Question: 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)?

 

I am not an attorney, but everything that I know says the answer to your question is  -- YES.

 

Transit Police graduate from the police academy, the same as police in any city. They carry guns and can make arrests. They can and have ticketed jaywalkers -- which at times is a major concern on the HealthLine. Ticketing cyclists would certainly be in their jurisdiction. As some of you may know, Transit Police and City Police have a joint jurisdiction agreement that covers all of Public Square and the HealthLine, as well as some other areas.

Thanks Jerry.

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

 

From where did you move and when? Just curious.

 

I ride from the Heights to downtown. I moved here about a month ago and most recently I lived in NYC.

I'm no expert on the subject, but here's some quick pointers:

 

- Pedestrians have the right of way when walking within a crosswalk.  HOWEVER, whether or not in a crosswalk, the driver of any vehicle (including emergency response vehicles) owes a duty of care to not collide with a pedestrian (as if this is necessary for the law to say..... but, then again, we also have a law that clarifies that pedestrians have the ROW on a sidewalk in case anyone was confused on that point).

 

- Also, you are technically obligated to walk on the right half of the crosswalk whenever practical.  Yes.... this allows the cops to charge you with j-walking even if you are in the crosswalk.

 

- This is an important one :)...... unless you are legally blind, it is illegal for you to carry a white or metallic cane (with or without a red tip) on any public thoroughfare.  I suspect this gets enforced about as much as Ohio's stripper law.

 

 

I ride from the Heights to downtown. I moved here about a month ago and most recently I lived in NYC.

 

Welcome!

Downtown was pretty seriously gridlocked tonight, before, during and after the Indians game. My friend and I took the Red Line from West 117th to downtown to the game. There was no drama heading to downtown on the Rapid. Even though we just missed an eastbound Red Line train, we did not have to wait long for another. When we arrived downtown, things continued to work well. Without waiting we caught an E-Line Trolley from the front of Tower City east on Euclid to East 9th. We stayed in the bus-only lane and blew past the stopped traffic that was backed up on Euclid in both directions. Since we had to use the bus-only lanes, the driver required passengers to exit only at the front and only when traffic in the adjacent lane was stopped for a long way, and advised us to use caution when crossing at the crosswalk. It was a short walk from there to meeting my sister at the Bob Feller statue.

 

Great Indians game, with a 2-0 victory against the Pirates, the Marine Corps band, and another awesome fireworks show afterwards that wowed the 31,000 fans. I sent an e-mail of the fireworks show to a friend as we walked out of Progressive Field at 10:25 p.m.

 

My sister asked my friend and I if we wanted her to drive us to our cars, parked at West 117th station. We suspected getting out of downtown would be a nightmare, but we thought that would apply only to the streets and highways. So we took the train. We walked through gridlocked streets to Tower City station feeling pretty good about our decision. We descended into the station at 10:30 p.m. to find an empty platform, meaning we just missed a westbound Red Line train. Meanwhile an eastbound Red Line arrived.

 

So we waited.

 

And we waited.

 

And we waited.

 

Another eastbound Red Line train went through the station while two Shaker trains went past the Red Line westbound platform, teasing the increasingly impatient crowd, many of whom were mumbling "there is no excuse for this." There was no Red Line train sitting in the pocket track on the west side of the station as is often the case to handle crush crowds like this.

 

At about 11 p.m., after 30 minutes of waiting, a westbound Red Line train showed up to cheers from the crowd. Not all of the crowd could fit on the two-car train....

 

 

 

The folks standing by the doors said they were getting no air conditioning on this 82-degree night, but there was air conditioning felt by passengers in areas away from the doors....

 

 

 

As we left the Ohio City station at 11:10 p.m., my sister texted me that she arrived her home in Parma six minutes earlier (about the time my Red Line train departed Tower City). She said traffic was awful, but she was already home and I still had a 10-minute Rapid ride remaining, plus a few minutes in the car to my home. After my friend and I got off the train at West 117th at 11:17 p.m., the train still looked as crowded, even after having let off a few dozen passengers at four west-side stations served thus far....

 

 

I arrived home a couple blocks south of the Gold Coast in Lakewood at 11:21 p.m. -- 56 minutes after leaving Progressive Field. The 30-minute wait during an extremely busy Friday night was inexcusable. So was the lack of a west-side standby train waiting on the pocket track at Tower City. Perhaps RTA was not expecting such a large Indians game crowd -- plus the Friday night crowds for the Marine week, casino and other folks downtown for a night out. If not, why not? Perhaps there was a delay on the East Side Red Line somewhere? If so, why was no RTA employee available to make an announcement? Maybe the delay was the result of waiting for the two Shaker trains that preceded it? If so, why would there be two Shaker trains ahead of the Red Line? Lots of questions and no answers. Very frustrating.

 

It's great to see so many people downtown on a Friday night. But if RTA and others can't manage such crowds and popularity, the free market has a remarkably effective but not very forgiving way of responding to such apparent mismanagement: People will not come back.

When are they going to start construction on the two University Circle rapid stations?

^ It looks like it is still up for bid.

 

http://dodgeprojects.construction.com/Passenger-Terminal-(Other)_stcVVproductId126429470VVviewprod.htm

Downtown was pretty seriously gridlocked tonight, before, during and after the Indians game. My friend and I took the Red Line from West 117th to downtown to the game. There was no drama heading to downtown on the Rapid. Even though we just missed an eastbound Red Line train, we did not have to wait long for another. When we arrived downtown, things continued to work well. Without waiting we caught an E-Line Trolley from the front of Tower City east on Euclid to East 9th. We stayed in the bus-only lane and blew past the stopped traffic that was backed up on Euclid in both directions. Since we had to use the bus-only lanes, the driver required passengers to exit only at the front and only when traffic in the adjacent lane was stopped for a long way, and advised us to use caution when crossing at the crosswalk. It was a short walk from there to meeting my sister at the Bob Feller statue.

 

Great Indians game, with a 2-0 victory against the Pirates, the Marine Corps band, and another awesome fireworks show afterwards that wowed the 31,000 fans. I sent an e-mail of the fireworks show to a friend as we walked out of Progressive Field at 10:25 p.m.

 

My sister asked my friend and I if we wanted her to drive us to our cars, parked at West 117th station. We suspected getting out of downtown would be a nightmare, but we thought that would apply only to the streets and highways. So we took the train. We walked through gridlocked streets to Tower City station feeling pretty good about our decision. We descended into the station at 10:30 p.m. to find an empty platform, meaning we just missed a westbound Red Line train. Meanwhile an eastbound Red Line arrived.

 

So we waited.

 

And we waited.

 

And we waited.

 

Another eastbound Red Line train went through the station while two Shaker trains went past the Red Line westbound platform, teasing the increasingly impatient crowd, many of whom were mumbling "there is no excuse for this." There was no Red Line train sitting in the pocket track on the west side of the station as is often the case to handle crush crowds like this.

 

At about 11 p.m., after 30 minutes of waiting, a westbound Red Line train showed up to cheers from the crowd. Not all of the crowd could fit on the two-car train....

 

 

 

The folks standing by the doors said they were getting no air conditioning on this 82-degree night, but there was air conditioning felt by passengers in areas away from the doors....

 

 

 

As we left the Ohio City station at 11:10 p.m., my sister texted me that she arrived her home in Parma six minutes earlier (about the time my Red Line train departed Tower City). She said traffic was awful, but she was already home and I still had a 10-minute Rapid ride remaining, plus a few minutes in the car to my home. After my friend and I got off the train at West 117th at 11:17 p.m., the train still looked as crowded, even after having let off a few dozen passengers at four west-side stations served thus far....

 

 

I arrived home a couple blocks south of the Gold Coast in Lakewood at 11:21 p.m. -- 56 minutes after leaving Progressive Field. The 30-minute wait during an extremely busy Friday night was inexcusable. So was the lack of a west-side standby train waiting on the pocket track at Tower City. Perhaps RTA was not expecting such a large Indians game crowd -- plus the Friday night crowds for the Marine week, casino and other folks downtown for a night out. If not, why not? Perhaps there was a delay on the East Side Red Line somewhere? If so, why was no RTA employee available to make an announcement? Maybe the delay was the result of waiting for the two Shaker trains that preceded it? If so, why would there be two Shaker trains ahead of the Red Line? Lots of questions and no answers. Very frustrating.

 

It's great to see so many people downtown on a Friday night. But if RTA and others can't manage such crowds and popularity, the free market has a remarkably effective but not very forgiving way of responding to such apparent mismanagement: People will not come back.

 

It's terribly disappointing to see RTA flub (again) during a large scale event downtown.  They were great for us during the Rib Cook-off, but it sounds like they were back to their old tricks again on Friday... Probably the worst aspect of this story -- and what appears a maddeningly consistent failure of the agency -- is its failure to communicate with riders during a screw-up, or crisis delaying trains.  RTA would be amazed at how much more empathetic riders would be if they just explained to people what the problem is, pledged to fix it ASAP and apologize for the delay.  Instead, riders are often faced with silence and sometimes belligerence from personnel when they rightfully inquire as to the problem...

 

... this is consistent with the other nagging issue with the agency, and that is, its people on the ground often simply have no clue as to what's going on -- esp in Tower City, the commuter hub, where the most rail (and bus) riders need information about rider alerts, or other changes in schedule.  Oftentimes personnel have no clue as to such things as when the last train is following special events -- It was mentioned that RTA runs trains until 90 mins after the conclusion of baseball games.  I wasn't aware of that, but sensed that was the case.  But after an Indians game last year, the RTA guy hadn't heard of it and after our extra-innings game, we ran for (what we thought was) the last train even though it was only a little over 30 mins after the last out of the game because the RTA guy warned that it was the last Green Line train on the schedule even though, turns out, it wasn't.... Stuff like that is inexcusable, but one of several instances I've run into where one RTA hand doesn't know what the other is doing. 

 

Does anyone else here use RTA's online store? I constantly get error messages. I got it to work last month after playing with it for awhile, but now I can't remember how I got it to work. It gets hung up on the check out screen.

Does anyone else here use RTA's online store? I constantly get error messages. I got it to work last month after playing with it for awhile, but now I can't remember how I got it to work. It gets hung up on the check out screen.

 

If you're referring to farecard purchases on shoprta.com, we did a system upgrade last month. Due to some modifications put in to increase security, you will need to remove and re-enter any stored payment method you might have had in there. Re-entry of your payment method will also require you to supply the 3-digit CVV code on the back of the card.

 

Deletion and re-entry of the payment method has solved 90+% of the problems we've seen. If you continue to experience problems, please drop an e-mail with as much detail as possible, and your contact info, to [email protected], and we'll address it.

To those who posted about Friday night, I will pass along your coments, and I apologize.

Ridership report -- May 2012 vs May 2011 -- great weather, special events and the Casino

 

* Systemwide: 2.8 million rides. Up 7.4 percent, or 290,000 rides, in May, 7.1 percent YTD. 14th straight month of increases. Average weekday ridership rose 4 percent, or 6,400 rides

 

* Bus: Up 6.7 percent and 6.7 percent

 

* HealthLine: Up 6.7 percent and 3.4 percent. Best May ever.

 

* Total Bus: Up 6.7 percent and 6.3 percent

 

* Heavy Rail: Up 11.6 percent and 10.9 percent

 

* Light Rail: Up 6.9 percent and 8.7 percent

 

* Total Rapid: Up 10.1 percent and 10.2 percent, best May since 2008

 

* Paratransit: Up 12.5 percent and 11.6 percent

 

* Trolley: Down 1.8 percent

 

* Bikes boarded: Up 1.7 percent. YTD, 13,800 bikes boarded.

When are they going to start construction on the two University Circle rapid stations?

 

An update for you:

 

This week, the expansion of the Westlake Park-N-Ride is complete.

 

Today, the Board selects vendors for University Circle Rapid Station wor. Look for a ceremony by late July.

 

Work on Buckeye-Woodhill should be done by August.

Wow, excellent ridership numbers again!

 

Today, the Board selects vendors for University Circle Rapid Station wor. Look for a ceremony by late July.

 

Great!  Thanks for the update.  Jerry, is there any update on the timeline for the Mayfield station?

^ Watch this page for updates.

 

http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/mayfield/

 

It says, "RTA hopes to begin construction in 2013."

When are they going to start construction on the two University Circle rapid stations?

 

An update for you:

 

This week, the expansion of the Westlake Park-N-Ride is complete.

 

Today, the Board selects vendors for University Circle Rapid Station wor. Look for a ceremony by late July.

 

Work on Buckeye-Woodhill should be done by August.

 

Thanks! Do you have ridership information for those two stations?

^ I do not have figures. Both stations remain open during construction.

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)?

 

Nice Article about the history of Jaywalking.

 

The Invention of Jaywalking

 

“If you ask people today what a street is for, they will say cars,” says Norton. “That’s practically the opposite of what they would have said 100 years ago.”

To those who posted about Friday night, I will pass along your coments, and I apologize.

 

Thanks, Jerry. And those for the good ridership news.

Not sure if this is planned, but I believe that the new University Circle Station and the new Mayfield Road Station, when built, should have a secure turnstile system and staffed agent booths. This system remains at the Tower City Station, downtowns main and only daily station. University Circle, acting as a second downtown should also be manned to eliminate fare jumping at those two stations, as well as enhance safety, or atleast perception of it, which can go a long way.

You can't fare-jump on a proof-of-payment system. Because of that, there is no reason for the turnstiles to exist anymore on the Red Line side of the Tower City station.

You can't fare-jump on a proof-of-payment system. Because of that, there is no reason for the turnstiles to exist anymore on the Red Line side of the Tower City station.

 

I think he means fare evasion.  I too think they should bring back staffed turnstiles at every red line station.

there is no reason for the turnstiles to exist anymore on the Red Line side of the Tower City station.

:clap:

 

Instead of putting staff at the stations they should be on the trains.

 

I think he means fare evasion.  I too think they should bring back staffed turnstiles at every red line station.

 

I don't support the service cuts elsewhere or fare increases that would be necessary to pay for such staffing.

 

I think he means fare evasion.  I too think they should bring back staffed turnstiles at every red line station.

 

I don't support the service cuts elsewhere or fare increases that would be necessary to pay for such staffing.

 

With Ridership being up, would fare increases be necessary?  I think people would find a perceived helpful face more valuable than we think.  Especially at the Airport, East 55, University Circle, East 105 and West 117 street stations.

I agree with KJP that the money used to staff stations could be better spent on operations elsewhere. If ridership keeps growing, RTA is going to have to increase trip frequency on certain routes, which is something I'm sure we'd all welcome.

If we don't expand any routes or service-hours, then RTA could garner more revenues from increased ridership. But RTA's operating cost-per rider is far higher than its fare revenue-per rider. So if we expand RTA to carry more riders, it loses more money.

If we don't expand any routes or service-hours, then RTA could garner more revenues from increased ridership. But RTA's operating cost-per rider is far higher than its fare revenue-per rider. So if we expand RTA to carry more riders, it loses more money.

 

I hear this alot but I dont understand how this is true. How does a half empty train save RTA money compared to having a full train? Also there are supposedly all these RTA cops but I hardly ever see them actually on the healthline, or on the trains. I have more experience with the healthline in which I have basically never seen them. So take two of those cops, and have them stay at the two University Circle stations. This will prevent fare evasion, and increase the actual and perceived safety of those stations, which could lead to an increase in ridership and health of the system. They could also help out of town visitors who are taking the rapid from downtown to check out University Circle and Little Italy.

^The expense curve is flat within small ranges of ridership, but overall it's pretty lumpy (like a staircase).  If Red Line ridership is going to keep growing like this, you're not talking half full to full, you're talking 3/4 full to 150% full, which, operationally, suggests the need for more capacity (more train runs), which costs more money than the revenue from the marginal ridership increase that necessitated it.  There does seem to be a consensus that RTA's fare rovers could be better deployed.

How does a half empty train save RTA money compared to having a full train?

 

I think KJP is saying the opposite.  If trains are full and RTA expands service to have half full trains, it costs them money.  Even if they expand service and still have full trains, they still lose money, since the increase in ridership doesn't cover the cost of operating more trains.  The only way ridership increases help RTA is if they occur with no increase in service as well (or if the ridership increase is massive and corresponds to a small increase in service).

 

As far as POP saving RTA money, I think it'd be interesting to see what percentage of riders are not paying before determining whether it is really saving them money or not.

^The other reason for POP is increased service quality.  Even if it POP costs RTA a small amount of fare revenue, I think it would be a big mistake to force HL riders to all pay at the door.

 

And I think RTA is actually kind of smart the way it hedges POP with the attended fare gates at Tower City.  I'd guess a vast majority of Red Line passenger trips begin or end at Tower City, so I suspect fare evasion on the Red Line is probably not super high. If this pattern changes with the growth of University Circle, I could imagine some limited station personnel there during peak hours, but it's really hard to imagine it being worth the cost at most of the other stations.

^ Im thinking the Mayfield Road Station when built, and the University Circle Station should have station personnel. Other stations along the line, no.

Don't think of costs changing on a per-passenger basis but on a service-hour basis. Instead its a scale or ratcheting up or ratcheting down. The only time you save RTA money is by taking away service-hours or by adding fare revenue without increasing service hours. But those increases or decreases don't occur smoothly or evenly like a ramp or slide. They occur like steps. So when ridership grows so much that trains and buses are jammed packed, that's the theoretically the most efficient fare revenue-to-operating cost relationship at that particular level of service-hours.

 

But that situation cannot be maintained for long because passengers and their elected officials won't tolerate it. So if RTA expands to a higher step or level of service-hours to more comfortably accommodate its expanded ridership, it will lose more money.

 

It's true that a half-empty train doesn't save RTA money vs a full train. It's also true that a full train does not make money either. Consider that in 2004 (the most recent year for which I have such detailed data), when the cash fare was $1.50 but the effective fare was about 60 cents because of the various pass discounts, the cost per passenger per boarding (called an unlinked passenger trip) is $3.18 for Red Line train passenger, $3.48 for a bus passenger, $4.26 for a Blue/Green Line train passenger and $47.20 for a demand-response bus passenger.

 

There is an economy of scale at work here, however. For example, the operating cost per vehicle service-hour for the rail system in 2004 was slightly more than twice as much as the bus service-hour. But because the typical train carried more than twice as many people (73 passengers on Red Line, 50 on Blue/Green Line), as a bus (29 passengers) per hour, RTA was able to cover the added operating cost of its rail service by fares. That was not the case with capital improvements, however, as RTA spent $45.2 million on improving bus service in 2004, yet spent $19.4 million on improving rail services. That was out of balance with RTA ridership, as 45.1 million were bus passengers and 10.2 million were rail passengers.

 

EDIT: Strap got it, with the staircase metaphor. So did jam40jeff....

 

The only way ridership increases help RTA is if they occur with no increase in service as well (or if the ridership increase is massive and corresponds to a small increase in service).

 

Assuming RTA driver's pay stays the same (which cannot happen as much anymore because RTA's drivers are now paid based on RTA's revenues), the more passengers there are per employee, the more likely RTA can improve its cost-revenue ratio. If its cost-revenue ratio is higher on the cost side than on revenue side, then the more revenues that are received, the more costs grow but they grow at a higher rate than revenues. The solution is to either slash employees' wages/benefits (which represent two/thirds of RTA operating budget) and/or increase the fare to a level that it at least equals the per-passenger cost -- in 2004 that was $3.48 for a bus passenger. Since RTA is a political animal, neither is likely to happen.

Does anyone else here use RTA's online store? I constantly get error messages. I got it to work last month after playing with it for awhile, but now I can't remember how I got it to work. It gets hung up on the check out screen.

 

If you're referring to farecard purchases on shoprta.com, we did a system upgrade last month. Due to some modifications put in to increase security, you will need to remove and re-enter any stored payment method you might have had in there. Re-entry of your payment method will also require you to supply the 3-digit CVV code on the back of the card.

 

Deletion and re-entry of the payment method has solved 90+% of the problems we've seen. If you continue to experience problems, please drop an e-mail with as much detail as possible, and your contact info, to [email protected], and we'll address it.

 

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, deleting my payment information does not cure the problems. I've sent an email to RTA. Thanks again.

^ I am glad that some posters here understand Transit 101 finances. We hear these kind of complaints from riders who have to stand because the bus is full. They reason that "It's such a simple solution. Why can't RTA figure it out?" If the first bus is full and 7 people have to stand, they believe RTA should just add a second bus for those seven standees. As you can see, this would elevate expenses tremendously. It was heartening to see this discussion take place on-line. I hope many found it educational.

BTW, according to its 2011 annual report, RTA's operating cost per hour of service was $133.60. In 2004, it was $110.21. In 2011, RTA carried 46 million riders. In 2004, it carried 55 million.

 

Ridership was 16 percent less in 2011 while RTA's operating cost per hour of service was 21 percent more in 2011 -- despite cutting many routes and frequencies. In 2004, a bus passenger could cover RTA's costs if they paid $3.48 per trip. Today, they would have to pay about $5.00. Yet RTA is covering more of its costs with fare revenues in 2011 (24.5%) vs 2004 (18.2%).

^The other reason for POP is increased service quality.  Even if it POP costs RTA a small amount of fare revenue, I think it would be a big mistake to force HL riders to all pay at the door.

 

And I think RTA is actually kind of smart the way it hedges POP with the attended fare gates at Tower City.  I'd guess a vast majority of Red Line passenger trips begin or end at Tower City, so I suspect fare evasion on the Red Line is probably not super high. If this pattern changes with the growth of University Circle, I could imagine some limited station personnel there during peak hours, but it's really hard to imagine it being worth the cost at most of the other stations.

Maybe it would make sense to have the transit police randomly skip enforcement at Tower City and instead put the same cops at one of the other stations. Like 4 days this week have them at Tower City but on Thursday have them sit at W25th. Next week 4 days at Tower City and the other day sit at Windermere. If it was random it would keep people getting off at Tower City paying their fare, and would allow them to enforce at other stations. Or they could just ride the trains and check people there like they're supposed to, but that might be asking too much.

^ Gee, do you also feel qualified to tell Cleveland City Police how to deploy their resources? I know I don't. Most police agencies follow a simple rule -- put your officers where the most crimes are, OR where the most people are. It's not a roll of the dice. They have access to intell which we don't, and they place their officers where it is believed they are needed. I have called on TP at Tower City many times, and I have a hard time visuallizing a major transit hub without them.

I'm sure you know that one of the great and not-so great aspects of this country is that its citizens are allowed to have an opinion even if they didn't earn it. There are times I wish people would research something before forming and sharing an opinion, but there is no requirement for it. There may be a responsibility for it, but some of us are more apt to form and share an opinion based on our experiences regardless of how limited or extensive they may be. I'd prefer that people say "I don't know" when the situation calls for it but I'm pretty sure those are the most difficult three words to use sometimes. And I am probably as guilty as anyone else here!

RTA General Manager Joe Calabrese's salary jumps by $26,000

Published: Monday, June 18, 2012, 12:17 PM    Updated: Monday, June 18, 2012, 5:52 PM

  By Tom Breckenridge, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- RTA's top boss has received a $26,000 jump in salary, including $20,000 to cover what had been a yearly bonus.

 

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority board voted Monday to extend Joe Calabrese's contract to 2020 and pay him $243,386 a year.

 

RTA was paying Calabrese, 60, a $216,880 salary. He received a 3 percent increase in pay, in line with other RTA workers, and the $20,000 increase.

 

READ MORE AT:

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

Damn, $243,386 a year! Drop his salary down to $150,000 a year and hire those station personnel I was talking about early for the university circle stations ;)

^ Gee, do you also feel qualified to tell Cleveland City Police how to deploy their resources?

I'll admit I could have phrased that nicer, but if I see police officers patrolling an area constantly while appearing to ignore other areas I most certainly have the right (and one could argue the responsibility) to point that out. If Cleveland decided to put significantly more of their officers on traffic duty to make sure no one runs a red light or breaks the speed limit while appearing to ignore the more serious crime problems we've got, would it be wrong to point out that perhaps someone ought to be patroling the neighborhoods instead? You'd better believe I feel qualified to question what looks like a misappropriation of resources, so should you.

 

Prior to the Red line being converted to POP, there was rarely more than 1 or 2 officers in Tower City in front of the turnstyles. Now there's regularly 4 to 6 officers there. I was under the impression that the increase in funding to the transit police was to enforce POP throughout the line, not just at Tower City. If there's been a significant increase in crime on the platforms or at RTA's customer service desk, then of course it's totally appropriate for transit police to have an increased presence there, but if they're just there to enforce the POP, than it seems like they could be more effective and give a better impression if they actually rode the trains like transit enforcement does in most other cities that have a POP system.

 

I'm certainly not suggesting that they ever ignore Tower City or leave it empty, but it appears to me that they're poorly using their resources by not spreading them out more or being less predictable.

Damn, $243,386 a year! Drop his salary down to $150,000 a year and hire those station personnel I was talking about early for the university circle stations ;)

 

I realize you're joking, but if you made that trade, it might get you only a single station agent position filled for about 1 to 1.5 shifts per day. Instead, you may need about six full-time shifts filled plus one or two "extra board" personnel for when someone is on vacation, medical leave, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if the cost is in the $500,000 to $800,000 range for staffing both stations from 3:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. each day when wages, benefits, pension contributions, uniforms/equipment, etc are counted. Does that sound about right, Jerry?

So we are stuck with Calabrese until 2020? Sorry I am not a fan, and that is my opinion. It also doesn't bode well for the Public Square redesign. Where is Ron Tober when you need him? There are those on this forum who have more knowledge and passion for transit than Calabrese has ever demonstrated. Of course that is my opinion, yours may differ.  Hmm, I'll  bet Biker or KJP wouldn't mind pulling down a quarter of a million every year. Can we get a write in?

I was but to continue this, if you hire someone hourly at $10 per hour, divide those 21 hours among several people, multiply by 365 days a year, and that costs you around $76,650 a year no?

I was but to continue this, if you hire someone hourly at $10 per hour, divide those 21 hours among several people, multiply by 365 days a year, and that costs you around $76,650 a year no?

 

$10 per hour is only slightly higher than minimum wage. These are union jobs. So what's the contract hourly wage for station agents? I'm sure is much higher than $10. And wages usually only represent half of the total labor cost. Add in all their benefits, pension fund contributions and related fringe costs.

 

OK, here's overly simplified math.... RTA's operating budget in 2011 was $260.5 million. Labor/fringe costs were 63.1 percent of that. RTA had 2,103 employees in 2011. Based on that, the average cost per employee is $78,162. Multiply that times eight employees (six full-time and two extra-board), that's $625,296. Overly simple, but it gives you a little bit of an idea what the cost might be.

I was under the impression that the increase in funding to the transit police was to enforce POP throughout the line, not just at Tower City.

 

You were under that impression because that's what RTA explicitly promised.  Not sure why anyone would need special qualifications to point out this apparent departure from RTA's original strategy.  I was pretty excited that additional on-board security would be an ancillary benefit of POP, so if people aren't seeing officers on board very often, that's disappointing.

I was but to continue this, if you hire someone hourly at $10 per hour, divide those 21 hours among several people, multiply by 365 days a year, and that costs you around $76,650 a year no?

'

 

$10 per hour is only slightly higher than minimum wage. These are union jobs.

 

Is there anyway to get around this though to have them non-union, hourly, no benefits jobs?

Is there anyway to get around this though to have them non-union, hourly, no benefits jobs?

 

Really? You want that fight for this?