^I absolutely do not understand why taxi companies aren't either creating their own uber like software (taxi position and online payment tool) or partnering with Uber or Lyft.  At they very least they could develop a very simple app or map add on that tells the user the position of all available taxis.  Personally, I don't use Uber because it's cheaper.  I use it because it's reliable and I know with some degree of certainty when my driver will arrive.  It's a huge time saver because I no longer need to waste my time waiting 20+ minutes for a taxi.

 

In the digital age taxi companies will absolutely die if they do not develop software.  Most people under 30 wouldn't even think about calling for a taxi.  If it's not available online it might as well not even exist.

 

The mindset of the taxi companies is to use influence on local government to protect their desired business model and limit competition.  Their objective is a captive audience.

 

O'Hare used to be notorious for their strangle hold on cabs into the city.  There were cases where drivers (and allegedly even passengers) were jailed for using cabs or limos that were supposed to be "suburban" to get to city destinations.

 

I know that cabs in Chicago have started to use Uber and Lyft...so when your ride shows up, it is a taxi cab. I have no idea how that works I just know it's happening.

^I absolutely do not understand why taxi companies aren't either creating their own uber like software (taxi position and online payment tool) or partnering with Uber or Lyft.  At they very least they could develop a very simple app or map add on that tells the user the position of all available taxis.  Personally, I don't use Uber because it's cheaper.  I use it because it's reliable and I know with some degree of certainty when my driver will arrive.  It's a huge time saver because I no longer need to waste my time waiting 20+ minutes for a taxi.

 

In the digital age taxi companies will absolutely die if they do not develop software.  Most people under 30 wouldn't even think about calling for a taxi.  If it's not available online it might as well not even exist.

 

The mindset of the taxi companies is to use influence on local government to protect their desired business model and limit competition.  Their objective is a captive audience.

 

O'Hare used to be notorious for their strangle hold on cabs into the city.  There were cases where drivers (and allegedly even passengers) were jailed for using cabs or limos that were supposed to be "suburban" to get to city destinations.

 

I know that cabs in Chicago have started to use Uber and Lyft...so when your ride shows up, it is a taxi cab. I have no idea how that works I just know it's happening.

 

Those may be unlicensed "suburban" cabs.  if so and it's working, that's a brilliant dodge.

I have an older friend who called a taxi a few months ago, waited an hour, and finally after repeated calls asking where it was, they told him they just didn't have any cabs that would be going out that way that day. The guy does not have a smart phone, so Uber isn't an option. But there will be fewer and fewer people for whom this type of experience is acceptable.

 

I confess I have not used Uber or Lyft because I'm afraid, as a solo female, to take it alone. I know that will seem silly to a lot of folks. But a licensed taxi to me seems like an approved and vetted service somehow, whereas Uber is basically getting a ride from a stranger. It just seems like a lot of risk.

I have an older friend who called a taxi a few months ago, waited an hour, and finally after repeated calls asking where it was, they told him they just didn't have any cabs that would be going out that way that day. The guy does not have a smart phone, so Uber isn't an option. But there will be fewer and fewer people for whom this type of experience is acceptable.

 

I confess I have not used Uber or Lyft because I'm afraid, as a solo female, to take it alone. I know that will seem silly to a lot of folks. But a licensed taxi to me seems like an approved and vetted service somehow, whereas Uber is basically getting a ride from a stranger. It just seems like a lot of risk.

 

My understanding is they do a good job of vetting the drivers before they are allowed into the system.  Taxis if anything are more questionable.

Gee, didn't you ever see the movie Taxi Driver??? ;)

 

RTA has been tweeting out some further detail why there have been so many delayed train departures of late (like multiple per day). Pretty much right in line with KJP's warnings about failing equipment.

RTA has been tweeting out some further detail why there have been so many delayed train departures of late (like multiple per day). Pretty much right in line with KJP's warnings about failing equipment.

 

Should there be any extra concern about safety?

"Last Mile" is an important gap to fill. For me, having bike racks at local bus stops would shrink the length of my last mile.

 

I don't see how one would economically use Uber at any frequency for the last mile, with Uber as-is. Your all-day-RTA pass is $5, and an uber minimum fare I'm guessing is $5 each way. In this split, RTA earn $2.50 each way for 10 mile commute (25c/mile), and uber last mile ($5/mile). It would be useful if UberLastMile/Pool or some other cheaper option were available, $1 for the last mile..., otherwise, I'm fine walking 10+10 minutes to save $10. Perhaps RTA monthly pass + Uber monthly last-mile pass = $200. I'd also imagine that your RTA's are going to get almost no compensation from Uber for this. But, if Uber could help as a marketing tool, such as, if you want Metro/RTA to advertise Uber, then encourage Uber to advertise Metro/RTA in-app. 15 minute uber @ $12 or 38 minute uber-bus-uber for $4.50. But, new people considering riding RTA is good. And, Uber's long term business model in some way depends on decreasing personal car ownership / usage, which means more people day-to-day relying on transit. Also, I could see if Uber shared data, or provided data analytics to transit agency, and help them to redesign their network routes. i.e. Lots of people are trying to get from here to here at these hours, make these network changes, and it will be win-win. (Or, Uber is just looking to poach transit riders to become UberPool riders, and to run a fleet of Uber minivans).

 

Also, I'm wondering how cities that have their own shuttle service, or would be considering offering a subsidized/free shuttle service, if they would get better bang for the buck, by having Uber operate their shuttle service? i.e. A fixed route, low ridership University Circle shuttle, or Cleveland Clinic shuttle, could morph into UberShuttle, in which a larger vehicle which services institutions (or community) and nearest Rapid station. i.e. your $30k annual shuttle costs might be better bang-for-buck to be University Circle Ubers...

 

Also, I'd be interested to see if RTA had a breakdown on ridership by route by hour. And perhaps you might see that priority networks, (frequent service / rapids) would be the most used / with higher fairbox recovery rate. And then other routes, that are in many ways feeder routes would have lower fairbox recovery. So.. Uber-ization of last-mile would mean for RTA to drop coverage that provides last-mile feeding of priority routes, and instead RTA could focus on building frequent / rapid services. Good idea / terrible idea, I'm not sure. But, it could accidentally be a way of dismantling your regional transit. Or, provide corridors of growth/investment along rapids...

 

Helsinki Finland a few years ago proposed building some integrated system between transit, intercity, and last mile. So, that you could encourage everyone to replace personal vehicle trips with a bit of transit. One-app-to-rule-them-all. At the point they announced it, Uber didn't have the presence it does today. But.. Linked trips.. Could you see your app given you a transfer-discount to go from Uber-network to RTA-network, and vice-versa?

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jul/10/helsinki-shared-public-transport-plan-car-ownership-pointless

 

It seems like there might be an opportunity for local governments to get back into the transit business, with smaller buses circulating around stops, to cover that last mile.  I would doubt that current funding law would allow any money to be sent their way, if not the law should be changed. 

RTA has been tweeting out some further detail why there have been so many delayed train departures of late (like multiple per day). Pretty much right in line with KJP's warnings about failing equipment.

 

I think RTA still has enough Breda cars for the Blue/Green/Waterfront lines to handle crush crowds for special events -- but barely. They will start eating into that roster as they cannibalize the worst of those cars. But that shouldn't affect rush hour service yet. That's a smaller threshhold when it comes to fleet size.

 

Nor does it explain the delays on the Red Line -- which are more likely due to the infrastructure issues on the west side. Specifically, that track stabilization project between West Boulevard and Ohio City where trains run at restricted speed. RTA track improvements are under way there.

^RTA was pretty explicit that the schedule changes (e.g., Train scheduled to depart at X will now depart at X+10) are due to vehicles coming out of service:

But is it for vehicles coming out of service permanently or for repairs and routine maintenance? I'm aware that RTA is replacing rubberized components on their wheel bogies (which are from a supplier who makes them cheaper but they don't last as long--that's another story). And they may also be putting the Bredas into more frequent turns through inspection/maintenance in the months leading up to the RNC. If I was RTA, I'd be doing it now so that they have time to order or make replacement parts as needed.

^If they don't have sufficient equipment to maintain vehicles and honor their published schedule at the same time, your forecast is already coming true.

A GCRTA tweet to an All Aboard Ohio follower...

 

That's the tweet I was referring to.

A friend was going to work this morning on a Blue Line train from Shaker Heights to the Waterfront Line. At Tower City, his train let off all of its passengers, including the handful continuing through to the Waterfront because the train had to return to Central Rail for unknown repairs. So those passengers had to wait for the next train to the Waterfront Line.

^ But we'll have no problem keeping enough LRT cars in service until 2025...

APTA 2015 Fourth Quarter Ridership Report

http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2015-q4-ridership-APTA.pdf

 

Red Line ridership up almost 4%. However, Blue, Green, and bus ridership down. :(

USA: TIFIA loan to fund Chicago L cars https://t.co/9Tqe28ZgqA https://t.co/p3EugllfKF

APTA 2015 Fourth Quarter Ridership Report

http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2015-q4-ridership-APTA.pdf

 

Red Line ridership up almost 4%. However, Blue, Green, and bus ridership down. :(

 

Thanks for the head's up!

 

Based on this data, the Red Line carried 14% of all RTA trips last year, the highest share since at least 1996 (earliest year we have data), probably the largest share ever.  And Light Rail has now lost 1/3 of its 1996 ridership. I'd love to see older light rail ridership...I wonder how much 1996 was juiced by WFL, so is a slightly inflated starting place in the scheme of things.

 

Anyway, this shows absolute HR and LR ridership since 1996 and the relative change since 1996 for HR, LR, and all else (bus and paratransit):

 

 

*RTA didn't report 2006 data, so I just imputed it.

 

Also, based on numbers RTA reported to the FTA national transit database, it looks like HealthLine ridership dropped sharply in 2015:

 

2013: 4,854,519

2014: 5,084,513

2015: 4,461,433

^I wonder what caused the tremendous spike in Red Line ridership in 2007.  Indians playoff run, maybe?  Not sure.

 

Btw, to put these numbers in perspective, I read somewhere a long time ago that the highest yearly ridership on the Red Line was around 18M in the early 1960s, when it was the old CTS Rapid and when it was shorter (no Airport extension yet) -- meaning that the top Red Line riding yearly figures from '96 to 2015 weren't even half the top year on a shorter system.  Of course there were only 1 or 2 malls back then and downtown still booming biz-wise and retail-wise compared to now.  Of course, very few people lived downtown in those days, either. 

^I wonder what caused the tremendous spike in Red Line ridership in 2007.  Indians playoff run, maybe?  Not sure.

 

Btw, to put these numbers in perspective, I read somewhere a long time ago that the highest yearly ridership on the Red Line was around 18M in the early 1960s, when it was the old CTS Rapid and when it was shorter (no Airport extension yet) -- meaning that the top Red Line riding yearly figures from '96 to 2015 weren't even half the top year on a shorter system.  Of course there were only 1 or 2 malls back then and downtown still booming biz-wise and retail-wise compared to now.  Of course, very few people lived downtown in those days, either. 

 

There was an inflation of the numbers during the early 80s when the Red Line was used for high school student busing.  I was a regular (at least three times weekly) rider then and I would opine that there was a strong decline in the number of adult riders at that time that would be masked by the number of students....who did not pay full fare.

Fuel prices were starting to spike in 2007. And while we rag on the Waterfront Line, it carried 1 million riders in its first year (vs. 600,000 for projected first-year ridership).

 

In the 1950s and 60s, the CTS Rapid (today's Red Line) was carrying 40,000 a day, while the Shaker lines were carrying 20,000+ riders/weekday vs. 10,000 riders/weekday today. The decline of downtown shopping is often cited as the biggest reason for the drop, as has flat/falling employment near Public Square.

 

 

^Wasn't the WFL free for long stretches during the bicentennial celebration season? Ridership is ridership, I guess, but even then it seemed more like novelty riding to me (based on my observations as a frequent WFL rider in the summer of 1996). I even remember getting free rides all the way home from North Coast Harbor/Flats to Shaker Hts.

It didn't operate during most the bicentennial celebration. I ripped RTA in a Sun News column about that -- here's a bicentennial legacy project that wouldn't operate for much of the bicentennial. The WFL was shut down after midday June 10, 1996 during the peak of the bicentennial festivities because there would be too many people in the Flats. More than 150,000 people attended the party. For a couple of years thereafter, the WFL was fare-free in one direction and full-fare in other and had station agents at East 9th, East Bank/Main Ave, and Settlers Landing. West Third wasn't built until 1999.

Budget cuts bring rocky road for RTA

Transit authority needs to reduce $7 million from its ledger

April 03, 2016 UPDATED 2 DAYS AGO

 

A half-dozen members of the crowd of about 30 people who came out to Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Brecksville on a recent Tuesday evening arrived, and later left, on the 77F — a bus route that runs from downtown Cleveland on Interstate 77, exits the freeway near Rockside Road in Independence and travels south on Brecksville Road before circling around a business park at Snowville Road and heading back north.

 

The transit-dependent and the others came to hear how the plans of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority to balance its budget might affect them. Discontinuing 77F service on the weekends — a service that currently runs hourly — is one of the possible cuts. Weekday and evening service, more frequent during rush hours, would continue unaffected.

 

RTA is considering a number of options, including a fare increase and 17 cuts of service similar to the 77F proposal, to bring its 2016 budget into balance. General manager Joseph Calabrese told the group in Brecksville that those are the only ways he and his staff can find the $7 million they need to balance the nearly $300 million budget.

 

“There is no easy answer to what we’re going to discuss tonight,” Calabrese said, kicking off a 25-minute presentation describing the potential service cuts and the fare increase options. “Our goal in life is not to reduce service but to increase service. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in this situation because of funding cuts. It’s not a fun time at RTA.”

 

MORE:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160403/NEWS/160409940/budget-cuts-bring-rocky-road-for-rta

A friend of mine who used to work at GCRTA submitted this letter to the editor...

 

Yearly fare increases, additional sales tax the only way to fix RTA financial crisis: Letter to the Editor

on March 29, 2016 at 3:28 PM

 

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) must fill a $7 million shortfall, and people are upset across Cuyahoga County about proposed fare increases and service cuts.

 

Advocacy groups fighting for public transit are calling for a freeze on fares, which have not increased in seven years. But this will only make the situation worse.

 

If Cuyahoga County residents, including public transit advocacy groups, want a public transportation system which can meet their travel needs and even grow, then the discussion should change from fighting fare increases to what can be done locally to generate more revenue for the RTA.

 

MORE:

http://www.cleveland.com/letters/index.ssf/2016/03/yearly_fare_increases_addition.html … #Cleveland

^ I agree that we need more local revenue and that our farebox recovery needs to be higher, but at $2.25, I have a hard time agreeing that our fares are "artificially low."

Imagine if all that medical mart money had gone to transit instead.  Local leadership wanted money to exist for the medical mart and PRESTO there it was.  What if we just redirected the money we saved by firing the original medical mart consultants?  Might save a bus route or two.

Are you talking about the entire Convention center, including renovating Public Hall & hotel and MM?  Or just MM?

 

The entire project was funded 0.25% sales tax over 20 years.  RTA currently gets 4 times that amount, 1.0% and has gotten it for the past 30 years.

 

Our local contribution isn't lacking, State & Federal is

^ The sales tax is ineed lacking. There are 400,000 less people living in the county than there were when the tax was instituted. Also, many more goods are purchased online today. We need to rethink our local funding mechanism, in addition to getting more state funding.

^ I agree that we need more local revenue and that our farebox recovery needs to be higher, but at $2.25, I have a hard time agreeing that our fares are "artificially low."

 

U.S. transit agency fares are not a good comparison. Few U.S. transit agencies cover more than 25 percent of their costs from fares -- which makes it difficult to afford even modest route/service expansions. Most Canadian transit agencies cover more than 50 percent of their costs from fares, so they regularly tout fares as an asset to entice expansion. The transit agency can meet the local sponsor more than halfway. Checking transit agencies in Ontario, they all charge 50-100 cents more for an single-ride, adult cash fare than GCRTA does.

 

^ The sales tax is ineed lacking. There are 400,000 less people living in the county than there were when the tax was instituted. Also, many more goods are purchased online today. We need to rethink our local funding mechanism, in addition to getting more state funding.

 

Yesterday, I went to buy a 55-inch TV. I wanted it delivered because I couldn't fit it in my car. So I ordered it online with free delivery. If I bought the $700 TV at a Cuyahoga County store, I would have paid $56 in sales taxes including $7 to RTA. Instead, I didn't pay any sales tax and RTA got nothing from my purchase.

Are you talking about the entire Convention center, including renovating Public Hall & hotel and MM?  Or just MM?

 

The entire project was funded 0.25% sales tax over 20 years.  RTA currently gets 4 times that amount, 1.0% and has gotten it for the past 30 years.

 

Our local contribution isn't lacking, State & Federal is

 

Agreed.  It's just that .25% would have been a 25% increase in local funding, which is under far more local control than any other funding source.  I'm just asking what if the same type of funding decision had favored RTA instead of MM/CC.  Redirecting the savings on the new MM/CC management contract was just a joke, meant to illustrate how casually money gets tossed around when local leadership feels like it.  I doubt the MM/CC plan enjoyed any more popular support than RTA does right now.  And yet, there it is.  Built.

How would I unsubscribe from RTA's nextconnect "Web watch"/email alerts? I recently moved and they're no longer applicable. The email doesn't include any subscription information..

^ You have to go to the Commuter Alert webpage and log in to your account. You can then unsubscribe there.

You should inform them that is illegal (CAN-SPAM Act of 2003). See https://www.onguardonline.gov/articles/0038-spam at the bottom on how to report and let the FTC know.

 

TPH2[/member] They still need to have an unsubscribe link or another mechanism available.

You should inform them that is illegal (CAN-SPAM Act of 2003). See https://www.onguardonline.gov/articles/0038-spam at the bottom on how to report and let the FTC know.

 

TPH2[/member] They still need to have an unsubscribe link or another mechanism available.

 

I think you just did.  Informing the GCRTA reps on this page seems to be more effective than working through the bureaucracy.

April 10-23: "Bus bridge" replaces @gcrta Red Line trains Triskett-West Blvd/Cudell. $1.2m project to repair deteriorated track. #Cleveland

What a tremendous editorial by NEO's business publication!

 

Crain's editorial: Not fare

April 03, 2016

 

It would be easy to cast blame on the RTA and argue that the organization hasn’t done enough to maintain or increase its ridership.

 

In many cases, its infrastructure is aging and adds to considerable delays. Its technology, like the existence of reloadable fare cards, lags considerably behind other metropolitan cities. Also, the RTA’s rail line has a particularly limited geographic spread.

 

The truth is the RTA is a reasonably well-run organization. Last year, the organization, which is the largest transit system in the state, finished the year $6 million ahead of its budget, opened a handful of new stations and launched a number of much-needed infrastructure upgrades. Fares haven’t increased for seven years.

 

However, the RTA and Northeast Ohio’s citizens have been failed time and time again by the state of Ohio and its lawmakers.

 

MORE

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160403/VOICES01/160409950/crains-editorial-not-fare

That's a really good article.

Crains keeps the good messaging coming, this time visually....

 

Was moderately interesting watching the live webcast of the City Council meeting hearing with RTA brass today about the proposed route cuts and fare hike. I know at least one UOer was there tweeting out some of the discussion.  The topic of transfers came up in light of the lack of transfer privileges for a cash fare. An RTA staffer at the meeting made clear that non-cash fares--passes and 5-trip cards-- do have transfer privileges, but lamented the fact that many potential riders don't seem to know about the 5-trip cards.

 

Here's a tip for RTA: if you want people to know about 5-trip cards, maybe instead of pushing a day pass for a special events via Twitter, also tell them you can buy a 5-trip card, and pay even less per ride. Maybe even let them know they can buy them ahead of time and where they can do it.  Also, maybe rewrite your "how to pay" and "fares" web pages to be more useful. Currently, they're pretty terrible.

 

EDIT: and on that last point, I'm happy to provide specific suggestions (as I've done a couple times in this thread) or even to write proposed content for no cost and with no strings.

What a great, hard hitting letter to the editor. It really makes me rethink my whole position on transit advocacy...

 

#sarcasm

 

Letter to the editor: April 18, 2016

 

Wayne Capka, Cleveland

 

I see in your April 4 editorial criticizing Ohio lawmakers for the cuts RTA is making that you are using typical class warfare. I don’t drive an Audi or a BMW, and I am a working man who sees things much differently than you do.

 

For one, RTA, as is typical of ALL governmental agencies, cuts services to the public to balance budgets rather than trimming fat or, heaven forbid, the bloated pensions and salaries/wages of its workforce and bureaucrats. You ever look at the RTA board? Various people appointed to the board who meet a few times a year and are paid hundreds of thousands to do so. They are politically and socially connected people who do not work for a living. They just leech off the public...

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160417/NEWS/160419834/letter-to-the-editor-april-18-2016

Do RTA board members really draw fees or salaries from RTA? I tried to figure this out once by looking through the RTA budget, and don't think I saw any money allocated to board members beyond a modest amount for staff support. I may have missed something though.

Do RTA board members really draw fees or salaries from RTA? I tried to figure this out once by looking through the RTA budget, and don't think I saw any money allocated to board members beyond a modest amount for staff support. I may have missed something though.

 

Per the country website, $4,800 each.  http://bc.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/Regional-Transit-Authority.aspx  While not positive, I feel this is in line with similar positions around the country. 

 

I do agree with the letter in the bloated salaries of employees and administrators though.  How is Joe rewarded for overseeing an agency that has to cut its services to meet it's budget?    It should be more performance based.  If he wins in the statehouse and secures more funding, he gets a raise.  Balancing the budget is elementary.    Connections, clout and influence are what he should be paid for.

Revised Service Modification Plan

After Considering All Comments

Presentation to

Committee of the Whole

RTA Board of Trustees

April 26, 2016

 

http://www.riderta.com/sites/default/files/pdf/presentations/2016-04-26%20Service.pdf

___________

 

Greater Cleveland RTA

Current and Proposed Fares

April 26, 2016

 

http://www.riderta.com/sites/default/files/pdf/presentations/2016-04-26%20fares.pdf

Sounds like Calabrese got what Calabrese wanted.

^Route cuts that mostly affect bus riders?

^Route cuts on buses, significant rail service reductions on the Rapid and fare hikes across the board.  There are only a few deviations from the proposals put forward prior to the "public comment." 

 

The bus service is at the bare bones as it is, in terms of (non) frequency; the whole system is almost like a commuter bus service, frequency-wise.  Bus coverage has been significantly weakened in recent years due to cuts, and it's getting worse.  Right now, with most so called "feeder" bus lines into the Rapid (or their being used as simply crosstown commuter lines), service is every hour on most of them and, in the case of the No. 45, which currently connects to the W. 65th St Rapid station, will disappear all together. 

 

As for the Rapid, the Green Line service cuts (no service after 8p) are going to inconvenience suburban riders to the point where many will either drive downtown or opt not to go downtown at all.  Of course people can drive the (generally) 1, 1.5 miles to a Blue Line station, but many will see this as a hassle, and will not do so.

 

As for the hated (by some) Waterfront Line, it seems foolish to cut after 7 service now, right before the warm weather season and the 1st  full summer at the expanded Flats East Bank, where there are weekend crowds even now.  Money savings (we're told by RTA) for reducing the WFL will amount to $300K per year.  (NOTE: it was pointed out up thread that RTA is spending $275K for advertising -- most of which is pretty horrible/non-information imho).  And trust me, after some of the few customers left on the WFL are discouraged by the cuts and leave, Calabrese will return with his rush hour and daytime-weekends only service that existed pre-2013 prior to FEB's Phase 1 opening.  Calabrese said he would approach Wolstein/Fairmount, the FEB builders/owners, asking for support about helping fund the WFL.  Never heard anymore about this -- I guess not many people cared enough to follow-up, if Calabrese even asked them in the 1st place.

 

Despite all the (quiet) grumbling about how this state (see the REPUBLICANS of this state) starving transit with non-support even compared to such backwards neighbors, transit-wise, as IIRC Michigan and Indiana, I don't see local media (certainly not the "there are no villains here" PD -- though Crain's did speak strongly on this issue) officials, particularly RTA chief, Joe Calabrese, kicking up much sand about it nor are local pols either (where's Frank Jackson?  where's Armond Budish?  Where are the City Councilmen in whose districts are many transit-dependent individuals trying to get to work who are injured by all this?, etc, etc). 

 

Meanwhile Joe Calabrese won't give any straight answers about the Rapid rail car crisis that threatens, in the near future, to close light rail service completely, other than getting snippy with KJP/AAO in the media for simply raising the question.  And has been noted, this is no excuse for not having any serious plans for the future...

 

So here we are in our renaissance City (at least downtown and several key neighborhoods) with a transit system becoming more irrelevant every day: raising fares, cutting service, driving riders away with no serious comprehensive plan for growth, esp on the rail side... in other words,  a recipe for disaster.

^Route cuts on buses, significant rail service reductions on the Rapid and fare hikes across the board.  There are only a few deviations from the proposals put forward prior to the "public comment." 

 

The bus service is at the bare bones as it is, in terms of (non) frequency; the whole system is almost like a commuter bus service, frequency-wise.  Bus coverage has been significantly weakened in recent years due to cuts, and it's getting worse.  Right now, with most so called "feeder" bus lines into the Rapid (or their being used as simply crosstown commuter lines), service is every hour on most of them and, in the case of the No. 45, which currently connects to the W. 65th St Rapid station, will disappear all together. 

 

As for the Rapid, the Green Line service cuts (no service after 8p) are going to inconvenience suburban riders to the point where many will either drive downtown or opt not to go downtown at all.  Of course people can drive the (generally) 1, 1.5 miles to a Blue Line station, but many will see this as a hassle, and will not do so.

 

As for the hated (by some) Waterfront Line, it seems foolish to cut after 7 service now, right before the warm weather season and the 1st  full summer at the expanded Flats East Bank, where there are weekend crowds even now.  Money savings (we're told by RTA) for reducing the WFL will amount to $300K per year.  (NOTE: it was pointed out up thread that RTA is spending $275K for advertising -- most of which is pretty horrible/non-information imho).  And trust me, after some of the few customers left on the WFL are discouraged by the cuts and leave, Calabrese will return with his rush hour and daytime-weekends only service that existed pre-2013 prior to FEB's Phase 1 opening.  Calabrese said he would approach Wolstein/Fairmount, the FEB builders/owners, asking for support about helping fund the WFL.  Never heard anymore about this -- I guess not many people cared enough to follow-up, if Calabrese even asked them in the 1st place.

 

Despite all the (quiet) grumbling about how this state (see the REPUBLICANS of this state) starving transit with non-support even compared to such backwards neighbors, transit-wise, as IIRC Michigan and Indiana, I don't see local media (certainly not the "there are no villains here" PD -- though Crain's did speak strongly on this issue) officials, particularly RTA chief, Joe Calabrese, kicking up much sand about it nor are local pols either (where's Frank Jackson?  where's Armond Budish?  Where are the City Councilmen in whose districts are many transit-dependent individuals trying to get to work who are injured by all this?, etc, etc). 

 

Meanwhile Joe Calabrese won't give any straight answers about the Rapid rail car crisis that threatens, in the near future, to close light rail service completely, other than getting snippy with KJP/AAO in the media for simply raising the question.  And has been noted, this is no excuse for not having any serious plans for the future...

 

So here we are in our renaissance City (at least downtown and several key neighborhoods) with a transit system becoming more irrelevant every day: raising fares, cutting service, driving riders away with no serious comprehensive plan for growth, esp on the rail side... in other words,  a recipe for disaster.

 

Please enlighten us as to why Cleveland's rail system, the light-rail lines in particular, have such dismal ridership numbers...and how would you remedy the issue to increase ridership?

Please enlighten us as to why Cleveland's rail system, the light-rail lines in particular, have such dismal ridership numbers...and how would you remedy the issue to increase ridership?

 

I get yelled at every time I mention this sort of thing, but I'm going to anyway since I believe it to be part of your answer.

 

I ride the trains only occasionally, usually only if going to or from downtown or U/C.  Usually on weekends.  But in the past couple years, I've *rarely* have a positive experience.  Apparently they are always doing track work.  On Saturdays.  During the day.  While the trains are full or very nearly full.  The single-tracking produces long delays and makes trip planning close to impossible.

 

Example: a couple weeks ago.  Wanted to get from U/C to Triskett.  Had to settle for West 98th because of emergency track work.  Needed to get a ride from there, whereas from Triskett we probably could have walked.  But the worst part is that the train took more than 45 minutes, not the scheduled 27, to travel between these two stations.  While the replacement of trains with shuttle buses between West 98 and Triskett was announced, the 18+ minute delay was not.  Had I known, we'd have used the HealthLine and 26 to reach exactly our destination from exactly our origin, and, even with the ridiculous Public Square construction delays, it would likely have been faster than the entire trip (with walking from Severance Hall and needing a ride from West 98) turned out to be.  Or we could have just driven and it would have been faster, and cheaper as well (because I had 3 kids with me).

 

This is not how you sell a transit system to people who have a choice.  Mind you I'm not talking about just potential riders; I'm also talking about the many more people paying the taxes that subsidize, or used to subsidize, having a halfway decent quality of service.

 

It's also not how you get people *without* a choice to and from their jobs, without them getting fired for constantly being late, or fined for overstaying their time at the day care, or screwed out of getting to see their kids' concerts and recitals and volleyball matches because they missed their connecting bus that only runs every hour.

 

I realize a lot of folks at RTA, probably the vast majority, are doing the best they can with very, very minimal funding by historical standards.

 

But if you want to understand and perhaps address at least one of the reasons why people aren't riding the trains - the fact that for most of us, time is money and we can afford to waste neither - then here are a few suggestions, which I believe could be implemented with very minimal cost.

 

1.  Track work should be done during times that are relatively convenient for riders.  And it should be announced.  If there are going to be delays - and they must be predictable, to some degree, because I can predict one just about every time I use the Red Line on a Saturday afternoon - announce those as well.

 

2.  NextConnect does a reasonably good job of predicting when a bus or train will depart from a given location.  It says nothing about how long the trip is going to take.  That would be very useful information; I presume it should be reasonably easy to gather, at least on those few lines that still run with some frequency; it would help people to time transfers, and to reduce the percentage of the time they must wait an hour or more for a connection, possibly in the rain or cold or withering heat or in a less than safe neighborhood.