Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

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The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (officially the GCRTA, but usually referred to as the RTA) is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in the State of Ohio, providing over 57 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2005. RTA owns and operates the Cleveland Rapid Transit rail system (better known as The Rapid), which consists of one heavy rail line (the Red Line) and two light rail lines (the Green and Blue Lines). The bulk of RTA's service consists of buses, including regular routes, express buses, community circulators, and loop buses. RTA is also currently in the process of building a bus rapid transit line along Euclid Avenue from Public Square to University Circle and then to East Cleveland, known as the Silver Line and as the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project. This was originally to be a subway line running under Euclid Avenue, but the high cost of such a project has caused it to be refined several times in its history, resulting in the current bus rapid transit project. The Euclid Corridor project also includes a complete rebuild of Euclid Avenue from storefront to storefront, bringing with it new sidewalks, landscaping and trees, lighting, and a large public art initiative, that proponents of the project hope will spur investment in the city's traditional main thoroughfare. RTA recently released a revised master plan, Transit 2025, in which several rail extensions, bus line improvements, and transit oriented developments (TOD) are discussed.

An RTA bus with bicycle racks.

RTA has equipped all their buses with bicycle racks. Each bus can carry two bicycles. Bicycles are also allowed on rapid transit trains, with the limit of two per car, at all times other than rush hour. There is no additional charge for taking bicycles on RTA, although there is also no guarantee that there will be space available.

1 History
2 Funding
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

A historic trolley.

The GCRTA was formed on September 5, 1975 with the merger of Cleveland Transit System, which operated the heavy rail line from Windermere to Cleveland Hopkins Airport and the local bus systems - having been formed out of the old Cleveland Railway Company which operated the local streetcar system until 1942 - with the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit, which controlled the two light rail lines from downtown to Shaker Heights, and was the descendant of a separate streetcar system formed by the Van Sweringen brothers to serve their Shaker Heights development. A month later, the RTA assumed control over the suburban bus systems operated by Maple Heights, North Olmsted, Brecksville, Garfield Heights and Euclid.

The RTA had to undertake a number of renovations to the rail system in particular after its creation, as the Shaker Heights lines (renamed the Blue and Green lines) had not been significantly renovated since their creation in 1920. The lines were largely rebuilt by 1981, and the downtown station at Tower City Center was heavily rebuilt by 1987. In 1994, a walkway and skyway was added from the Tower City station to Jacobs Field, as well as Quicken Loans Arena, and the Blue and Green lines were extended to the waterfront area by 1996.

The Cleveland Railway Co. streetcars were sold off to Toronto to be added to that city's transit system (Toronto Transit Commission. The last of the Cleveland models operated for 30 years in Toronto until 1982. See Also: General Motors streetcar conspiracy

[edit] Funding

A Red Line heavy rail train.

When RTA was formed, the voters of Cuyahoga County approved a 1% county-wide sales tax. This sales tax constitutes about 70% of RTA's operating revenue. This funding source has helped RTA maintain a higher level of service than other transit agencies in comparable cities, and it also helps RTA retain some degree of political autonomy. However, it also makes RTA unusually susceptible to economic downturns, which cause a sharp decline in sales tax revenues even when the demand for transit changes little.

In recent years, RTA has undertaken great efforts to improve efficiency and eliminate unnecessary costs. These efforts have included recent mergers with the two remaining autonomous transit agencies in Cuyahoga County, NOMBL, and Maple Heights Transit, and redesigning of the routes in suburban areas in the southeast, west, and south of Cuyahoga County.

In June of 2006, RTA raised its fares from $1.25 to $1.50 for one ride, $3.00 to $3.50 for an all day pass, and $0.75 to $1.00 for the Circulator. In 2008, it plans to raise the prices again because of high fuel prices.