April 19, 20223 yr Author On 4/19/2022 at 4:14 PM, LifeLongClevelander said: There are multiple reasons why the Red Line, not to mention the entire rail system, is doing so badly in ridership. The equipment situation is poor. Between the drawn out problems where they ran out of usable wheels for the Red Line fleet and overall operational reliability, riders lost interest. If somebody risks missing a flight due to breakdowns and lack of equipment, that won't be an attractive option to use the Red Line. Aside from the Little Italy and University Circle stations, the remainder of the east side Red Line stops are in areas with questionable safety and security issues. There have been long and drawn-out major reconstruction projects on the Red Line (west side S-curve reconstruction) and Blue/Green Line trunk reconstruction. Substitute bus service does nothing towards desirability. People have become accustomed to making due without rail service. That would describe us. It's become out of sight, out of mind. Now if RTA gets new trains, we'll probably want to ride them and try them out. But since my office isn't downtown anymore, I don't have much of an occasion to use transit. I am considering getting rid of my car next year, making us a one-car family, so maybe my lack of transit-riding will change. But just about everything I need is within a 10- to 15-minute walk of home. And the only times we travel beyond that is to go out to dinner or see a movie at a suburban theater. There isn't much to do in downtown for families. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 19, 20223 yr 10 minutes ago, KJP said: That would describe us. It's become out of sight, out of mind. Now if RTA gets new trains, we'll probably want to ride them and try them out. But since my office isn't downtown anymore, I don't have much of an occasion to use transit. I am considering getting rid of my car next year, making us a one-car family, so maybe my lack of transit-riding will change. But just about everything I need is within a 10- to 15-minute walk of home. And the only times we travel beyond that is to go out to dinner or see a movie at a suburban theater. There isn't much to do in downtown for families. If RTA gets new trains, there will be the "novelty" factor to ride them, but the only system's hope that there will be enough rider who could use them daily in being lured back to using transit. It is just that RTA has dug such a deep hole in the minds of the public, the damage that has been done is insurmountable to overcome. In my list of things that mentioned factors in driving riders away, I omitted the one where RTA made the foolish decision to eliminate Green Line service departures after 9:00 pm for a year except on rare occasions. The few times that they decided to offer later service, it was poorly advertised and there was no consistency when they decided to do so. Nobody in their right mind would shell out big bucks for sporting event or concert tickets to leave long before the event ended. People got used to not having the Green Line available for service and adjusted. Even though it was restored, factoring in every other negative factor regarding rail service, and I don't think they ever recovered from the rider losses to the point before the cutback, even before the pandemic hit,
April 19, 20223 yr 20 hours ago, KJP said: It's unreliable and expensive. My family doesn't even take it anymore to the airport and we can walk to it in 20 minutes or take a short bus ride to it (even more expensive). Much less expensive to get a ride from extended family or take an Uber/Lyft. I haven't ridden transit in Cleveland in more than a year. In fact, I can't even remember the last time. Kudos to you for confirming it. I'm sure that wasn't an easy admission, but it means something because you have no ideological point to make here and normally would have an affinity for a well run transit system. Which isn't a priority and hasn't been since the late 70s, at the very latest the early 80s. The first step would be to secure those Red Line platforms and start using the stations as mini "free transfer" hubs whenever possible.
April 19, 20223 yr 44 minutes ago, LifeLongClevelander said: If RTA gets new trains, there will be the "novelty" factor to ride them, but the only system's hope that there will be enough rider who could use them daily in being lured back to using transit. It is just that RTA has dug such a deep hole in the minds of the public, the damage that has been done is insurmountable to overcome. In my list of things that mentioned factors in driving riders away, I omitted the one where RTA made the foolish decision to eliminate Green Line service departures after 9:00 pm for a year except on rare occasions. The few times that they decided to offer later service, it was poorly advertised and there was no consistency when they decided to do so. Nobody in their right mind would shell out big bucks for sporting event or concert tickets to leave long before the event ended. People got used to not having the Green Line available for service and adjusted. Even though it was restored, factoring in every other negative factor regarding rail service, and I don't think they ever recovered from the rider losses to the point before the cutback, even before the pandemic hit, "Regular Sunday service" on June 19, 2016 said it all. They had no desire to react to demand in a way that would challenge the routine, and I haven't seen any evidence of change since then.
April 19, 20223 yr Author On the other hand, my college buddy who fled NE Ohio for Chicago after he graduated boomeranged back to Cleveland last summer. He had no car in Chicago and doesn't want one here. So he moved to Little Italy and takes the Red Line and other RTA routes routinely. He more than replaced me as a transit rider. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 20, 20223 yr 25 minutes ago, KJP said: On the other hand, my college buddy who fled NE Ohio for Chicago after he graduated boomeranged back to Cleveland last summer. He had no car in Chicago and doesn't want one here. So he moved to Little Italy and takes the Red Line and other RTA routes routinely. He more than replaced me as a transit rider. Unfortunately for RTA's ridership totals, there are far many like you and me (I was a daily rider) who have little to no need for its services as compared to someone like your friend who returned from Chicago. Long before NextGen, the lack of consideration for riders caused them to leave the system in droves. For some of us, we were extremely fortunate to have an alternative excellent bus service to get downtown. For others, they didn't have a reasonable transit option and decided to drive instead. This was long before NextGen making the overall situation worse.
April 20, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 20, 20223 yr It honestly baffled me that the waterfront line began to stop running late night through the East Bank of the flats (I believe it’s 7pm) so early in the neighborhoods new existence. I understand that initially ridership wasn’t there when it ran late at night, but as the popularity increased in the neighborhood (gridlocked traffic on the weekends), I would’ve expected the Waterfront line to serve as relief. It is one of the few stations that sit directly in the middle of the action and I feel that not activating the late night service again was a mistake. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
April 20, 20223 yr 10 hours ago, KJP said: On the other hand, my college buddy who fled NE Ohio for Chicago after he graduated boomeranged back to Cleveland last summer. He had no car in Chicago and doesn't want one here. So he moved to Little Italy and takes the Red Line and other RTA routes routinely. He more than replaced me as a transit rider. He doesn't have a kid, correct? That makes a huge difference.
April 22, 20223 yr Author Cleveland sure does want to make it difficult to attract ridership to transit. Self-storage facilities do not bring riders to transit. Yet there's one next to the West 117th station and there's one next to the East 34th Campus station that's about to be expanded. Cleveland, you have no idea what you're doing, do ya? SMH... Record B22010511: Com Building Permit Record Status: Application Pending Work Location 2844 Broadway AVE CLEVELAND OH 44115 Record Details Project Description: Buckeye State Storage Phase II We are adding 3 additional self storage buildings on the perimeter of our property. Approx 13,000 sq ft. Owner: Buckeye State Storage Group LLC 2844 Broadway ave Cleveland OH 44115 Responsible Party information Adam Webster Buckeye State Storage Group LLC 2844 Broadway Ave Cleveland, OH, 44115 Contact Phone 440-315-9099 E-mail: [email protected] Design Professional information Donald Bohning & Associates 7979 Hub Pkwy cleveland, OH, 44125 United States Contact Phone 216-642-1130 E-mail: [email protected] Job Value($): $920,000.00 Number of Buildings: 3 Collapse Application Information COMMERCIALNature of Job Description.:New ConstructionUse Group 1:S-2 Storage - Low HazardConstruction Class:UNKNOWNCertificate of Occupancy Required:Yes BUILDING CODEWork Area:175000No. of Stories/Units:1Bldg Footprint (SqFt):13900Sprinklers:NoFire Alarm:NoKSQFT:175KFPSQFT:14 Collapse Parcel Information Parcel Number: 122300001 Ward: 3 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 22, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 22, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, freefourur said: Will this help to restore POP on the BRT? POP is a separate issue. I think RTA is committed to POP on HealthLine and that’s why they are hiring Ambassadors. (Speculation on my part.) Decriminalizing fare evasion is changing it from a criminal charge to something more like a parking ticket. Much more appropriate for what is essentially stealing $2.50. There absolutely should be a high enough financial penalty to discourage fare evasion, but making it a criminal charge is not justified and causes all kinds of other problems. When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
April 24, 20223 yr On 4/22/2022 at 1:27 PM, KJP said: So this legislation changes the penalty for fare evasion from a fourth-degree misdemeanor that brings "a fine of up to $250.00 and/or up to 30 days in jail" to a fourth-degree misdemeanor that brings a fine of $25 and no jail time. On 4/22/2022 at 4:54 PM, Boomerang_Brian said: Decriminalizing fare evasion is changing it from a criminal charge to something more like a parking ticket. Much more appropriate for what is essentially stealing $2.50. There absolutely should be a high enough financial penalty to discourage fare evasion, but making it a criminal charge is not justified and causes all kinds of other problems. Not decriminalized yet, but at least we've gotten rid of the possibility of jail time. You still get a fourth-degree misdemeanor on your record for each occurrence.
April 27, 20223 yr Author Anyone try this yet? How EZ is it?? Enquiring minds want to know...... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 27, 20223 yr 14 minutes ago, KJP said: I've never used this system before, but just looking at the website it looks functionally equivalent to RTA's current app. Other than bundling it into the same app as other regional transit systems, does anyone know if this app will offer any other advantages to RTA's current system?
April 27, 20223 yr looks like you can buy ezfare tickets thru apps like transit app or uber. that's a big deal imo. a lot of people already use transit app for schedules. also, people traveling to cleveland could be able to buy mobile tickets without downloading rta app.
April 27, 20223 yr 9 hours ago, Ethan said: I've never used this system before, but just looking at the website it looks functionally equivalent to RTA's current app. Other than bundling it into the same app as other regional transit systems, does anyone know if this app will offer any other advantages to RTA's current system? I was about to say, I thought they had that already and if they didn't it's insane that they didn't. This sounds a lot like Calabrese era stuff, much ado about changes with little to no impact.
April 27, 20223 yr RTA needs to get their SMART card system together. Being able to simple pay with your wallet app on your iPhone like you can in DC, Chicago, NYC etc. is something that will speed up boarding times as well. People are familiar with the wallet app, most people have iPhones and it doesn’t require an extra download. I believe this would get more usage than an ez fare app.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
May 3, 20223 yr the fare evasion issue — post pandemic its far worse than ever out here in ny: https://www.amny.com/new-york/op-ed-...new-york-city/ for example, i havent seen any obvious poors pay on staten island busses lately. the drivers ignore it. seems to be the same everywhere else too. bus ridership must be massively undercounted. anybody notice this uptick in evasion in cle on rta busses lately?
May 6, 20223 yr Too bad it wasn't one of the 'redline is on fire' days for Sec. Pete to really see the state of the RTA.
May 7, 20223 yr Author No, but they shut down the red line this weekend Not a very descriptive notice... http://www.riderta.com/service-alerts/66r-buses-replace-red-line-rail-service-0 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 7, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, KJP said: No, but they shut down the red line this weekend Not a very descriptive notice... http://www.riderta.com/service-alerts/66r-buses-replace-red-line-rail-service-0 Why bother. Pretty much a regular occurrence. Just pull up the standard replacement notice of Red Line service and put in the dates. No thought processes involved. Same goes for printed notices on stations. Run off a few hundred at a time and enter the dates when they need to post.
May 11, 20223 yr I normally take the 26 to work in the morning, as it's only about 2 miles to my office from my house. However, on this glorious morning, I decided to take my bike to work. .... My own 26 almost ran me over 4-5 different times on the commute. Holy hell do we need protected bike lanes.
May 11, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, YABO713 said: Holy hell do we need protected bike lanes. Amen, brother. Seriously, 90% of trips under 5 miles should be by foot or bike -- and we're not going to get there if grandma and your 5-year-old have to "share the lane" with a 25,000-pound bus. And no, a little paint won't cut it, we need curbs on bike lanes and bike-lane-sized snow plows and street sweepers.
May 11, 20223 yr 31 minutes ago, Foraker said: Amen, brother. Seriously, 90% of trips under 5 miles should be by foot or bike -- and we're not going to get there if grandma and your 5-year-old have to "share the lane" with a 25,000-pound bus. And no, a little paint won't cut it, we need curbs on bike lanes and bike-lane-sized snow plows and street sweepers. The thing that was most shocking/scary/infuriating was the way the bus just veered across the lane to get to each stop. A middle-aged women in front of me was literally forced to the curb by the bus and then walked it up the sidewalk and back onto the street.
May 11, 20223 yr On 5/7/2022 at 1:05 PM, LifeLongClevelander said: No thought processes involved. Sometimes that seems to be a slogan there.
May 11, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, YABO713 said: I normally take the 26 to work in the morning, as it's only about 2 miles to my office from my house. However, on this glorious morning, I decided to take my bike to work. .... My own 26 almost ran me over 4-5 different times on the commute. Holy hell do we need protected bike lanes. They do that to cars too. When I was going to Case I usually took the bus/rapid but drove on days we had my "plant tour" class because we would go in several cars. I had a bus swerve out in front of me on Lee Road so suddenly that had I not had 360hp at my command I might not be annoying you all today. The only thing I could do was go into the left lane and hope there was no oncoming that was going to be there before I could get around. Fortunately it didn't take long. Edited May 11, 20223 yr by E Rocc
May 11, 20223 yr Author EDIT -- sorry I meant to post this "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 11, 20223 yr Author But if you thought was it..... On 5/11/2022 at 1:07 PM, Boomerang_Brian said: Argh…. So then there's this... If RTA ever gets around to replacing its trains, let's hope they'll also get done with their trackwork for the next 20 years. Only then might we forget about this woeful era from Joe C and its seemingly everlasting effects.... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 13, 20223 yr Hey RTA -- complete the downtown loop! Quote The most effective transit oriented development, as it turns out, is a transit oriented destination. https://www.planetizen.com/features/117153-planning-congestion-relief
May 13, 20223 yr Does the 26 no longer run articulated buses anymore? I work across the street from the 26 bus stop and haven’t seen one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
May 15, 20223 yr Author I'm still a cash guy. So I'd love to hear how this is working..... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 20, 20223 yr Does the 26 no longer run articulated buses anymore? I work across the street from the 26 bus stop and haven’t seen one. Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkRealized I got it mixed up with the 22. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
May 20, 20223 yr 28 minutes ago, MyPhoneDead said: Realized I got it mixed up with the 22. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Both the #22 and #26 ran articulated buses. Could be the "economics" of running a 60-foot bus with few passengers cannot be ignored. I know that RTA has fixed prices for diesel fuel, but if the contract is expiring, it could be a huge added cost, plus those longer buses do require more maintenance that a standard bus. The mechanics could be pushed to the limit with keeping enough buses on the road. The putting of surplus downtown trolley-type buses on regular routes is another indicator of equipment issues.
May 20, 20223 yr Author And the prettier side of rail transit Love this guy's photos! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 23, 20223 yr Nice night video! Note four tracks on parts of the viaduct and then bonus spark action at 0:23 When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
May 24, 20223 yr Author "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 24, 20223 yr On 5/23/2022 at 5:32 AM, Boomerang_Brian said: Nice night video! Note four tracks on parts of the viaduct and then bonus spark action at 0:23 Drone footage of a 66R shuttle bus just isn't the same. The entire city needs to stand up and fight for this rail system. If we let it go, we'll never get it back in our lifetimes.
May 25, 20223 yr 43 minutes ago, GISguy said: Who TF runs the RTA, sure it's not rush hour but wtf. I'm sure the unions have made it untenable to work overnight.
May 25, 20223 yr They've done an excellent job this time around with the single-tracking. Setting expectations with the alert, but its been exactly on time the past two weeks during the work. Another side note from all this doom and gloom: I'm seeing more and more people taking the train. Pretty good numbers coming out of pandemic.
May 25, 20223 yr 24 minutes ago, daplemmo said: They've done an excellent job this time around with the single-tracking. Setting expectations with the alert, but its been exactly on time the past two weeks during the work. Another side note from all this doom and gloom: I'm seeing more and more people taking the train. Pretty good numbers coming out of pandemic. High gas prices will do that. Not a bad thing. I think gas is realistically going to head in this direction no matter what in the long run. Time to start thinking about alternatives as a species. Edited May 25, 20223 yr by KFM44107
May 25, 20223 yr 4 hours ago, daplemmo said: They've done an excellent job this time around with the single-tracking. Setting expectations with the alert, but its been exactly on time the past two weeks during the work. Another side note from all this doom and gloom: I'm seeing more and more people taking the train. Pretty good numbers coming out of pandemic. Okay I'll tone down my cynicism...thanks for the heads up.
May 26, 20223 yr 9 hours ago, daplemmo said: They've done an excellent job this time around with the single-tracking. Setting expectations with the alert, but its been exactly on time the past two weeks during the work. Another side note from all this doom and gloom: I'm seeing more and more people taking the train. Pretty good numbers coming out of pandemic. RTA doing an excellent job with single-track operation is good to hear. There also may be an underlying alternative reason behind adopting this mode of rail maintenance. RTA has been facing bus shortages. They simply may not have enough buses to spare for bus replacement for rail operations.
June 3, 20223 yr Author Again.... Are we there yet?? Seems to be a forever sorta thing oy "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
June 8, 20223 yr On 5/11/2022 at 9:13 AM, YABO713 said: I normally take the 26 to work in the morning, as it's only about 2 miles to my office from my house. However, on this glorious morning, I decided to take my bike to work. .... My own 26 almost ran me over 4-5 different times on the commute. Holy hell do we need protected bike lanes. Update - I had a similar experience twice in my last 2 bike commutes downtown. One with a bus actually coming within arm distance of me. So, I'm now taking Clinton to 28th, then church to 25th and going over the bridge. Detroit is TOUGH for a cyclist in rush hour. Sadly, it might be out most biker-friendly artery into downtown.
Create an account or sign in to comment