75X route changes criticized
By Jeff Gallatin
Westshore
Published Oct. 1, 2008

Area municipal officials are attempting to step in front of the bus and stop the 75X North Olmsted Bus route from changing a route to downtown into a feeder to the West Park rapid station.

RTA will end direct service to downtown Cleveland via the 75X route, which will stop at the West Shore Rapid Station beginning Nov. 2.

North Olmsted Mayor Thomas O’Grady has sent a letter to and met briefly with Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Director Joe Calabrese to protest the plans to turn the 75X into a feeder and discontinue its more than 75 years of service from the western suburbs to downtown Cleveland. In the newest service changes and cuts put out by RTA to deal with its rising costs and area residents concerns about the initial proposed cuts, the 75X would discontinue its service to downtown and be strictly a feeder route. It also would provide the late night service to Fairview Hospital, Brookpark Station and Hopkins International Airport.

O’Grady said he sent the letter on behalf of himself and Fairview Park Mayor Eileen Patton, saying both cities and the region would be “greatly affected” by the service change. He asked RTA to hold a public meeting on the changes in North Olmsted.

“I feel that your proposed change to the historic 75X North Olmsted route from operating service to and from downtown into a paid transit feeder route will spell the beginning of the end,” O’Grady said in a letter sent to the RTA CEO last week. “Remember this is the route that began the North Olmsted Municipal Bus Line in 1931. This route provided Fairview Park and North Olmsted residents with direct bus service on Lorain Road with the discontinuation of the interurban line. I believe the envisioned change will cause ridership to drop drastically since passengers dislike transfers, losing their seats, coordinating with another transit line and extra time traveling.”

Calabrese said RTA data shows people should continue to use the line despite the change.

“Feeder routes have worked on other lines and also have begun working in this area,” he said. “These type of routes do work in getting people to their destination.”

He said actual ridership was also a consideration.

“If the buses were full all the time, we certainly would have considered that,” he said. “We have had to make cuts even with the additional shift in funds to RTA and other transit agencies around the state.”

Calabrese said he would meet with the public about the change, but would prefer to do it after the changes take effect in early November.

“I like meeting with our riders,” Calabrese said. “We’ve made changes before based on public meetings. I’d prefer to do it in this case afterwards to discuss how the changes are working out. At this point, I don’t see these changing because if we change them again, then we’ll have to cut somewhere else.”

O’Grady and other officials said they have concerns about the overall concept of turning major routes in feeder lines for the rapid transit.

“Why would you take away a direct route to downtown when we are experiencing major issues in transportation like rising fuel costs and ability to get to downtown in the quickest, most efficient way possible?” asked Nicole Dailey Jones, chairwoman of North Olmsted City Council’s Streets and Transportation Committee. “It really doesn’t make sense because a lot of people depend on it for timely transportation.”

O’Grady said he has the same concerns about the 87F Westwood I-90 and 96F Butternut-Hilliard becoming feeder routes.

“It’s the same idea and I’m afraid rush hour commuter passengers will simply stop riding since there is no direct route bus route to downtown with these changes,” he said. “I’m afraid the routes will be gone in a few years.”

Bay Village Mayor Debbie Sutherland said she’s glad area officials switched federal transportation funds to area transit agencies after Gov. Ted Strickland said the move should be made but said long-term solutions still must be found.

“We appreciate NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency) shifting the funds but we still need to find ways of paying for a strong public transportation system in future years,” Sutherland said.

On the Web:

• Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA)