RTA is once again mulling over more cuts to its service to deal with budgetary issues.
Before any final decisions are made, however, it will host a trio of public hearings to discuss yet another handful of possible reductions ifor a transit system already in need of more frequency.
Among eight total considerations: cutting the 19B, slashing the B-line trolley and using the Waterfront Line solely as a mover for sports fans and concertgoers on special event days.
Those moves could spell further disaster for Downtown, transit advocates told Scene.
“It’s going to mean a worse experience for everyone,” said Emily Harper, a member of Clevelanders for Public Transit, regarding both the proposed cuts and reductions at five other bus lines.
And not just for commuters and occasional riders. “For those who don’t have the option, the system now becomes more difficult and frustrating,” she said.
Following rather dismal board meetings last year, RTA came to the conclusion that it would have to trim its budget by at least $78 millio due to decreasing ridership and debt on its new fleet of train cars set to debut later this year.
What this spells for Downtown is paradoxical: a neighborhood growing in population while being at risk of saying bye to the only two lines of public transit dedicated to that neighborhood.
Though RTA’s downtown lines had been hit with cuts in the years before the pandemic, 2020 was a guillotine for three of them. By then, the agency scrapped both the E-Line (the “Entertainment” Line) and its C-line, which had a combined 648,000 riders in 2019. The Waterfront Line resumed in 2023.
The remaining B-Line Trolley and its weekends-only counterpart, the L-shaped Waterfront Line, were quirky perks rather than reliable amenities.
RTA said it’s set to make a decision on which cuts and reductions to go ahead with on May 7.
“Geography is extremely important in how we make decisions,” Joel Freilich, RTA’s service management director, told NEO Trans.
“It’s not just the numbers,” he said. “It’s the question of—are there other alternatives nearby and how nearby are those alternatives?”
A spokesperson for RTA was not available for comment on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Scene rode the B-Line Trolley to gauge what its riders would do if the last remaining trolley ceased trolleying around town come the summer.
“Wait, really? It’s shutting down?” Nic Hannum, 36, who lives downtown, said shortly after boarding at Public Square. “It’s the only free bus you can ride downtown. That’s what makes it so great.”
And, to others, what makes it a key part of their lives.
Over at the cookout area at St. Clair Place, off East 12th and Superior, was Wayne Paul and his five friends, all in their sixties or older. All six told Scene they relied on the B-Line stopping a block away to get to places they had to go: the bank, the libary, the doctor’s office.
And most importantly, to the massive bus interchange that is Public Square.
“I use it to get groceries,” Paul said, leaning on his walker. “I use the trolley to travel round here because I can’t breathe if I walk all the way down” to Public Square.
“Yeah, it’s free, and it takes you from here to the Square,” his friend, Wayne George, said. “It circles back around, you know, and that’s convenient.”
“And tell them we want it seven days a week!” Vito C. said, sitting on another bench. “So, what’s the inconvenience for them not wanting to have it seven days a week?”
Those interested in sharing their thoughts with the RTA can do so online here, or in-person, at their main office at 1240 West 6th St., on the following dates:
Monday, April 13, 2026, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 16, 2026, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Below is a list of all the reductions and cuts the transit agency is mulling over:
#78: West 117th – Puritas from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes
#86: Rocky River Dr. – Bagley from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes
#3: Superior from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes
#10: East 105 – Lakeshore from every 15 minutes to every 30 minutes
The B-Line Trolley (full discontinuation)
#19B Broadway: Fargo branch
Waterfront Line (events only)
#77: Brecksville (discontinue service west of I-77, extend service to Columbia Road)
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