RTA: What's good, bad, and improvable

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by TheProf

It's not that I'm not concerned about RTA. But mine were pre-COVID-19 worries; the system is in a seriously messed up financial state and losing riders despite much growth in the city... I just don't share your belief that the virus crisis will possibly "kill" the system. It will be back to the same as pre-virus... which wasn't good... I wish RTA could or could have used this time to spend the grants that they got to work on some Rapid rebuilding projects... Now is the time to do some of those ubiquitous Rapid-to-bus shutdowns with hardly anyone riding... But no, they'll probably wait until riders return and get comfortable with riding again... and then do the repair work and have system shutdowns... such is RTA.

Rta could be a great asset. Pre covid it was decent in my opinion. But if they compromise it even more, I'm buying a car. I really dont want to do that.

[WRnative]

Laketran has a different fleet than RTA with many fuel-efficient, propane-fueled vans to support its large Dial-a-Ride service. With many seniors sheltering at home, especially with popular destinations such as medical facilities (e.g., virtual visits) and senior centers closed, Laketran has surplus vans. They are using the vans to deliver free food to seniors not able to leave their homes safely. It sounds as if many of these seniors aren't impoverished, but hopefully, as shown in the video, many of these seniors are contributing to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, which serves Lake County as well as Cuyahoga County and is supplying food for this program.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...in-lake-county

Even with larger buses, typically running on cheap natural gas, couldn't RTA run a similar program, delivering food to housing projects, etc.??? Can bus seats be removed to facilitate greater shipping capacity? Of course, if bags of food are being delivered as with the Laketran program, bus seats would increase carrying capacity.

It's criminal to continue to pay employees and not help mitigate the food crisis caused by this epidemic.

Ohio now is cleaning masks for first responders for free. The catch is that masks must be delivered to Ohio Highway State Patrol stations. Mass transit agencies perhaps more economically could run pick-up and delivery routes for these masks, saving first responder agencies from having to make individual runs to OHSP stations. This would save money and labor for hard-pressed local first responder agencies.

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/...esponders.html

Such services offered by mass transit agencies may make taxpayers more willing to support special, temporary levies if needed to restore normal operations and provide RTA workers with adequate personal protection equipment. BTW, mass transit agencies should lobby to get supplies of N-95 masks and to obtain free cleaning services.

Many health care workers are sheltering away from their families to protect the families from infection. E.g., local hotels, such as Glidden House are offering cheap or subsidized housing for health care workers. Could RTA facilitate this program by using its idled trolleys to transport workers to and from their temporary residences using temporary routes, perhaps running 24/7?

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...-place-to-stay

[mbowes80]

This seems like good news:
CARES Act includes $25 Billion of Public Transit COVID-19 Funding | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

[WRnative]

Reportedly, $74.3 million in federal aid due to the new stimulus bill will be allocated to Greater Cleveland. The funds will be allocated through the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, but the lion's share likely will go to RTA, with the remainder allocated among other Greater Cleveland transit agencies.

<<Unlike the first round of pandemic-related transit funding which had $25 billion from the federal CARES Act, this $15 billion second round won’t be distributed directly from the Federal Transit Administration to the transit agencies. Instead, this round will apparently be sent to a local governing body, likely the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in each urbanized area, for redistribution. These are the preliminary amounts for Ohio urbanized areas (MPOs in parenthesis), according to TransitCenter:

Greater Cleveland (NOACA): $74.3 million
Greater Columbus (MORPC): $60.7 million
Greater Cincinnati (OKI): $42.8 million
Greater Akron (AMATS): $21.9 million
Greater Canton (SCATS): $4.7 million
Greater Toledo (TMACOG): $3 million>>

Ohio metro areas may get $207M in transit economic stimulus | All Aboard Ohio - Advocacy group for Transportation Choices in Ohio.

Advocacy groups want RTA to use some of the new round of federal stimulus aid to study the building of a downtown rail loop. This would seem to be an urgent priority, because the Biden administration likely will push for a massive infrastructure program. As in the post-Great Recession infrastructure program, infrastructure programs that are construction-ready may receive funding priority.

<<The 2000 Waterfront Line Phase II study showed that a Downtown Loop could produce enough ridership at relatively low costs to justify federal construction funds. Back then, the Federal Transit Administration looked favorably on transit expansions that had a cost per new rider lower than $20. The Downtown Loop was estimated at a cost per new rider of less than $14.

“That was before Downtown Cleveland increased its residential population by more than 100 percent, saw downtown employers grow with more than $7.25 billion worth of investment, and attracted new corporate offices from the suburbs and other metro areas,” Nicholson said. “And it was well before GCRTA considered replacing its rail fleet with a standard rail car that can travel on any of its five lines, plus future ones.”

Nicholson said that a significant part of a local funding share for the project might be raised from a short-term tax-increment financing district along the Downtown Loop. The 2000 study estimated that the Downtown Loop could attract 2.2 million square feet of nonresidential development, nearly 1,000 housing units, $441 million in overall development (in 2000 dollars), nearly 9,000 permanent jobs, $250 million in new payroll and $17.8 million in new local tax revenues per year.>>

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/...-downtown.html

See post 4021 and subsequent posts in this thread.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/clev...l#post59832210

[1watertiger]

An article regarding extending the water front line

https://neo-trans.blogspot.com/2020/...ntown.html?m=1