RTA outlines service cuts, price increases

[moominmuppet]

Oh, really not good

Most crucial bit:
To save money, RTA may cut all of its community circulators and a dozen regular bus routes.

Service on the lightly used Waterfront Line downtown would also be reduced to only rush hours and special events. And service may also be cut by dropping evening hours or shortening trips on more than 20 other Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority routes in the city and suburbs.

Comments

[chameleonpixie.livejournal.com]

Wow. That sucks.

Will you be able to make it to work and patient instructing?

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* I'm minimally affected, because I'm right downtown, and I take major lines. Losing the 807 would still suck, and I wonder if they'd route the 81 down to Steelyard in replacement.

I'm more upset about it on a general level than about how it'll affect me personally, although it will make my life somewhat more inconvenient. I could afford to get a car if I had to, though. Most people using the system couldn't.

[chameleonpixie.livejournal.com]

I'm just surprised that this is happening during increased gas costs. You think they'd be more popular now and not have to do cuts.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

Only about 16% of their income comes from fares. The rest is from a city tax, and as the population of the city shrinks...

[mutelorelei.livejournal.com]

They've already recently raised bus fares in Reno, and there's been ongoing talk of a driver strike over wages and benefits, as well as talk that they may still have to cut or reduce routes and times. The buses already don't hit a lot of the city and almost all stop early at night, so that's a bit worrisome. I'm sure this must be going on in a lot of places. Luckily I also get rides a lot instead of having to depend on the bus all the time (it's just too inconvenient for me as it is - I always have to allow at least 2 hours before I'm supposed to be someplace, the routes aren't well planned and I live on the outskirts of town and have to walk for 30 min just to reach a bus stop).

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* I think it is. I've heard there's something in the House of Reps right now for providing some assistance to public transit around the country, and I'm really hoping it doesn't get buried in committee somewhere, because we really need these systems working more than ever right now.

[mutelorelei.livejournal.com]

That kind of assistance would be really useful right now, but it seems like something that wouldn't be likely to be passed, alas.

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

What kills me is some knowitall types over yonder where I used to work are convinced that RTA operates at a surplus because of some tax or something. No amount of actual fact can dissuade

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

Idiots. But we already knew that.

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

To be fair, they aren't idiots when it comes to how other people should maintain their lawns to keep property values from falling and other important stuff like that.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*snort* Ah, they're the living embodiments of why I refuse to ever live in the 'burbs.

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

Hey now it's not like property values have gone down at all; especially not in Cleveland. So they're clearly making a real difference.

did you see the journal this week? Cleveland was the example of the housing crisis.