 11-29: Brookpark Station construction causes Red Line bus bridge

 

From Oct. 11-29, buses will replace Red Line trains between the Puritas and Airport stations. This will allow RTA to continue construction on a new Brookpark Rapid Station. The Red Line will operate as far west as Puritas, where customers will board a 66R bus to reach the Brookpark and Airport stations. On Oct. 18, Browns fans who normally park at Brookpark should use parking lots at the Puritas, West Park or Triskett stations.

 

It will be interesting to see how much ridership drops during this period, as it's been hypothesized that some people who are fine with trains will refuse to take buses.  Also, how many drive to Puritas and get on there.

 

If it drops, it will be interesting to see to what degree it rebounds, though the time of year was well selected for that....

I know its probably not top of the list of priorities, but are there any plans to replace the god-awful tickets machines that RTA uses? I remember the first time I used one, it took me at least 4-5 minutes to buy a ticket once Id firstly navigated the ridiculously elaborate user interface and then found a machine that actually read my card. Yesterday at Hopkins I helped an out of towner who I watched for a full minute trying to figure it out. Ive lost count the amount of times Ive helped people do this and I dont ride the RTA that often!

 

Everyone who accepts credit cards is looking at brand new liability rules as of today.  I suspect these 2007-era machines are not up to code anymore, which could lead to significant exposure for RTA.

 

I think the only real vulnerability would be the trip cards that are sold in the machines at TC (and maybe somewhere else cannot recall at the moment). You obviously replace the terminals at any manned desk. So you could just stop selling trip cards in the machines. Then that leaves you with someone with a lost/stolen card deciding that the best use of the time before the card is reported is seeing how many all day passes they can sell for 2-3 dollars.

 

KJP, the TID proposal is interesting. I believe it would be County Council who would need to create the district(s) (here's the relevant Ohio code provision: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5540). I need to think about it some more. There is an inherent fairness to it, though. A rail system is arguably a frill to such a dispersed, low congestion region, so we may have to force Shaker Heights property owners, for example, to put their money where their mouth is to preserve the light rail lines.

 

I hear your premise, but I think calling the Rapid a "frill" is a bit strong.  40,000+ rides (and rising) on an avg weekday may be small compared to most systems, but is essential for RTA -- as KJP noted in his article, look at the huge number, and expense, of replacement buses that would be needed if the Rapid shut down.  That's not even considering the considerable TOD the system has generated/is generating (Fairmount for example plans to complete Phases III, IV and V of FEB's TOD development).

 

As to Shaker Heights, it would be unfair to make their residents pay more taxes to "preserve" LRT just because LRT is within Shaker's borders.  Shaker pays some of the highest RE taxes in the county already.  But what about all those non-residents who use the Shaker lines?  Under this theory, shouldn't they pay more too?  Thousands of non-Shaker residents walk, drive or bus to Blue/Green Line stations to access the Rapid (I recall some time ago a stat noting that only 1/3 of Shaker Rapid riders lived within Shaker).  Taxing Shakerites more would just create more division in an already fractured region with too many intramural battles and jealousies.

 

 

@GCRTA Lots of constructions projects will affect rail service this fall. To keep up to date, check out SERVICE ALERTS pg on http://t.co/Pft4J7cG0s