Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

I have been riding RTA on and off since I was in kindergarten. I have ridden the bus, the rapid, and the trolleys downtown. Most of the time, they are on time. I can rely on the bus each day on my way to work. The bus is very bumpy, noisy, and sometimes smelly, but it works and is usually the shortest route to my work. The train takes longer because I have to drive to get to it. The trains offer a smoother ride, more room, more comfort, but are much more prone to break downs than the bus due to their age. The trains were built in the mid 1970’s! They require ongoing maintenance and really need to be replaced. But trains are expensive, so no new trains!
The bus is warm and the drivers have been friendly to me. I just wish I could get an express bus to downtown. I’ll keep riding because my company pays for my bus fare.

I am writing a review of RTA based on a tourist standpoint as we spent a Weekend in Cleveland.
Since it was a last minute trip and by the time I ready to book our hotel, everything downtown either all booked up or cost a fortune! But with RTA Red Line Service, we able to stay just across the street from Airport Station and Puritas — West 150^th Station and able to take the train directly to Tower City.
$ 5 for a Day Pass is quite a good bargain.
And of course once downtown, I can get on those Green Trolleys or catch a bus.
Sadly, Waterfront Blue/​Green line was doing some track work during my stay and wish there was more signage down Public Square Station as tourists like me do get confused easily.
I had a lot of fun during Cleveland Beer Week 2015 and also catching a Cavailers game without worry about parking or drink and drive, all because of RTA.
But if you going to party till the wee hours, then this might not be a good option.

During my recent stay in Cleveland, I used the RTA Red Line and Blue Line trains, as well as the Healthline bus service. I found the RTA Red Line and Blue Line service to be excellent and inexpensive. I used the RTA to go to and from the Hopkins Airport, Ohio City district, Downtown Cleveland, the Cleveland Art Museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and other wonderful places in Cleveland. As a senior citizen, I paid two dollars and fifty cents for an all day pass

What can you really say about the RTA? First off, this is no California. It’s also no NY, DC, Seattle, and so on. You’re in Cleveland – and it’s gritty. The airport train is a good deal and it takes you all the way to Tower City if you want to go that far. Also, if you do go that far, you can transfer to a green or blue line train to take you out to the east side.
As for the bus service, it’s hit or miss. I’ve had great bus drivers who are funny and kind and helpful. I’ve also had mean ones who have insulted my intelligence. But back to the great drivers – one of my best experiences was when a driver let me «interview» her at Tower City and then accompany her on her route. It was pretty cool.

Rapid is nice but the bus is a waste of time.

Buses run on time, very good knowledgeable drivers and staff. It is a very good transit service with good standards and service.

I hate that I have to use the RTA for starters. The bus or train is either running late, broke down, emitting awful odors, confrontations, and bad customer service. I don’t blame all the bus/​train drivers because their job is extremely stressful. However, the service makes you want to pay a $ 500 car note rather than ride the RTA.

Do NOT depend on them as a regular mode of transportation. While the prices and coverage areas may be fair, I rode the RTA to work and back for 6 months straight and can’t remember a single time when it showed up on time. Three times in that span, the bus just never showed up at all, leaving me to walk miles for another stop since the frequency was so bad. I probably spent more time over that six months waiting for late busses than I did sitting on them. Save yourself the anger and grief and sadness and buy yourself a car or get a ride. The dependency of these busses is appalling.

Pretty decent rapid transit system for a midsize city. $ 5 all-​day pass is a steal. Too bad not enough people ride some of the lines.

Cleveland’s RTA is a pretty decent overall public transportation system that should surely be used more than it is.
I am quite the fan of public transit systems and am glad that Cleveland has a number of options form busses to BRT to rail. The system is often compared nationally with the Denver RTD, which I can certainly see having lived in Denver for a number of years.
The Healthline BRT is often cited as a model for the effectiveness of urban BRT systems instead of or in addition to much more expensive fixed rail systems. It does tend to get a little crowded, and there is definitely a problem with almost nobody actually paying the fare which is on the honor system for the most part. Also, I wish the dedicated lanes extended through university circle and all the way to East Cleveland.
The red line to the Airport and back is very convenient and the seats are comfortable. the trains tend to be quite empty much of the time which is unfortunate. Also, some of the stops feel like they are in the middle of nowhere.
The bus system is pretty typical… the busses as far as I can tell run pretty much on time. Nothing overly special but not bad.
I haven’t really seen anything overly crazy or unsafe… the worst that I have seen are freeloaders. Otherwise I would have no problem using RTA, though it is not very convenient to where I go on most days. It is great for going from the East side to downtown.

Cleveland RTA used to be great. Lakewood to downtown during the week was such a luxury. I used to say I was chauffeured from the front door of my place to the front door of my office building. Not so much anymore. They have cut service so much that if I miss my bus, I have to either (a) wait for the next bus for ½ hour and be late to work; or (b) DRIVE (which I HATE). I miss the old-​timey RTA of the early 2000’s.
The drivers are usually quite friendly in my neck of the woods. Although, I do have a complaint about one driver in particular. Because he thought I looked like Jamie Lee Curtis, he made the comment that «This is YOUR Day, you know, Friday the 13^th? Jamie Lee Curtis.» Puhlease… she was in Halloween, not Friday the 13^th! Get your horror movies right, DOOFUS!

Trolleys (those green things):
The free trolleys are huge in my opinion. They are new, CLEAN, and free. They are a great way — now with expanded routes and hours — to connect major points of interest in downtown. A great thing for tourists, bringing in tourists, and local downtown workers or people coming downtown who wish to play in various ends of the city. My only wish on these trolleys would be an interior digital display indicating the next stop or an announcement that always functioned. Sometimes there is no announcement and sometimes it plays late. No shelters to wait for these, but they run every ¹⁰⁄₁₅ minutes so it’s not that bad. The stops are pretty close together — usually if one is not waiting at the stop I will just walk in the direction I need to go and catch it later on. There is only one break point that I have encountered and it is in the Warehouse district; it doesn’t delay your journey too much as there is usually another trolley to transfer to. 4.5 stars.
Healthline:
New. Still nice and CLEAN. A great way to extend your ride in the eastern direction of the city past where the trolley stops. While missing from the trolleys this bus has an interior digital display — not that you can see it from everywhere. Just get your ticket and get on, no need to show your ticket to anyone. Ticket can be obtained from the red machines at the stops or the all day pass works as well if you just got off the rail system. The stops all along Euclid are new, well lit, have emergency call boxes at them and allow for sheltered waiting. Just make sure you are waiting on the right side of the street for the bus or that the stop that you are at is for the direction you want to go — buses in both directions do not stop at all stops. The announcement system on these buses seems to work better than on the trolleys. Transit police are often at the stops which is a pleasant sight. 3.7 stars.
Rail:
Not new. Not clean. Sometimes smelly. I recommend only riding it during rush hour either to/​from work or to/​from a game. I’m not sure why but the individual stations are no longer staffed — just buy your ticket at the red box by the door. Not sure why the staff was pulled — RTA has to lose money with only having transit police perform random ticket checks except at Tower City where everyone is checked for a ticket coming and going. At least they could put up gates and some technology to get rid of paper tickets. Read the map and know your stop if you ride this. I’m not sure what is worse — the driver’s mumbled and inaudible announcement of the stop or the crackly static filled prerecorded announcement that cuts in and out. Scenery and stations aren’t beautiful either though some are getting a facelift. I have the unfortunate feeling though that by the time they finish it will be time to start at the beginning again. There is a spot for luggage however if you chose to go to the airport on this. 1.8 stars.
I’ve never ridden the bus so can’t comment there… Cleveland has some single buses and some extra long bend in the middle type buses. I can say those as a potential rider it would be helpful for there to be maps on all the bus shelters and I can say from driving past them this is not the case everywhere.

Let’s consider all the cool things that RTA brings to the table:
1. Rail service from the airport to downtown. This is really awesome that not all that many cities can lay claim to. Now, some of the scenery on that ride isn’t so nice, but who cares? This is a huge plus for the city.
2. Free trolleys that take you everywhere downtown. This is great for everyone, from residents, to visitors, people who work downtown– just hop on a trolley! It makes downtown much more connected and easy to navigate.
3. Taking the rapid is quick and enjoyable. I get on the Courtland stop on Shaker and exactly 27 minutes later, I am always going up the escalator at Tower City. You can get downtown in under a half hour, not worry about traffic, weather, or parking. Sounds good to me! The trains are honestly pretty nice compared to other cities’ trains.
4. Trains are virtually always on time! No, they don’t come every 2 minutes like in bigger cities, but if you know the schedule, you can plan your day by it.
Now for some complaints.
1. Ticket machines. They are the most counter-​intuitive machines I’ve ever used. If you are on the red line, the default ticket it sets you up to buy is a senior/​disabled discount ticket. You have to move the cursor over (which is confusing to figure out how to do) just to get a non disabled ticket. Those red line machines also only let you buy single rides or all day passes. Want to use the red line and then transfer to green or blue? You have to buy the all day pass if you walk up the the red line station without an RTA pass already. That’s $ 5 to get to your destination. I think they should allow rapid transit rides to transfer on single ride tickets, even if the transfer time is reduced to, say, 10 minutes.
2. Nobody pays to ride the rapid. Ever. Red line? Free. Health line? Free. I can’t tell you how many fare skippers I see. There is no fare enforcement outside of the occasional random check by transit cops. I’ve seen this happen exactly once. During this one instance though, they took about 10 people off the health line and I could actually sit down. That’s 10 people on one bus, once. So that’s $ 22.50 that people were about to get away with. If the RTA could actually enforce fare payments, they would make so much more money, and could probably provide better service. But they do nothing. Not even at the heavily used stations, where they keep telling everyone to go. Ohio City, University Circle, E. 120, for example. Nobody from RTA is ever at the stations. This not only makes some people feel unsafe, but also lets anyone who wants to just skip paying. There aren’t even turn styles that would at least make someone have to jump to steal a ride.
3. I’ve noticed very little standard behavior by the drivers. They don’t always change the destination sign, they don’t always use the automated stop announcements, sometimes they don’t stop at all stations, sometimes they do. It’s pretty much anything goes. I guess this is fine for people that ride everyday and know exactly what’s going on, but good luck trying to get any new riders with this strategy. For example, I was waiting at the Courtland stop going downtown. The train comes up. What the destination say? Van Aken. This is just driver laziness. Now I know that couldn’t be, but if I were someone who doesn’t ride that often, I’d be confused. Sometimes, the destination reads multiple locations. If I were from out of town visiting, or new to the area, I would not feel comfortable with the RTA. Leaving tower city, the drivers never announce what trains are what. You wait until the train leaves and then they tell you. Yes, you could go around and look at the other side destination sign (which may or may not be accurate), or ask the driver yourself, but the bottom line is you shouldn’t have to! There should be an announcement at the station saying what train is approaching. The technology is there! Or if you really don’t want to enter the 21^st century, at least have the driver announce it him or herself.
4. Some of the stations are just shady and nasty. Again, I don’t know how RTA thinks they are getting new riders like this. I wouldn’t blame people for not wanting to get on the rapid at W. 65 for example. If I didn’t know better and it was my first time there, I’d feel like I was probably going to die. That being said, some stations are actually quite nice. Shaker Square, E. 55, W. 117, Tower City, Ohio City and the plans for the Little Italy and University Circle stations look solid. But some others are just downright dingy. Would it really cost that much money to just, say, pick up trash? If you guys asked for volunteers, I would probably even do it myself.
Overall though, one of the biggest problems with the RTA is that it is completely underused by Clevelanders. To a point, I understand this because of the complaints I list above. But at the same time, I think that Clevelanders are missing out. It won’t let me write anymore, so there ya have it!

RTA is exceptional, especially considering the amount of service. The trains are a treat, comparatively clean, run on time, and are a good bargain. A great way to get from Hopkins to downtown.
I take RTA whenever I can, and you should too!

I have just tried out their busses and subways on a place that I wanted to find a job from. Their bus and subways are like a taxi that takes you to Crocker Park too.

A few years ago, two friends and I decided to take a bus to West 25^th to continue drinking. We waited at the wrong stop, until a friendly bus driver picked us up, told us that we were at the wrong stop to go to where we wanted, and dropped us off at the right stop in time to catch the right bus. The bus driver on the second bus was one of the coolest people ever. We got back on the same bus after sitting for three hours in a bar, but took it the wrong direction and ended up in Broadview Heights. The bus driver continued being awesome, and even played I Spy with us. When we were crossing Detroit-​Superior back into downtown, some guy on the bus rapped to me and asked me for change. No public transportation experience I will ever have could compare.
All kidding aside, I use the Healthline and the trolleys on a regular basis, and with a bus pass and a little knowledge, the rest of the RTA system becomes a giant, awesome taxi service that always knows where it’s going.

Three things–
1. Thanks for letting the number 25 run right by my house when i needed it last year, but now that i don’t, i don’t care.
2.Thanks for accepting credit cards into the machine at the Triskett rapid station. I did not expect that level of user friendliness. Most small stores and restaurants still give you the evil eye when you use the card, but RTA has embraced the future. To the best of their ability. This leads me to point three…
3. I needed to charge my fare because i only brought $ 2.25. Last time i rode a bus in 2009 it was $ 1.75. Today it was two friggin fifty! No more fare hikes, ya hear me? I know, i should have looked up the fares online. But who would expect a nearly dollar spike in the price within a year? I guess i should have. I forget that the «Health Line» cost RTA nearly eighty billion dollars to construct. But if you need a ride from Chipotle in University Circle to a toilet in Starbucks at Playhouse Square on a bus that thinks it’s a train while watching garbage cans that are «art» zoom by, then it was worth every penny.

So I used to take the RTA to high school (SIHS) back in the day. My bus, the #9 ran downtown and was pretty frequent. There were a lot of shady people around Public Square and Euclid, but eh, I could live with it. The #22 was hell, even though I rode it only for about 10 minutes. CPS kids made that 10 minutes feel like an hour.
Now, I thought I would try taking it to work. I guess while I was gone someone took a huge axe to the system, because buses run incredibly infrequent. The #9 doesn’t go downtown anymore, except for a small amount of rush hour trips (Which I don’t understand, because that bus was always crowded to/​from downtown). Using RTA is much more of a hassle than it used to be.
As someone who never really preferred driving places (after living in Chicago with most buses running every 10min or less during rush hour), riding the RTA recently made me rethink plans of using it again.

More people should use the RTA. Hopefully folks will wise up as the price of gas sky rockets. The trains are relatively clean, quiet, not loaded with nutjobs. I’ve seen (and smelled) a lot worse in Chicago.
I wonder how profitable the RTA is? There was barely anyone on the Red Line on a Saturday afternoon.
The view is pretty cool along the Red Line route. Really sweet graffiti to check out too.
They need to get rid of that lite rock BS they play in the Tower City station though. Makes me wanna slit my wrists.

Seattle is currenlty building a mass-​transit simular to what Cleveland already has — the RTA.
I was thrilled to be able to hop on a train AT THE AIRPORT and take it all the way downtown. The stations seemed clean, safe, and free of the usual suspects.
The cost is right, too! $ 1.75 from the airport to my hotel in Public Square and it only takes 25 minutes! Wooo!