Cleveland public transportation???

[TheProf]

^Most outer rapid stations have free parking and are a short drive from many suburbs. And on the West Side, the Red Line has Rapid station/parking'n ride stations accessible to freeway exits. The Brookpark station lot -- at the I-71 & 480 junction -- even draws driver/riders from suburbs way outside Cuyahoga county.

[beachedc03]

Originally Posted by Iraqvet

I know this question is pretty much off topic but I wanted to know how long the waiting period is for receiving tags for your car after registering it in Ohio. I know in the state I'm in now, you receive them the same day you register your vehicle. I just wanted to know if it is the same in Ohio. Thanks and sorry for the interruption.

if they are not personalized plates it should be same day...they have a stack of stock plates at most of the dmv's

as a former clevelander living in miami, i can say without a doubt the RTA is a very good system. what we have in miami pales in comparison. the rail line basically goes from nowhere to nowhere. it doesnt go to the airport or the arena it basically barely skirts the downtown. the system is largely useless

[orion1778]

Originally Posted by beachedc03

as a former clevelander living in miami, i can say without a doubt the RTA is a very good system. what we have in miami pales in comparison. the rail line basically goes from nowhere to nowhere. it doesnt go to the airport or the arena it basically barely skirts the downtown. the system is largely useless

The same holds true for many southern cities. Having lived on the red line at University Circle for a few years, I seriously took for granted the convenience of getting both downtown and the airport.

I lived in a Southern city (which I won't name for now) for about half a year after that; I realized how good I had it once I found myself paying 12 bucks each way for a cab to get from my apartment to the airport terminal (I lived only 2.5 miles away, no less). That got old very quickly...

The RTA has plenty of room for improvement, and could, with the right effort, become truly great. Unfortunately, with the area's declining population and slow movement from the suburbs back to the city, it just doesn't seem worth the money. A shame.

[costello_musicman]

RTA General Manager :

"RTA is on schedule to have all paving on Lower Euclid Avenue done by July 4, and the project done in time for the Oct. 25 grand opening. Some international visitors will be here in July to view the project."

[arev979]

When I moved to Clveland I went online to Cleveland RTA website, printed out all the maps and schedules and studied them first , so I figured out how to get to nearly every patrt of the city by public transportation. Being from Europe ,I find public transportatin system in cleveland not very convenient because some bused run with 1 hour intervals.

[andrew61]

Uh-oh... Did anyone else see this?

Along with increased fares, RTA is proposing a ton of service reductions, along with outright elimination of many routes, to take effect October 2008:

Five public hearings set to discuss service reductions, increased fares

[arev979]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Uh-oh... Did anyone else see this?

Along with increased fares, RTA is proposing a ton of service reductions, along with outright elimination of many routes, to take effect October 2008:

Five public hearings set to discuss service reductions, increased fares

Does that make any sense at all? With gas price being what it is now shouldn't more people ride buses????? Apparently not, as RTA finds it not profitable. WOW!!! To me public transportation is so much more convenient.

[orion1778]

Originally Posted by arev979

Does that make any sense at all? With gas price being what it is now shouldn't more people ride buses????? Apparently not, as RTA finds it not profitable. WOW!!! To me public transportation is so much more convenient.

It actually does make sense when you break the situation down, so please hear me out before ranting and raving any more about it.

Public transit systems are heavily subsidized by government and there aren't any (in this country anyway) that I'm aware of that covers its costs via the fare box. In Cleveland, that government funding comes primarily from a sales tax levied in Cuyahoga county. During an economic slowdown (like the current one) which is exacerbated by having the one of the fastest shrinking counties in the US, and even increased fare revenue from more riders might not cover the losses the government takes in lost sales tax revenue.

Now consider the fact that RTA buses primarily use diesel fuel; so just like your car, when the price of fuel goes up, the cost of operating the bus increases as well. Labor costs will inevitably rise over time as well.

So you're left with increasing costs, declining revenues, and the Ohio state government who is either unwilling or unable to step in and help. And no, the Euclid Corridor did not bankrupt RTA, as it was paid for primarily by the federal government. What has happened is a change in the region that RTA operates more than anything. They are backed into a corner and at this point really have few options other than those proposed.

Please attend one or more of the public hearings (there are 5, all over town) if you are truly concerned about what's happening.

[BelieveInCleve]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Uh-oh... Did anyone else see this?

Along with increased fares, RTA is proposing a ton of service reductions, along with outright elimination of many routes, to take effect October 2008:

Five public hearings set to discuss service reductions, increased fares

I heard about that. Many of the public transportation services around the area and the country are cutting back because of rising fuel costs. The RTA buses have to buy gas too and theres no telling how many MPG's they're getting...most likely under 10. However with all of these people riding I would think if they really needed money just add a dollar or so to every person riding and that should be enough to make up for it, and the people would still be saving a lot of money from not using their car.