RTA: What's good, bad, and improvable (Cleveland, Green: unemployment benefits, air pollution, budget)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by 216facts

Good question. We might lose the rail line. The great flood of 1913 killed the canals, perhaps this pandemic will kill public transportation in some cities.

Funny how life can be so hard to predict. I was paying $4 a gallon for gas (10 years ago?) and at the time thought we should be investing heavily in public transportation. I just paid $1.85 a gallon and public transportation has essentially become a pariah due to social distancing.

Its crazy to predict the future at this point. I would expect the RTA to lose a lot of funding though.

I hope you're wrong! but really no idea what to expect.

[TheProf]

RTA should cut back on rail service at this time. The Rapid is geared, largely, into getting people from the neighborhoods and suburbs into downtown ... and downtown is more or less closed commercially. Frequency should be cut on both rail and bus, but closing either completely should be off the table ... there are people without cars who need it, including middle and even some upper income folks who live in pockets near rail lines, who don't have cars (Shaker Square, Shaker Heights, downtown, Little Italy/U Circle ... etc.).

The bus services is bare-bones as it is, so I would leave it pretty much alone. But weekend service should prevail system wide... It was wise to cut freeway/bus park 'n ride service. I understand cutting the downtown Trolleys, too, although this makes me a bit uncomfortable.

This would be a great time for RTA maintenance activity for the rail line -- where there is tons of work to do... RTA should also be moving ahead with plans to replace trains.

[j_ws]

Fares make up 16% of RTA's annual revenue. While not an insignificant amount ($45,766,110 for 2019), it isn't totally implausible that the city and county could muster up some resources and fill the gap. The fact fare revenue is so low is one reason I think it's a totally realistic goal to eliminate fares altogether.

RTA has an operating reserve of 2.1 months (per the 2019 annual report), so they can potentially continue until late May/early June by drawing on their own reserves.

[ferraris]

According to RTA

In the 2017 budget, fares account for $51 million, or 16 percent of all revenue.

16% is not insignificant, but I hope the system can weather the storm for a few months. I'd expect the rail lines to be one of the last things on the chopping block. I highly doubt they'll be cut as a result of this. Perhaps reduced hours on the Green and Waterfront lines.

[WRnative]

Ohio now has a massive budget deficit, which is not permitted by the Ohio Constitution.


It would seem unlikely the Republicans will raise taxes, but they may have no choice.



Barring a massive federal aid program to states (requiring even much more inconceivable and highly dangerous federal borrowing), mass transit funding in Ohio may be on the chopping block.



This will one of several major issues in coming months. The political struggles this year may be unequaled in American history, at least since 1860.


One way or another, much will have changed in Ohio and America in the next 12 months.


E.g., IMO kiss sports mega-contracts goodbye. Francisco Lindor will regret deeply not signing a multi-year contract before the golden goose was slaughtered.


IMO RTA should implement massive furloughs to preserve precious cash, while continuing health insurance. The risk of running out of cash should be minimized by tough decisions, because there is no certainty that federal or state aid will make up any deficit. Remaining executive salaries should be cut, at least temporarily. Furloughed workers can collect bolstered unemployment payments.



Americans, and perhaps not even the Trump administration or Congress, understand the precipice on which the American economy and federal government is balancing precariously. The greatest depression in American history, wealth destruction, debt and contract obligation default and forbearance, combined with greatly excessive debt and unfunded liabilities are an explosive brew, to some degree akin to that faced by the German Weimar Republic.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Ohio now has a massive budget deficit, which is not permitted by the Ohio Constitution.


It would seem unlikely the Republicans will raise taxes, but they may have no choice.



Barring a massive federal aid program to states (requiring inconceivable and highly dangerous federal borrowing), mass transit funding in Ohio may be on the chopping block.



This will one of several major issues in coming months. The political struggles this year may be unequaled in American history, at least since 1860.


One way or another, much will have changed in America in the next 12 months.

I would generally agree about Republicans. When Kasich was guv, RTA (and other urban transit systems) got next to nothing -- about $7M distributed to the entire state for his last year in office. Despite Big John's trying to come off as a moderate in attacking you-know-who, Kasich was terrible for trains and mass transit: killing off the ready-to-roll 3-Cs Amtrak line, starving transit systems, then shoving Opportunity Corridor highway-lite down our throats with taxpayer money he claimed didn't exist for the far more useful 3Cs Amtrak train...

DeWine has been a little bit better (not sure the figure, but it is higher). I'm cautiously hopeful with DeWine -- as with his fine leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, he's shown he's not necessarily a hard line doctrinal Republican, and that's a good thing.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by TheProf

I would generally agree about Republicans. When Kasich was guv, RTA (and other urban transit systems) got next to nothing -- about $7M distributed to the entire state for his last year in office. Despite Big John's trying to come off as a moderate in attacking you-know-who, Kasich was terrible for trains and mass transit: killing off the ready-to-roll 3-Cs Amtrak line, starving transit systems, then shoving Opportunity Corridor highway-lite down our throats with taxpayer money he claimed didn't exist for the far more useful 3Cs Amtrak train...

DeWine has been a little bit better (not sure the figure, but it is higher). I'm cautiously hopeful with DeWine -- as with his fine leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, he's shown he's not necessarily a hard line doctrinal Republican, and that's a good thing.

I heard DeWine say the Ohio budget deficit was $20 billion. He talked about the need to make cuts, not raise taxes.



Additionally, RTA sales tax collections may be massively reduced if not negligible for the remainder of the quarter and perhaps even the rest of 2020. Drastic spending cuts should be implemented immediately, especially given the reduced service levels.

[WRnative]

All of the cuts reduce weekday frequency.


https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/...ice-by-15.html


There is no mention of job furloughs even though that would have been a logical question for a reporter to have asked.

[Daring Do]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

RTA ridership clearly is down massively. I haven't been on a bus for over 2 weeks now. No money coming in, trolley and park and ride cut. Without some kind of intervention, we are going to lose a functioning transit system. Is there any plan for saving the RTA? Or will it just be cut into more irrelevance?

It's unfortunate that the pandemic happened, I rode RTA via bus and rapid to Brite Winter most recently. I would imagine that RTA will still be around even after the pandemic is finished. Isn't there supposed to be a vote on it in November?

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by WRnative

All of the cuts reduce weekday frequency.


https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/...ice-by-15.html


There is no mention of job furloughs even though that would have been a logical question for a reporter to have asked.

RTA seems to be making minimal cuts compared to other transit systems (in Philadelphia, more than have the regional rail system has been shut down completely). I see zero reason why the Green Line and Waterfront Line are running now. We only need a skeleton rail service -- just the Blue Line to TC and the Red Line at light intervals since both do serve areas with people without cars.

I'm uncomfortable with furloughs for a public service agency. While RTA employee salary/benefit packages likely are hefty, the expense of running buses and trains at the relatively high frequency RTA is now, would seem to be more. You then get into the sticky situation as who to furlough? It's easier when you're a private entity like Punch Bowl Social who furloughed all 120 workers because the restaurant is closed (and I sure hope they can reopen which has been thrown into question since Cracker Barrel has now backed out).

But RTA, like other agencies, are still running services. So who do you cut? ... not so easy.