Advocates want HealthLine improvements with ridership down
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The HealthLine in action. Photo: Courtesy GCRTA
When the RTA HealthLine launched on Euclid Avenue in 2008 as the city's first Bus Rapid Transit line, it promised "rail-like convenience with the flexibility of a bus."
Yes, but: Virtually all of the features that made it the best BRT line in North America in 2013 have faded, and ridership has diminished accordingly.
Flashback: Buses once departed every five minutes during rush hour and riders paid before they boarded, just like on the Rapid.
- Dedicated lanes and traffic-signal priority meant the journey from Public Square to East Cleveland, or vice versa, took a fraction of the time spent on a normal city bus.
Friction point: A Cleveland judge ruled in 2017 that RTA's armed fare enforcement method was unconstitutional, and the HealthLine's efficiency cratered in the aftermath.
- Riders have since had to pay at the front or show their passes to the driver.
The latest: The grassroots transit advocacy organization Clevelanders for Public Transit rallied on Public Square Saturday, calling on RTA to restore these features and to implement them in planned BRT routes on West 25th Street, Broadway Avenue and Lorain Avenue.
By the numbers: Annual ridership peaked at 5.1 million in 2014 and has been steadily falling since the 2017 decision, even before the pandemic.
- 2017: 4.2 million; 2018: 3.7 million; 2019: 2.6 million; ... 2023: 1.7million.
The last word: "Restoring the HealthLine would be a first step to demonstrate GCRTA's commitment to high-quality service, true bus-rapid-transit design, and the riders of Greater Cleveland," said Jenna Thomas, vice chair of Clevelanders for Public Transit.