The HealthLine is the bus rapid transit service linking Public Square to University Circle and East Cleveland via Euclid Avenue. It was touted, when it launched in 2008, as an efficient transit option that combined the dedicated route (and presumed speed) of a train line with the affordability of city buses. Now, it flat-out sucks. It’s seriously the worst.
The numbers tell the story. People abandoned the HealthLine in record numbers last year. Nearly 15 percent fewer riders (3.6 million, down from 4.3 million the previous year) drove down RTA’s ridership decline across the system. The dramatic drop is due largely to the fact that the HealthLine has canceled its proof-of-payment fare collection system, in which you simply walked onto the bus when it arrived after you’d validated your ticket at the stop. So fast! So efficient!
Now, it’s just like a standard city bus, where everyone enters at the front door and pays for a ticket or shows their passes to the driver. This causes significant delays and regular bunching. It’s rarely on-schedule and now takes anywhere from 8 to 13 minutes longer than originally advertised to get from Public Square to Windermere in East Cleveland. You’d be better off briskly walking down Euclid than dealing with this infuriating route when there’s more than three or four cars on the road.
Due to stubbornness or ignorance, RTA has refused to seek out sensible solutions to their fare enforcement problem. A local judge ruled in 2017 that having armed RTA officers enforcing fares was unconstitutional. One obvious solution, which would retain the speed of all-door boarding but would still allow for periodic enforcement, would be to have unarmed civilian employees checking fares. They could also just shrug and eat the costs of the 1-7 percent of riders who don’t pay, thereby increasing the quality of the service for everyone. But no dice. While RTA pursues a potential system redesign and completes its “pillar studies” in key areas — positive steps! — it has let the HealthLine deteriorate from a sterling example of Bus Rapid Transit to an annoying, unreliable, sluggish bus route that everyone hates. — Sam Allard
This article appears in Apr 24-30, 2019.
I wonder if scene magazine could just shrug and eat the cost of 1 out 7 of their advertisers not paying??
Perhaps, Chris, if the system was more efficient, the reduced expenses would outpace the revenue loss. But perhaps you’re not one for nuance or critical thinking. Snark is just so seductively easy, I know.
I ride the Healthline and Chris is correct…its SUCKS! As much as we pay for fare and bus passes…RTA can suck up a few loss unpaid fares. IJS
Just shrug and eat the cost huh? Why don’t you just use your BLACK CARD and pay RTA the cost their losing!
Another absurd article. The idea that a publicly funded transit system should allow 14% of customers to ride for free to expedite efficiency is ridiculous. I also think I read a story that despite the number of people using RTA being down the revenue from fares is up….sounds like the enforcement is having the intended consequence, eliminating free loaders from the system.
And sorry takeitto89, having more efficient boarding wouldn’t save the company enough money to offset a 14% loss in revenue
The honor system of proof-of-payment works fine all over the world. The fact that RTA can’t make it work in Cleveland is just nuts. In fact, it should introduce the idea throughout the rapid transit lines.
Armed officers ruled unconstitutional?Then what am I looking at everyday?
JHead3, why dont you let me use some of that WHITE PRIVILEGE; its worth more than any BLACK CARD.
Would someone mind explaining what “proof-of-payment” means in this context, please?
John Stout: Fare inspectors are used in proof of payment transit systems, such as in San Francisco. You pay your fare or buy a pass elsewhere (maybe on another line that you transferred from), get on the bus/train/whatever, and at any time a fare inspector can require you produce a valid ticket as proof of payment. If you are unable to produce proof with your ticket or pass, then they give you a citation. The driver doesnt collect fares or check passes, they just drivethe fare inspectors do the enforcement, pretty much like parking enforcement works.
For those of you pushing the idea that its more cost effective to delay the Healthline to collect fares than it is to keep things moving in spite of freeloadersconsider the economics. If you ARE paying, you would like to get where you’re going faster, right? Then if you have to wait longer for more infrequent and more unreliable service, then you’re more likely to look into faster options. Thus, you not only lose the freeloaders by requiring upfront fare collection, but you also lose your PAYING riders because you’ve devalued the service.
Also consider the economics from RTAs side–the biggest cost is probably the bus driver, not the bus. Therefore, keeping the bus moving and picking up more people will maximize the utility of paying the driver, not to mention paying to idle the engine on the bus.
And then theres the road and pollution economicsevery passenger on RTA is a car that doesnt get driven to congest the roads, wear out the roads, or pollute the air–all things that cost everyone, regardless of whether you use transit or drive your own car.
When you consider that RTA is mostly funded by taxpayers and NOT by fares, eating 14% of fare revenue on the Healthline and the Rapids may be much less expensive than slowing down a rapid transit line so drivers can collect fares. It maximizes RTAs limited resources, alleviates traffic, and reduces pollution, all of which cost us all.
JHead3, why dont you let me use some of that WHITE PRIVILEGE; its worth more than any BLACK CARD.
Lee Hawkins there are so many things incorrect or overblown in your statement.
1. If it’s more effective to let 14% of people ride for free then enforce payment then why has fare revenue gone up while rides have gone down? If so many “paying” customers were choosing alternative methods then fare revenue would be down.
2. Many public transit riders don’t have other options to get from point A to point B so 1 rider does not equal 1 less car on the rode. On top of that Cleveland’s roads were built when Cleveland had a much higher population so adding even 5% more cars at this point in time is not creating gridlock.
3. The are cost to ride the health line is I believe $2.50 but you are saying the cost to drive a car on the healthline route is greater than $2.50 when you account for wear and tear on the road and pollution? Give me a break