RTA Kicks Off Preliminary Study, Riders Say Full System Redesign is Needed
Consultant to present to RTA Board and Public Today on Potential System Redesign
Cleveland, OH, February, 19, 2018
Following recommendations by Cuyahoga County Council’s transit committee, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has hired Jarrett Walker + Associates to study a redesign of RTA’s bus network. Walker will present at RTA’s 1 p.m. External Affairs Committee meeting at RTA’s Headquarters at 1240 W 6th St. in Cleveland. CPT urges media to attend in order to provide coverage of this critical process.
Today’s RTA bus system map looks roughly similar to Cuyahoga County’s transit map from when the Red Line was completed over 50 years ago. But Cuyahoga County has changed significantly over the years. Jobs and housing have shifted, and yesterday’s bus routes often don’t address today’s demand for transit.
A system redesign is a collaborative effort to decide where today’s RTA service should go. A clean-slate redesign would present the opportunity to have a conversation about where transit service will be most useful to the community.
An increasing number of transit agencies around the country have been able to increase ridership following system redesigns, including Houston METRO, COTA in Columbus and GRCT in Richmond, Virginia. This is why members of Clevelanders for Public Transit have been calling on RTA to complete a system redesign since 2016.
While this study is a significant step in the right direction, CPT continues to make the case for a full system redesign in order to gain public support and reverse RTA’s continued decline in ridership.
If done well, the rewards are plentiful. Riders will enjoy faster trips to more destinations as transit becomes a more viable option to driving — especially for those who can least afford to own, maintain, insure and finance a car.
A system redesign also presents the opportunity for improvements like improved frequency, extended hours of operation on key routes and changes to fare policy (as recommended in CPT’s Fair Fares plan). Together with a bus network redesign, these changes can become the basis for a 21st century RTA.
CPT Co-Chair Marques Manus says, “To get to work I catch a bus from Old Brooklyn to downtown, then have to backtrack on another bus to get to Rocky River. I don’t mind a transfer, but it shouldn’t take over an hour for what is a 15 minute drive. Not every bus needs to go to downtown.”
Transit agencies with increasing ridership are the ones paying attention to their bus networks. If agencies like COTA in Columbus can increase ridership though system redesign, RTA should be able to do the same.
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Clevelanders for Public Transit is a riders’ organization that builds power for affordable, accessible and equitable public transit in Northeast Ohio. For more information, visit clefortransit.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
Members of Clevelanders for Public Transit rally to support transit funding and system redesign (July 2018)