Euclid Corridor Transportation Project BRT Workshop

1. Euclid Corridor Transportation ProjectBRT Workshop July 22, 2008 HealthLineOperations

2. ECTP Project Goals • Improve service to GCRTA customers • Increased service frequency and transit efficiency • Reduced congestion in and adjacent to the Euclid Corridor by providing a more efficient roadway and bus distribution system • Reduced travel time • Inclusion of customer amenities 2

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

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

5. ECTP Major Elements • HealthLine (Euclid Avenue BRT) • Connects the region’s two major employment centers, Cleveland’s Central Business District and University Circle, with the Stokes/Windermere RTS in East Cleveland. Stokes/Windermere UniversityCircle Downtown

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

8. Transit Zone Features

9. HealthLine Service Frequency • Five-minute weekday peak • 10-minute mid-day • 15-minute evenings and weekends

10. Peak Hour Operations

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

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

13. Vehicle Monitoring • GPS based TransitMaster system • Updates vehicle locations every minute. • Displays schedule adherence information to vehicle operator. • 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)

14. BRT Vehicles • 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. 22nd and Stokes/Windemere RTS.

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

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

17. Minimizing Bus Bunching • Schedule coordination between the four BRT routes. • Stations designed to accommodate one HealthLine vehicle and one of the other BRT routes simultaneously . • 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.

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

19. Early Operating Segments • Transit Zone • Rerouted Euclid Avenue services to new exclusive bus lanes – Nov. 2005. • BRT – E. 17th St. to E. 55th St. • Began median operation – Nov. 2007. • BRT E. 55th St. to E. 83rd St. • Began median operation – Apr. 2008.

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

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

22. What can go wrong, will go wrong! • 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.

23. BRT First Segments • Docking devices not yet available • Added steering guides to place buses near the platform without hitting the platform

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

37. Facility Maintenance • Station Cleaning • Station Repair • Landscaping • Snow Removal

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

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

40. Station Repair • RTA employees perform basic repairs • Monthly inspections of all stations • Replacement of light bulbs • Replacement of damaged pavers

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

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

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

44. Landscaping • Utilizing outside contractors for landscape maintenance.

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

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

47. Q & A Thank You!