The History of CPT

Interstate highways wind throughout Ohio, coalescing and merging in urban cores Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and their surrounding metropolitan areas. This infrastructure reflects the state’s past and ongoing political and economic prioritization of private and commercial transportation rather than robust public transit. According to Policy Matters Ohio, Ohio ranks 47th out of the 50 American states for levels of public transit funding, despite the fact that Ohio is the 7th most populous state in the nation and 14th highest for public transit usage.

Further, Ohio has no policy in place for dedicating state funding towards long term investments in public transit, even though federal funding for public transit is also insufficient. In Cleveland, transit riders have faced 5 fare increases in the last 15 years. Fares have effectively doubled since 2005—a single-use ticket cost $1.25 then and costs $2.50 today—while service has been cut by 25%. For the past five years, and looking ahead to the future, Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) has been organizing transit riders and allies to advocate for sustainable funding for public transit at the local, state, and federal levels.

Fares have effectively doubled since 2005—a single-use ticket cost $1.25 then and costs $2.50 today—while service has been cut by 25%.

In 2015, with the onset of GCRTA fare hikes and service cuts, a group of organizers mobilized alongside the environmentally-focused Ohio Organizing Collaborative to highlight the need for sustainable transit in metropolitan Northeast Ohio. The nascent transit advocacy group laid the foundation for CPT by creating the Transit Bill of Rights, a document that declares “Residents of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and Northeast Ohio, serviced by GCRTA system, require and have inalienable rights to mass public transit” that ultimately is safe, equitable in service, economically just to its customers and employees, and sustainable.

With the Transit Bill of Rights in place, CPT became what it is today—a riders’ organization in partnership with labor and community allies that hosts monthly riders’ meetings to discuss and strategize about concerns and opportunities with GCRTA. Membership includes any interested rider who attends CPT meetings and or actions. Riders accrue the ability to vote in CPT decision-making after attending three events, and the organization is led by a board of ten annually elected members known as the Coordinating Committee. 

CPT accomplishments (thus far)

Since its inception, CPT has achieved victories for Cleveland’s transit riders that span service retention, to grabbing the attention of local elected officials, to securing a system redesign study. To start, in 2016, CPT actions helped to preserve the #81 bus service around CMHA (Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority) properties around the near west side, such as the Lakeview Tower high-rise residences near the Shoreway. CPT also helped maintain evening and weekend service along Cedar Avenue that serves high-rise public housing residences, and prevented service cuts to the #8 bus route. CPT mobilized around proposed bus service cuts to East 79th St. after it was designated as an Opportunity Corridor. 

CPT also organized around suburban transit, maintaining Saturday service to Berea despite GCRTA’s cuts to Sunday service. In December 2016, CPT secured a major organizational highlight and victory by hosting well-attended rallies for opening Public Square in downtown Cleveland to RTA buses, which garnered national media attention that successfully pressured GCRTA and the city to allow bus traffic in Public Square.

Fair Fares 

In the last few years, CPT has mainly organized in response to inequitable access—from fare hikes to unreliable and delayed service, CPT has led actions and campaigns that demand GCRTA leadership and other institutional stakeholders reexamine and improve policy and service delivery. Through outreach, evaluation, and research, CPT created and released a Fair Fares platform study to the GCRTA board and the broader public in February 2018 with press and media coverage. The document, which continues to guide CPT’s work, highlights the needs for transit equity—riders should have access to affordable transit that is free from intimidation and harassment by transit police enforcing fares with further fees and tickets. 

… rewarding riders with free rides after they meet the fare equivalent of a weekly or monthly pass, should be implemented to reduce financial burden.

The Fair Fares platform also indicates that fare capping, or rewarding riders with free rides after they meet the fare equivalent of a weekly or monthly pass, should be implemented to reduce financial burden. CPT has also been able to delay further fare increases—though the GCRTA board still has fare increases on the table, actions by CPT have helped prevent them from going into place just yet.

CPT also led a successful campaign to “Heal the Healthline” in fall 2019, as the bus rapid transit system between downtown and University Circle had become unreliable and frequently delayed. The campaign and its signature action secured the attention of local city council members Kerry McCormack and Matt Zone, who agreed to focus on transit issues in the city. In addition, GCRTA recently agreed to a system redesign study, which CPT has been advocating for since 2016. Overall, CPT has demanded a system redesign study and a fare equity study that GCRTA has commissioned in response. The system redesign was secured and meant to take place later in 2020, but will likely be delayed due to COVID-19.

CPT most recently was involved in a statewide campaign known as MOVE Ohio (Mobility and Opportunity for a Vibrant Economy) to allocate more Ohio Department of Transportation Funding to transit, and continues to advocate that since 10 percent of Ohioans don’t drive, 10 percent of ODOT’s budget should be reallocated to public transit. CPT also continues to push for a ballot issue in an upcoming election to increase the sales tax levy that funds GCRTA’s operations.

What has CPT been up to most recently, and what’s ahead? 

With fare increases always on the horizon, CPT generally has its work cut out. Fare revenue is 20 percent of GCRTA’s budget, but is projected to continue to decline, because less people ride as fares become more expensive. CPT and other transit advocates describe this phenomenon as “the death spiral of transit,” and sustained action and rider involvement will help reimagine possibilities for a more sustainable and vibrant public transit system in Cleveland.

In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, though, CPT’s strategies and priorities have shifted a bit. For example, CPT used to conduct direct outreach to riders at major transit stations, but has had to rethink this strategy in the wake of necessary social distancing measures. Instead, CPT recently has been distributing donated masks to riders, administering a transit needs assessment survey online, and advocating for rear-entry practices to be implemented as a social distancing measure that limits contact between riders and RTA employees.

In the wake of renewed mobilization around racial justice in Cleveland and throughout the country, CPT has also recently begun a campaign to reduce funding for the GCRTA transit police by 50% and to replace armed fare inspectors with Civilian Transit Ambassadors to assist riders, check fares and serve as RTA’s public face at stations and onboard.

We need you!

Overall, CPT is a young, volunteer-driven organization with only one paid part-time staff member that builds a mass constituency of riders to voice their demands. CPT is a direct democracy, open to any rider and or interested Clevelander, and is notable for its participant-driven model of organizing and action. If you would like to join a growing movement for accessible, affordable, reliable, and sustainable public transit, please join organized riders in Cleveland and in cities throughout the United States—Seattle, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Minneapolis, and New York City, to name just a few—by attending an upcoming monthly rider’s meeting, attending a CPT action, and following CPT on social media. Stay tuned for an exciting and busy year ahead!