They ended all but rush-hour and special event service in late 2008. Then it became weekends/special event-only less than two years later.

 

Right.  Thanks for the clarification.

RTA riders in Cleveland can soon track arrivals of buses and trains

 

RTA finally getting this feature and keeping up with the times!!!

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — RTA riders -- even those waiting at a stop -- will soon be able to use smart phones and other devices to find out when the next train or bus really will arrive. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority plans to launch the service June 18 on its Web site, riderta.com.

 

By using NextConnect, riders can select a route, stop and direction to find out when the next bus or train will arrive.

 

NextConnect users can also call up a route on Google Maps and track where the bus or train is located. By clicking on a stop, they can check arrivals. Riders can sign up for an email notice on arrival times too. A text-message service won't be available at the start but should be ready down the road, officials said.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/post_26.html

RTA riders in Cleveland can soon track arrivals of buses and trains

:clap: :clap: :clap:

^^It's about time. 

^^It's about time. 

 

Amen.  Other transit systems have had this for some time.

The question is, will you have to get down on your knees for the app to work ala the fare machines????

 

Just kidding.  Good news.  And I do hope you CAN buy a fare with the app. 

We all know that tebowing started while trying to use those fare machines

 

;)

 

http://www.woio.com/category/211979/video-landing-page?clipId=7362671&autostart=true

;)

 

http://www.woio.com/category/211979/video-landing-page?clipId=7362671&autostart=true

 

They're not saying anything that anyone with their eyes open in Cleveland hasn't already noticed, but it is nice to see channel 19 with a positive report for once.

The question is, will you have to get down on your knees for the app to work ala the fare machines????

 

Just kidding.  Good news.  And I do hope you CAN buy a fare with the app. 

 

I'm assuming you're speaking of real-time location? If so, it is precisely that -- LOCATION. This has nothing to do with fares. Our fare system is based on magnetic stripe cards, and unless and until that changes, purchase will require dispensing from a physical fare machine or agent.

We all know that tebowing started while trying to use those fare machines

 

 

Funny!!

We all know that tebowing started while trying to use those fare machines

 

 

This is awesome.  Definitely not coincidence!

We all know that tebowing started while trying to use those fare machines

 

Laaaaawd!

Regarding the dress code, I was getting off the Red Line downtown and passing through the turnstiles at Tower City when an RTA cop told a young man to pull up his pants. I didn't realize RTA was following the casino's lead in instituting a dress code? Or maybe it was Tower City's dress code?

 

Either way, the young man complied but another guy who pulled up his pants in response started protesting as he walked from the cop, mumbling something about expressing his right to express himself and the Constitution, etc.

 

I suspect they have the right to hold themselves back in life by causing others to not take them seriously, but what about my rights of not having to look at some dork's Underoos?

Whoa, a gang-banger Constitutional scholar!  Now we've seen it all.

^

RTA's lately been very aggressive with promotionals with varous teams and events to encourage transit usage, esp. rail: i.e. the Lake Erie Monsters, the Indans and Marc's Rip Cook-off, to name a few.  This is excellent; let's hope RTA continues with this...

 

...who knows, maybe RTA can ink a promotional with the Horseshoe casino... hmmm, with Dan Gilbert's multimillion $$ "welcome center", jacked up parking prices coupled with a "free parking" policy that forces you to gamble, gamble, gamble...all coupled with Gilbert's apparent indifference to CVSR's extension right to Horseshoe's basement? ... Come to think of it, that one might be a reach.  The good news is that it appears plenty of casino visitors are riding the trains anyway....

^

 

:-P :-P  :whip: :whip:

I suspect they have the right to hold themselves back in life by causing others to not take them seriously, but what about my rights of not having to look at some dork's Underoos?

 

Is someone forcing your eyes in the direction of these young menz's derriere?  :?

 

 

Let's keep on topic, please.

If someone is going to drop their drawers, it's kind of difficult not to notice. To me it's the same as graffiti, and I don't like to see that either. If you're gonna act like a loser, don't be surprised if you get treated like one. So my question remains, is there a dress code on RTA or did an RTA cop invent one? There is a transit code of conduct that's displayed on buses and trains, but how one dresses is not listed.

 

RTA promos could expand. RTA and the Cleveland Indians are considering some kind of discount idea. The reason is because the Indians have gotten complaints from its customers who either can't find downtown parking anymore or if they do, they can't afford it. So one idea is if you show a valid RTA ticket or pass at a Progressive Field vendor, you get a discount off the purchase price. Anyone got ideas for other promos to get people on transit, either for Indians games or other promos/events?

^They might do this already, but maybe the Indians should offer RTA some free ad space at the Prog, or better yet, a full scoreboard commercial explaining how easy and fun it is to take the train to the game. And maybe a prominent link from the Indians ticket-buying page showing visitors how to arrive by train.

^They might do this already,

 

Not yet. That's why RTA and the Indians are looking into it.

^They might do this already, but maybe the Indians should offer RTA some free ad space at the Prog, or better yet, a full scoreboard commercial explaining how easy and fun it is to take the train to the game. And maybe a prominent link from the Indians ticket-buying page showing visitors how to arrive by train.

 

Just make sure they also advertise the late night schedule in case of extra innings....

^Yeah, good point.  Maybe near the end of the game the scoreboard could show the scheduled departures for the final Red, Green, and Blue Line trains?

 

Looks like RTA already sponsors promotions at the Prog, like the Rally Alley (which essentially is pre-game tailgating, I believe), so that might be something they could leverage for more exposure.

 

Also, might make sense to have the radio/TV announcers make a well-crafted PSA during their game coverage when folks are apt to be listening.  Oh, and maybe even in the pre-game background shots, show fans in tribe gear piling off a rapid train!  Anything that shows people that it's something "normal" fans do this is probably helpful. 

 

And if you really want to go crazy, convince a couple players to take the rapid in from an outlying stop as a publicity thing.  The chance to ride with the stars would be pretty awesome.  After all Cliff Lee would take the subway to Yankee Stadium...http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-10-31/sports/17937191_1_subway-cliff-lee-taxi

 

And check it: rail transit may even have been a factor in Cliff Lee's decision to re-sign with the Phillies! http://www.njfuture.org/2010/12/21/cliff-lee-swayed-by-phillys-public-transit/

Those are ads. I'm talking about financial incentives being considered by the Indians to take RTA and give their customers a  break from having to pay big bucks for parking -- assuming they can find a space.

^Sorry, I guess I was interpreting "promos" more broadly than you meant.  Though seems like there's still a lot more the Indians could be doing just to educate their fans. 

 

I'm also a little confused by the financial incentive logic here.  Fans are complaining about high parking costs, so isn't saving money by taking the bus or train the real incentive? Is the thinking that fans don't know they can save money this way so the Indians need to bribe them with even more money to get their attention so they can save the money they could be saving anyway without the promotion?

 

One thing the Indians could do is work with RTA to come up with an email-able transit pass that they could throw in for no extra charge to fans who purchase tickets (and make some kind of flat payment to RTA), but I'm guessing that would be too much for RTA's technology and human attendants at Tower City to process.

That's a good argument. But if you're packing a family of four or more in a car, then you were saving money by driving when parking cost less than $20 per car. Not anymore. So I think the Indians want to keep the financial burden roughly equal to what it was before the parking situation got more difficult downtown. They want to keep putting butts in their own seats and don't want anything getting in the way of that.

Just make sure they also advertise the late night schedule in case of extra innings....

 

There is no need to. Return service from downtown special events is guaranteed for 90 minutes after the event ends. So if an extra-inning ballgame ends at 2 a.m., there will be RTA service from Tower City until 3:30 a.m. -- which just about the time it starts for the new day. Often, RTA supervisors monitor crowd flow, and service continues until the crowd is gone, which may be well before the 90 minutes. You could say the promise is: "Leave no rider behind."

There is no need to. Return service from downtown special events is guaranteed for 90 minutes after the event ends. So if an extra-inning ballgame ends at 2 a.m., there will be RTA service from Tower City until 3:30 a.m. -- which just about the time it starts for the new day. Often, RTA supervisors monitor crowd flow, and service continues until the crowd is gone, which may be well before the 90 minutes. You could say the promise is: "Leave no rider behind."

 

I didn't know that.  Now if only we could have every special event go until 2:30 am we'd be in business! :)

Just make sure they also advertise the late night schedule in case of extra innings....

 

There is no need to. Return service from downtown special events is guaranteed for 90 minutes after the event ends. So if an extra-inning ballgame ends at 2 a.m., there will be RTA service from Tower City until 3:30 a.m. -- which just about the time it starts for the new day. Often, RTA supervisors monitor crowd flow, and service continues until the crowd is gone, which may be well before the 90 minutes. You could say the promise is: "Leave no rider behind."

Good to know, but this is the first I've ever heard of the policy. Maybe RTA should do a better job getting the word out about this.

News to me as well

The 90-minute service availability was promoted pretty heavily when Gateway (and the RTA Walkway) opened in 1994. I have not heard it promoted much since then. Then again, I haven't noticed one way or the other.

RTA bus hits man riding a bicycle on Broadway Avenue Thursday morning

 

A bus struck a man riding a bicycle on Broadway Avenue near East 34th Street in Cleveland just after midnight Thursday morning.

 

According to Cleveland EMS, the man was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center with minor injuries.

 

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/rta-bus-hits-man-riding-a-bicycle-on-broadway-avenue-thursday-morning#ixzz1xm8wPgjI

 

I'm posting this story in part because some friends of mine on FB have been discussing for 2 days how RTA hates bike riders. Yes, I have urged them to contact RTA directly about incidents they are reporting in the thread, but it's really sad what negative PR RTA has. Here are select comments from the discussion, which originated as my friend's bike broke down while he was riding it, so he had to get on a bus to go home:

 

Original post: So I took the bus and the driver just beeped at two pedestrians to keep them from crossing in the crosswalk with the cross signal so she could turn right.

 

Later: Omg, she just did a rolling stop through bus stop with the door open! Someone's behind the schedule mebbe...

 

Another: every morning the bus makes a right turn from starkweather onto professor @ 8:30.. ALWAYS a rolling stop and 90 % of the time right over the curb and side walk. we told ciperman and we had new signs put up to stop the wrong way and new crosswalks painted, which was good. but...RTA drivers dont give a *** about anything and believe they have the right away.

 

Another: They hate bikes more than most (drivers)

 

I'm posting this because perhaps there needs to be some more education (I will add "again," as I'm sure it's been addressed before) across the board for RTA drivers about both bikes and pedestrians. These incidents are just unacceptable. Rolling stops, beeping at pedestrians, hitting people on bikes, seriously?

You may want to suggest that your friend calls the police when this happens. Seems like the driver(s) is endangering a number of people here.

I don't think he would do that, but I sure as heck would have at least gotten off the bus and told the driver they were driving terribly and that I was going to report them.

I'm pretty sure RTA drivers are required to beep at pedestrians especially when they are making turns or they see a pedestrian starting into a crosswalk in front of them.

 

The design of the intersections in Tremont (which has very tight quarters being a pre-Civil War-era neighborhood) is probably a factor in the bus going over the curb. I've seen big trucks do that too.

 

My first reaction when I read your FB friends' comments is they sound pretty sensitive to things I would barely notice or care about or understand why the driver's must do certain things. There is a certain amount of aggressiveness that's requires for urban driving, regardless of vehicle, or you will never be able to change lanes, exit driveways, make turns, etc.

 

I can't speak to what happened on Broadway, but if you see what RTA driver's have to do to get these huge buses through crowded areas (watch buses go through the Market District in Ohio City on a Saturday), or tight quarters, or poorly designed/maintained streets, I'm amazed accidents don't happen more often. It's the law of averages. I only hope RTA doesn't implement new measures like the talking buses, the sirens and flashers that come on when they use their turn indicators, and the twice-beeping of the horn when making turns just to please the lawyers and a few folks who overreact to conditions that have been affecting rubber-tired transit vehicles since their inception 100 years ago.

But if pedestrians have the walk sign, do they not have the right of way to cross? A bus just deciding to take the right of way there seems wrong.

If that's the case, but RTA drivers always (or are supposed to) beep twice when making turns. I did not see the situation your friend reported to know if the pedestrians were actually crossing in that direction or crossing in another but were still in the street at the corner, or talking on their cell phones or doing something else. I'm just saying the driver is supposed to beep twice.

 

BTW, rolling stops with the door open aren't permitted. I've seen drivers do that before, but it's never bothered me. Certainly not enough to post a remark about it on FB! I enjoy the big-picture side of life too much to worry about such minutiae.

I think many of us on this site are more forgiving of these kinds of foibles because we're more aware of the macrocosm at play with having more public transit, but the general public is not. That being said, I'm guessing the people at the walk signal were actually trying to cross when legally allowed to and the bus clearly took the right of way instead and decided to come through first, else it would not have been worth posting. I've seen that on numerous occasions myself - you step out on the walk signal and a bus beeps you back to the curb so they can turn.

^If pedestrians are trying to cross there's no question that they have the right of way, and it's a major pet peeve of mine when buses or any other type of vehicle thinks that honking or turning in front of me to cut me off somehow changes this.

 

I wouldn't call the police, but I would have no hesitation calling RTA to complain about a particular driver acting irresponsibly near bikes or pedestrians.

I think many of us on this site are more forgiving of these kinds of foibles because we're more aware of the macrocosm at play with having more public transit, but the general public is not. That being said, I'm guessing the people at the walk signal were actually trying to cross when legally allowed to and the bus clearly took the right of way instead and decided to come through first, else it would not have been worth posting. I've seen that on numerous occasions myself - you step out on the walk signal and a bus beeps you back to the curb so they can turn.

I've been "beeped" back to the curb occasionally by bus drivers when I clearly had the right of way, but as I'm somewhat smaller than a bus, I generally just step back, make a hand gesture and then continue about my day. I can see how someone that's not as predisposed toward public transportation would harbor a grudge about it though.

^If pedestrians are trying to cross there's no question that they have the right of way...

 

ORLY? The mere act of a person trying to cross the street affords them the right of way? Um, no. That's why we have crosswalks and traffic signals. I suspect your statement was unintentionally broad.

 

Have you ever noticed when you are preparing to cross a 4-way intersection, especially downtown, that the "don't walk" will remain lit even if you see red lights in both the directions you can see? This is usually because traffic approaching you head-on has a left-turn signal, so the "don't walk" remains lit until straight-ahead, crossing traffic gets a green light and effectively blocks the left-turn traffic. Crossing prior to that point would be dangerous, and you would be in the wrong.

 

I'm not forgiving or excusing inappropriate behavior on anyone's part. Pedestrians, bicycles, and motorized vehicles all share the road, and each must abide by the appropriate regulations.

I'm certainly no traffic law expert, but a) the issue in question was when pedestrians HAD the walk signal and thus the right of way, and b) I'm fairly sure (not totally sure!) that state law is that no matter what the signal says, pedestrians technically do have the right of way, even if they are stepping out at the wrong time legally. It doesn't mean you should hit them, for sure, even if they are stepping out at the wrong time. But you need to be aware, even when you do have the ROW. As my Mom always says, "Don't let "I had the right of way" be what they chisel on your headstone."

Yeah, sorry Jet, I meant peds beginning their crossing when legally entitled (i.e., with the light, in the crosswalk).  I haven't spent regular time in Cleveland in many years, so my beef hasn't been with RTA drivers in particular.

I ride the bus 2-4x per day and I've never heard a bus honk when turning. I have, however, had to dodge all kinds of vehicles turning right on red or left through the intersection, not at all limited to RTA buses. This was quite a culture shock when I first moved here.

Welcome, rtm. Do you ride a lot downtown, in the neighborhoods, or a mix?

 

From where did you move and when? Just curious.

I'd agree that drivers in general here aren't great about sharing space with pedestrians. With our car culture, I don't think drivers have much sympathy for cyclists/people on foot and much of the city isn't very pedestrian friendly from a planning perspective to begin with. When it's an RTA bus rather than some anonymous vehicle it's not surprising that some would jump at the opportunity to call out the driver and then the entire agency. In my experience as a frequent bus rider and pedestrian, I'd say RTA drivers are generally more aware of the need to share the road than the average driver, although I've encountered some bad eggs too.

I'd agree that drivers in general here aren't great about sharing space with pedestrians. With our car culture, I don't think drivers have much sympathy for cyclists/people on foot and much of the city isn't very pedestrian friendly from a planning perspective to begin with. When it's an RTA bus rather than some anonymous vehicle it's not surprising that some would jump at the opportunity to call out the driver and then the entire agency. In my experience as a frequent bus rider and pedestrian, I'd say RTA drivers are generally more aware of the need to share the road than the average driver, although I've encountered some bad eggs too.

 

Great observations, djunior. Absolutely, when it's a familiar vehicle with a big red logo on it, the tendency is greater to actually make a statement, and I have no issue whatsoever with "calling out" the individual operator, as that's how problems get identified, isolated, and solved. That's also why our vehicles, and our employees, have ID numbers associated with them. Broad-brush statements like "RTA hates bike riders" express frustration, but do little to contribute to solving the perceived problem.

 

RTA is an organization, and regardless of the statements of Mitt "corporations are people, my friend" Romney, cannot actually express an emotion like hate. Are there individuals within the organization who may have a particular opinion of cyclists, or motorists? Of course there are. I have my own opinions of the bike messengers I see downtown who show a flagrant disregard for any rules of the road, as well as of motorists who are willfully blind to the simple physics of cutting in front of a much larger, less maneuverable vehicle moving at a high rate of speed, and are then surprised when said vehicle can't stop on a dime or pivot like an NBA point guard.

 

If we're doing something right? Let us know, we'll keep doing it, and try to do more. If we're doing something wrong? Give us as much detail as possible (who, what, when, where) and we'll work to fix it. We wouldn't be here otherwise.

And then of course there are pedestrians who start into crosswalks at the last minute and then yell or make obscene gestures at motorists who get the green light and start to make their turns. And how many times do you see cyclists blow through red lights?

 

Question (and to bring this back toward an RTA discussion), can RTA police ticket cyclists for ignoring traffic laws on the HealthLine right of way or other locations where RTA police have law enforcement authority (such as Public Square)?