Euclid Corridor Transportation Project BRT Workshop July 22, 2008 HealthLine Operations

ECTP Project Goals nImprove service to GCRTA customers lIncreased service frequency and transit efficiency lReduced congestion in and adjacent to the Euclid Corridor by providing a more efficient roadway and bus distribution system lReduced travel time lInclusion of customer amenities 2

Previous Operations n Bus operations were slow—averaging 5.5 miles per hour n The #6 Euclid line serves almost 10% of RTA’s bus riders n Routes #7, #9 also operated on Euclid Avenue.

Inefficient Operations resulted from: n Roadway configuration n Poor pavement condition n Mixed traffic flow n Parallel parking n Antiquated traffic signal system n Frequent stops n Long dwell times associated with boarding, fare collection, and ADA lift/ramp utilization All contributing to bus bunching and irregularity of service frequencies

ECTP Major Elements nHealthLine (Euclid Avenue BRT) lConnects the region’s two major employment centers, Cleveland’s Central Business District and University Circle, with the Stokes/Windermere RTS in East Cleveland. Downtown University Circle Stokes/ Winder mere

ECTP Major Elements nTransit Zone lEstablishment of BRT dedicated right- of-way required revising routing for 13 routes through downtown along Superior and St. Clair Avenues. lTransit Zone designed to alleviate impact of increased bus volumes along the alternate routings.

Transit Zone Features Superior AvenueSt. Clair Avenue  1.02 miles of 24-hr. exclusive roadway  Peak hour service frequency: every 30 seconds  Peak hour service frequency: every 90 seconds  0.7 miles of peak hr. exclusive roadway

HealthLine Service Frequency n Five-minute weekday peak n 10-minute mid- day n 15-minute evenings and weekends

Peak Hour Operations ROUTEHEADWAYVEHICLES/HOUR HealthLine5 minute minute3 912 minute minute4 TOTALA bus every 2.5 minutes in peak direction 24

Faster Travel Times n Coordinated traffic signals—maximizes traffic flows. l Continuous collection and transmission of traffic data across fiber optic lines from computers connected to an assortment of data- collection points. l City of Cleveland’s Traffic Control Center can modify signal operations based on data flow

Faster Travel Times n Exclusive right-of-way n Transit Vehicle Priority l Advanced GPS Opticom system will give BRT vehicles signal priority. l BRT given two opportunities per signal cycle for green phase. l Approaching BRT vehicles will advance the start of and/or delay the end of the BRT green phase.

Vehicle Monitoring n GPS based TransitMaster system l Updates vehicle locations every minute. l Displays schedule adherence information to vehicle operator. l Allows Integrated Communications Center to react and redirect vehicles to smooth schedule irregularities and adjust to emergency and unusual situations. Wireless LAN at Garages (schedule updates)

BRT Vehicles n ECTP is designed to accommodate the unique BRT Rapid Transit Vehicles (RTVs) that will operate on the HealthLine, as well as existing low-floor 40-foot buses between E. 22 nd and Stokes/Windemere RTS.

Improved Boarding Facilities n Expedited Boarding: l Low-floor vehicles l Fast-loading, ADA accessible, near-level platforms with minimal platform gap similar to rail. l Mechanical Docking provides uniform small gap while protecting platforms and vehicles from damage.

Improved Fare Collection n Off-board fare collection l Proof-of-Payment Fare System l Allows boarding through all doors. l Eliminates farebox queuing  Reduces dwell time

Minimizing Bus Bunching n Schedule coordination between the four BRT routes. n Stations designed to accommodate one HealthLine vehicle and one of the other BRT routes simultaneously. n If a station is occupied by two vehicles a third approaching vehicle will hold prior to entering intersection until the station is clear likely moving the third vehicle into the next traffic light cycle.

Projected Travel Time Savings n From Public Square to Windermere, peak hour travel time will be reduced from 46 to 34 minutes—a savings of 12 minutes or 25%

Early Operating Segments n Transit Zone l Rerouted Euclid Avenue services to new exclusive bus lanes – Nov n BRT – E. 17 th St. to E. 55 th St. l Began median operation – Nov n BRT E. 55 th St. to E. 83 rd St. l Began median operation – Apr

Transit Zone n Instructed Operators concerning exclusive lane usage. n Reoriented passengers to new downtown patterns. n Worked to educate public about new traffic patterns and exclusive bus lanes. n Transit Police began issuing parking and moving violation tickets.

What can go wrong, will go wrong! l 12 days after revised routes became effective, Public Square construction required major reroutes and stop relocations. l Police and court personnel ignored rush hour parking restrictions within St. Clair bus lanes adjacent to courthouse.

What can go wrong, will go wrong! l Bus volumes along Superior westbound during the evening rush, required passengers to board two buses (different routes) at each stop at the same time. Reorienting both Operators and customers that a bus could not stop twice at a stop was difficult. Failure to move two buses through each light cycle, created major bus lane jams.

BRT First Segments n Docking devices not yet available l Added steering guides to place buses near the platform without hitting the platform

BRT First Segments n Unauthorized vehicles operating in and across BRT right-of-way. l Added flexible delineators to prohibit restricted turns. l Revised “Bus Only” signs to better indicate exclusive lane. l Transit Police began ticketing vehicles operating improperly in BRT lanes.

Traffic Enforcement n Established ability for RTA Transit Police to issue traffic citations along the BRT and Transit Zones n Patrol areas daily ticketing vehicles improperly operating within the exclusive lanes as well as citing parked vehicles interfering with operations. n Revising pavement markings and signs to better inform other drivers of BRT and Transit Zone regulations.

Proof-of-Payment n Proof-of-Payment fare collection on l HealthLine l Other BRT service when within BRT corridor l Red Line Rapid Transit n All other services retain traditional on-board fare collection.

Proof-of-Payment n Fare vending machines will be installed at each station. n Passengers must purchase and/or validate tickets prior to boarding vehicles allowing use of all doors. n RTA Transit Police will monitor vehicles to ensure riders have paid.

Ticket Vending Machines Ticket vending machines will be installed at every HealthLine and Red Line station. n Regular l Dispenses single-fare tickets and day-passes only. l Validates multi-ride tickets by subtracting a ride.

Ticket Vending Machines Kiosk l Sells 7-day and monthly passes, multi-fare tickets as well as single-fare tickets and day- passes. l Validates multi-ride tickets by subtracting a ride. n Validator l Supplements TVMs and Kiosks at heavy boarding locations to validate multi-ride tickets by subtracting a ride.

Ticket Vending Machines n All HealthLine boarding locations are equipped with at least one TVM. n Heavy locations may have an additional TVM, Kiosk, and/or Validators to accommodate passenger volume. n In the event of TVM failure, passengers at stations without a redundant TVM will purchase tickets from farebox located on every RTV.

Low-volume times n During late evening and overnight passengers will insert tickets into farebox to verify ticket validity. n Transit Police will not examine tickets on the HealthLine during these hours.

Other BRT Routes n Passengers boarding Routes #7, #9, or #32 outside of the BRT corridor will insert fares/fare media in the farebox. n The farebox will validate multi-ride tickets, sell all-day passes, and issue a receipt for single-ride transactions.

Enforcement n Passengers must have a valid, validated ticket while on vehicle. n 23 part-time Transit Police officers will randomly board vehicles to examine passenger tickets. n Passengers without valid fare media will be issued a “Penalty Fare” notice.

Penalty Fare n RTA Board established a Penalty Fare equal to the cost of a month pass (currently $63.00.) n Riders not presenting valid, validated fare media when requested will be issued a notice of penalty fare. n All penalty fare recipients must provide name and address.

Penalty Fare n Riders failing to pay the penalty fare within seven days will be charged with a misdemeanor and processed through the court system. n Fare evaders with outstanding penalty fares or facing court action will not be issued a penalty fare notice but will be immediately charged.

RTV Maintenance Facilities n Hayden Bus Maintenance Facility l Base garage for HealthLine RTVs. l Performs all routine maintenance and inspections. n Central Bus Maintenance Facility l Performs overhauls and heavy maintenance. n Buildings and equipment modified to accommodate RTVs.

Facility Maintenance n Station Cleaning n Station Repair n Landscaping n Snow Removal

Facility Maintenance n Need to provide maintenance without obstructing either BRT or general traffic. l Only one general traffic lane in each direction. l Must work at night when both BRT and traffic volumes are light. l Requires maintenance of traffic measures including placing traffic signs and cones to block traffic lane adjacent to median platforms

Station Cleaning n HealthLine stations are swept and trash removed six nights/week utilizing two teams of two employees. n More intensive cleaning including washing all windows and pavement cleaning twice per week.

Station Repair n RTA employees perform basic repairs l Monthly inspections of all stations l Replacement of light bulbs l Replacement of damaged pavers

Station Repair n Stations much more vulnerable to damage than rail stations l Median operations require stations to be very close to traffic flows. l Street configuration did not allow for physical separation between BRT and traffic lanes.

Station Repair Establishing on-call contractors for: n Glass replacement l Tempered, laminated glass cannot be cut to size l Pieces too heavy to be handled with our maintenance equipment

Station Repair n Steel repairs l Damaged sections must be cut-out and replacement repair sections welded in place l Structures too large to be removed and repaired off-site.

Landscaping n Utilizing outside contractors for landscape maintenance.

Snow Removal n The City of Cleveland is responsible for removing snow from the bus lanes. n The RTA is responsible for keeping platforms clear of snow.

Snow Removal n Different than rail stations. l Access to platforms must be maintained at all times. l Difficult to plow snow adjacent to platforms— no place to push snow; fear of hitting platforms results in large gap.

Q & A Thank You!