The Health Line is the number one Bus Rapid Transit system in the country, according to the Institution for Transportation & Development Policy.
And it’s not exceptional or anything. Cleveland scored a 63/100 for a “Bronze” rating on the ITDP scale, but still managed to outperform shitty counterparts in Eugene, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas.
The top two performing BRT systems in the world are in Bogota, Colombia, and Guangzhou, China.
It isn’t that gold standard BRT is impossible in the United States. Certainly it’s possible. But it isn’t built here because nobody really wants to build it.The same community leaders who choose BRT over rail, because BRT is cheaper, then make the same choice when faced with other potential cost-cutting measures. They eliminate the most expensive features, until the gold standard that was promised isn’t actually what’s delivered.
Regardless, it’s fun to throw this in Pittsburgh’s face.
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This article appears in Jan 23-29, 2013.
Installation of that cluster fuck destroyed many businesses and ruined peoples lives.
RTA STILL doesn’t collect the fares from the poor Welfare recipient’s wearing designer clothes and $5000.00 with of gold in their teeth and around their necks.
I took it once, that was MORE than enough, never again.
Lets not forget how all of Euclid Ave. is now inaccessible with the wasted space for these machines, trucks blocking lanes to unload as SOMEONE (Frankie Poo Inaction Garbage Can Man Jackson and his partners in crime) didn’t even THINK about that aspect.
I stay the hell away from downtown as much as possible. If I never have to go there again, I wouldn’t miss a thing.
Let me guess, you’re an older, white, blue collar male who lives in one of the outer ring western suburbs who still thinks downtown’s scary LOL?
PH8059: Even so, that doesn’t mean that several of GreasedMonkey’s points aren’t valid.
Edward, where are the facts to back up his claims? And no, what he heard from Bob down the street doesn’t count.
Edward, which points are those?
GreasedMonkey, I’ve ridden the HealthLine many times. Saw very little in the way of gold teeth or designer clothes (aside from cheap sub-Wal-Mart knockoffs). You post on cleveland.bomb? You sound like a typical cleveland.bomb poster. People like you are the problem here in Ohio. Chicago’s violent crime rate (20% lower than ours) gets headlines in Illinois yet our crime/poverty/problems get a shrug from your beloved GOP leaders in state government.
I like going downtown!!!
I like the Health line. Frequent service, 24/7. The only thing that bothers me about it is thinking about how few people probably actually pay to use it. THe one time I was on the HL when the cops came on and took people off, about 10 people got taken off. We could probably afford to build a sophisticated subway system if people only paid for the services they used.
But about Euclid Ave, it is good that traffic is slowed down. I think the bus lane, the car lane, and the bike lane is pretty ideal. Much safer that way. We have to break our fondness for cars. By slowing everything down, you actually build a real community, you don’t destroy it, GreasedMonkey. Now go back to Strongsville.
Euclid Avenue seemed to have the most buses running on it during the week. As a visitor to Cleveland I had no trouble getting around on Euclid, but just try to find a city bus that goes anywhere near Browns Stadium or to Hopkins Airport, AMTRAK or the R&R HOF. And as for the intercity rail system — how about washing the platform with a little bleach now and then — peeyeew.