Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Cuyahoga County, Ohio |
| Transit type |
Rapid transit Light rail Heavy rail Bus Bus rapid transit |
| Number of lines | 1 rapid transit: Red line 2 interurban/light rail: Blue line and Green line 1 light rail: Waterfront 60 bus routes: 2 Bus rapid transits 4 Freeway-Flyer |
| Number of stations | 18 rapid transit 34 light rail/interurban 6,000 bus stops including 1,200 shelters |
| Annual ridership | 47 million |
| Website | riderta |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | September 5, 1975 |
| Number of vehicles | 60 rapid transit cars 48 light rail cars 426 buses 80 ParaTransit shuttles 70 contracted ParaTransit vehicles |
| Technical | |
| System length | 37 miles (60 km) rail, 1,606 miles (2,585 km) bus routes |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (officially the GCRTA, but historically and locally referred to as the RTA) is the public transit agency for Cleveland, Ohio, United States and the surrounding suburbs of Cuyahoga County. RTA is the largest transit agency in Ohio, providing over 44 million trips to residents and visitors of the Cleveland area in 2010. RTA owns and operates the RTA Rapid Transit rail system (called "The Rapid" by area residents), which consists of one heavy rail line (the Red Line) and two interurban light rail lines (the Blue, Green and light-rail Waterfront extension line). The bulk of RTA's service consists of buses, including regular routes, express or flyer buses, loop and paratransit buses. In December 2004, RTA adopted a revised master plan, Transit 2025, in which several rail extensions, bus line improvements and transit oriented developments are discussed.
RTA's major predecessor, the Cleveland Transit System, was the first transit system in the western hemisphere to provide direct rapid transit service from a city's downtown to its major airport.
In 2007, RTA was named the best public transit system in North America by the American Public Transportation Association, for "demonstrating achievement in efficiency and effectiveness."
The GCRTA was established December 30, 1974, and on September 5, 1975 assumed control of the Cleveland Transit System, which operated the heavy rail line from Windermere to Cleveland Hopkins Airport and the local bus systems, and Shaker Heights Rapid Transit (the descendant of a separate streetcar system formed by the Van Sweringen brothers to serve their Shaker Heights development), which operated the two interurban light rail lines from downtown to Shaker Heights. CTS had been formed when the city of Cleveland took over the old Cleveland Railway Company. However, with Cleveland's dwindling population over the previous two decades, its revenue dwindled significantly. The problem really manifested itself with a 17-day strike in July 1970. City and county leaders concluded that a regional approach was the only way to save it.
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