At first I thought this was a Miles in Transit video and I wondered who could be more excitable then him. The I realised he was the guest you were referring to. 😂 He is very talkative on his own vids. 👍
I took the Healthline daily for 9 months in 2018 to get to work in East Cleveland. You’re right - the Healthline is not “rapid” transit because it shares the road with traffic, but the buses reliably came every 10 minutes when I was riding it, which is really great for a city that is Cleveland’s size. More broadly, the Healthline should be praised for advancing equity: its route connects areas that were historically redlined and have lower incomes today with areas of employment, healthcare, colleges, and cultural amenities.
@@Milo-nq9ep Actually it WAS built for rear door (and all door) entry. But a local judge decided that having policemen to check fares was unconstitutional.
I drove last weekend from Columbus JUST to ride the red line from Brookpark to Tower City and explore downtown. I wish we had some good rail and bus service here in Columbus.
As a "local" (I go to school in cleveland, you actually first boarded the healthline right next to my film school!) I've been wholly dependent on the RTA for the last year and have some thoughts on the video. Firstly, yes you are supposed to walk upfront to pay your fares on the healthline, it ends up causing some serious delays during rush hour where people all line up to pay their fare. There are groups pushing for all door boarding but so far nothing has been done. Secondly, this isn't the only "BRT" on the network. Per RTAs website, the 55 "Cleveland State Line" is considered a BRT by their standards. I take the 55 Daily, it's a BRT that runs every 15 minutes during rush hour 30 minutes during off peak and hourly after 7pm on weekdays (weekends it's not considered BRT). There's rush hour direction bus lanes at peak hours on a small stretch of the route, and they run custom wrapped buses but besides that it's probably one of the poorest excuses for BRT I've ever seen, but they do technically call it that. Thanks for visiting cleveland, hope you enjoyed your time in the city!
As a Clevelander who has traveled to all 50 states, I can say that I am proud of our system. We actually have one of the better systems in the US. The Healthline alone passes Playhouse Square which is the second largest theater district outside of NY. It takes you to two hospitals that are ranked some of the best in the world(Cleveland Clinic exist in Florida and Dubai). Not alone the historical cemetery who as someone else commented has several prominent figures buried there like Garrett Morgan(inventor of the traffic light). Cleveland was also the first city to have a train connect downtown to its' airport. By the way, when you were waiting for the bus at the beginning of the line in Public Square, you were not only in front of our downtown mall, you were standing in front of where a scene from the movie "The Christmas Story" was shot. Like anything, it can be improved, but overall, if you want to get pretty much anywhere, there is a train or bus that will get you there.
problem is RTA is a county agency, which isn't actually run by the county either. It's a layer of a layer, or a sublayer of government. They have taxing authority and answer to almost no one. Look at the top people there.. they are all former politicians and government workers from other bureaucracies. We keep paying, so who cares if it's done right.
I’m a student at Cleveland State University and take the Healthline pretty frequently. I thought this is a pretty accurate analysis of it, as RTA definitely overhypes the Healthline. I mean I think the Healthline is great in all (better than a regular local bus) but that being said the fact that the signal priority is clearly disabled between Public Square and E. 9th and takes forever on that stretch and that all door boarding is non-existent on this ‘rapid line’ leaves a lot to be desired. Just some simple improvements could speed things up and make service a lot better yet for some reason nothing is done. Well, “it could be worse though, at least we're not…. Detroit.” Also, for a future video if you guys want to see some truly terrible “BRT” you have to see the MetroHealth line on Cleveland’s west side and the Cmax line in Columbus.
The "MetroHealth Line" first of all is bizarrely named since there's already a "Health Line" first off. Also it's only BRT in the sense that there was some federal funding for it that had the term "BRT" in the grant proposal. :-) It's a regular bus! That's all!
@@markw.schumann297 Yea agreed. It's a regular old bus with some spray painted shelters, branded buses and yet for some bizzare reason RTA considered it "BRT". Its an ok bus route, just not remotely BRT.
East Sider here, the Healthline varies for me. For the most part it's consistent with it's frequency but it's definitely given more credit than it deserves.
Tried the Healthline this winter and it was definitely interesting. You're supposed to verify passes at the front. Additionally, someone said they turned back on the signal priority but that was not what I experienced. However, I will give it to them for running 24/7
I agree the Pittsburgh BRT is more like what I think a BRT should be. It is grade separated and has well designed stations. Like you said what’s the advantage of off bus fare collection if you have to go to the front of the bus and scan the fare card there. There should be a fare card reader at each loading door or just have fare checks done at random like some transit systems do.
There could be cheap median high quality lanes in New York on a lot of roads. Sadly, in Cleveland, it takes 44 minutes on BRT, 33 minutes with signal priority. (Traffic takes 47 minutes) Some BRT creep here. Pittsburgh probably got points taken off for no off board fare collection. Cleveland might get points taken off for bad color of bus lanes and only going to 105th Street
There are a lot more ppl buried in that cemetery, Elliot Ness, Garrett A Morgan and others. Also you enter the bus at the first door and pay there. Also we have a pretty robust transit system. Ride the rapids next time
this reminds me of the SBX in san bernardino, it has well-built stations and dedicated center-running lanes but the fare collection is confusing, at least to me when i visited
As a Roman Catholic it’s nice seeing churches served. In the area I live in there’s a bus stop right in front of my local church, however it’s served every day as the church is in an urban area and so commuters use it to get into NYC, but I do see a couple of people after Sunday Mass catching the bus to go where they need to go to.
@@ClassyWhale nothing specific, “evangelical” is the style of church I go to but im wouldn’t specially put myself under that umbrella, what about you classy?
I actually saw those stations on Euclid Ave during myt trip to Cleveland and I didn't see too much activity around those parts (maybe because it was the weekend). Cleveland's RTA needs a revamp, they have an entire line the Waterfront Line which services the Flats and the First Energy Stadium which has been closed for over a year & half now. They really need to get their shit together! I did enjoy the metro to the airport which is the best part of the system.
The ridership has been dwindling from about 1.5 million riders a day in 1946 when it was a city-only system to 50,000 a day last year across the whole region. Even in 1980 it was carrying 400,000 a day across the region.
6:39 I will not accept this Garfield slander. He was a Civil War hero, playing a prominent role in the Battle of Chickamauga, and would likely have been an incredibly good president had he not been assassinated.
yes usually a RAPID bus service is supposed to just let people board from ANY door and not have to scan their bus pass to make it run faster. periodically, transit officers might board to spot check that everyone riding has a pass, and if not, fine them. so its strange that passengers yelled at you to scan your pass.
This brt is the most metro-tram like system I've ever seen. Even the buses have doors on both sides! You don't see that on Select Bus or other brts for that matter.
3:50 I'm sorry, but I have no idea where the idea that 15 minute headways are "frequent" come from. 15 minutes is a long time, and might be acceptable for an individual service pattern on a highly branched system, but not for a trunk like this. 10 minutes should be the bare minimum of "frequent" for an individual service pattern, but is it really frequent if its headway has more than 1 digit?
When I hear the word "Christian" my brain goes to those nut job televangelists like Kit Kerr, Jim Bakker, and Kenneth Copeland; and jerks like Ron DeSantis, Lauren Boehbert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Yet y'all seem like cool guys instesd.
We actually have 3 BRT lines in here in Cleveland, but only 2 of them run with 60ft buses. We have the Healthline, the Cleveland State Line (known as 55 running from CSU to North Olmsted & 55B/C during rush hour to Westlake/Bay Village) and the MetroHealth Line (51, 51A & 53, 53A). The Healthline was the original but I wouldn't ride it past Mayfield Rd, it goes into East Cleveland which is not the best neighborhood. The health line just replaced the route 6 Euclid Ave and we even used to have a 6A back until the mid 90's that ended at University Rapid Station. Overall Cleveland has one of the best systems, you can pretty much get anywhere in Cuyahoga County in about an hour. I'm local to Lakewood and I have the 26/26A which runs every 15 mins, and most other buses run every 30 minutes except a select few which run every hour. Weekends are a little different. I have friends that work at RTA and they are phasing out the 60ft buses except the Healthline. They're crap buses and hard to repair. There's just 2 garages Triskett (West Side but includes east side routes 2, 16 & 90) & Hayden (East Side). Prior to 2005, there was also Brooklyn Garage, Harvard Garage and also North Olmsted & Maple Heights had their own transit systems.
The York Region Transit BRT system is absolute clown tier, literal multibillion dollar infrastructure investments for routes with greater than 20 minute headways, and in some cases worse service than what GO Transit provided in the late 90s.
Thank you, this was a great video of your journey on the Healthline bus service. It looks like it was something that was started but yet is not, as yet, complete. It would have great potential in the future. The Sunday only stop is a most unusual idea, churches, I have been to have had services during the week and other meetings too. It may be that there are other places to visit or maybe people live in the vicinity of the church on days other than Sunday. It was great that you met up with Miles in Transit.
@@ClassyWhale I work at the Cleveland botanical garden, and sometimes I go to lunch in the area at 5:08! There are a few great places around that area!
What a fun video! Just a quick point, some the Healthline buses are actually CNG-powered (not hybrid), including the Xcelsiors that you took. Sadly I figured this out at 5:13 when you can hear that Allison since I'm a freakin' dork, but that's my own fault.
I regularly used the Healthline(#6) for about a year in 2012-3. At that time, all 3 right side doors were used for boarding, and it was an "honor system" kind of deal. Everybody just piled in and sat down. The RTA cops would roam through every once in a while (not very often) and ask to see your ticket. If you didn't have one they escorted you off the bus and issued a $99 ticket. That all changed a few years ago, well after I stopped using that route.
I'm from East Cleveland. I'm just glad you guys weren't around that area at night...... you guys kinda stick out like a sore thumb. I hope you guys remain safe and careful out there. Good video!
St. Louis had a busway when they converted the Hodiamont line to bus and paved the ROW. The route was canceled like 10 years ago because the neighborhood had disintegrated.
RTA is definitely kind of a weird system, but something about their graphic design just really works for me. Man if I used that bus daily for commuting I would get so, so sick of hearing about the Resting Place of James Garfield, 20th President of the United States
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the Red Line in Indianapolis! It runs in BRT lanes for more than 50% of it's route, but runs in mixed traffic on the South side of the city due to RoW restrictions.
The bronze, silver, and gold rankings aren't subjective. They're based on which specific features a line has or doesn't have. The MLK Busway in Pittsburgh is very speedy because it's essentially a two-lane freeway for buses, but it doesn't have BRT features because it wasn't designed as BRT. On the contrary, it's designed to be used by conventional buses that run conventional routes in outlying areas, then get downtown quickly via the busway. That alone pretty much precludes it from being highly rated as BRT despite its considerable merits. Not explaining that to your viewers makes you sound ignorant, at least to me.
So is a grade separated BRT actually good? It seems that only really makes sense if there's like a population center, and then a large gap where no one would ever want to get on or off, and then another population/destination center. Genuine question. Not saying I'm wowed by the Health Line, but I don't see what's so great about the Pittsburgh line?
Ottawa has had a lot of success with that style of BRT. A rider could get on a bus on a suburban street and that bus would enter the transitway and give them a single seat ride to downtown...that was before the transitway was converted to LRT.
The Pittsburgh busways are kind of like that, not because the population centers are spaced out horizontally but because they are spaced out vertically. The west busway and south busway even go underground for some portions
There's no way this system is better than Pittsburgh's busways. The East Busway is a masterpiece of medium city transit infrastructure! I am also a biased PA resident... Still though, as most North American transit, it could be worse, but it could be better. It seemed to have ridership, which is good to see.
OMG CLEVELAND MY CITY :) I went to college at Case Western, so I am well versed in it. They generally expect you to get on the front and people pay on board, so it is so sloww. I get annoyed with that even on local routes (bus 9), you still hear about the "museum stop". It gets a bit old haha
@@ClassyWhale eccentric anti establishment figure. he did graphic novels about his life. was on Letterman a few times in 80s some where he Dave got angry at him. there was film staring Paul Giamatti 'American Splendor' that was mostly filmed in Lakewood
If I recall these bogus ITBE standards place a lot of priority on off-board payment in the ranking, of course this could hardly be called off board payment when you got to walk to the front of the bus to swipe. Amount of busway and bus lanes should be the basis for rankings.
The scoring was done before they shut off the signal priority and off-board fare payment. If the HealthLine got rated in its current form, it'd probably be downgraded to Basic, barely making the minimum requirements.
The Healthline certainly isn't the best-executed BRT system around, but I appreciate its route. To add to xavieryozwiak5508's comment about the Healthline's reliability and connection of historically redlined communities, it also serves as a valuable connection between Downtown Cleveland and the University Circle neighborhood's Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic (one of the best hospitals in the nation), Severance Hall (where the Cleveland Orchestra performs, which is consistently ranked among the very top symphonies in the country), Cleveland Museum of Art (which is often ranked as one of the top art museums in the nation), and the Cleveland Institute of Art and Cleveland Institute of Music. Cleveland State University is also right along the route. It really does connect valuable areas in the city, and it also provides service to neighborhoods that have historically been marginalized and redlined. I wish there would be some more investment in the Healthline as well as signal priority to set it apart as a true BRT system.
@@ClassyWhale Totally. Rail’s ability to be separate from road traffic and faster than it while still maintaining fairly frequent stops would do so much to connect the served areas better and improve ridership. Cleveland is quite fast and easy to drive, especially on Euclid Ave, so having a system that’s actually faster than driving could really incentivize transit use.
I like Miles’ channel. Anyway, BRT is a freaking joke. Other than fancy decals and off board fare payment, there’s no difference between a BRT and a standard limited stop bus. I’ll use an example. I’ve used the Q44 bus in NYC back when it was a limited stop bus and when it became a Select Bus route. There’s a marginal difference in travel time. The Select Bus gets stuck in traffic just like the limited used to. Yes, off board payment helps. However, it’s negated by the fact that you may arrive at the stop right as the bus is arriving. You have to quickly purchase the pass before the bus departs. The only way a BRT would work is if there was a physical barrier (like the Exclusive Bus Lane on I-495 leading to the Lincoln Tunnel). And in a downtown area, that wouldn’t be practical.
I live in Cleveland, RTA sucks, 24/7 365! If my job was closer I would walk to work! Busses are not regularly cleaned and a lot of the drivers clearly despise or hate their customers. Screw RTA!
No one is going to read all of this. So. As a driver of the GCRTA system I agree with everything stated. Basically. However it is subjective. 1) Some drivers do clean their bus at the end of the line prior to beginning the next part of the route. If passengers insist on boarding during that time frame? Doesn't happen. We are required to walk the coach and pick up large visible trash. Many don't and this isn't enforced. It's my workspace so I clean mine. Passengers seem less rowdy with a clean fresh smelling bus. 2) Many drivers are conversational and will share their "last night events" with you. We are only required to assist anyone with RTA related information. If you had a driver that's a talker on one bus don't expect it from another. That's clearly situational and individual based but we are REQUIRED to assist you not entertain. Yes a greeting is appropriate but I remain baffled at someone wanting another whose safety is in their hands to chat it up. I used to be told by passengers "Shut up and drive" or "get the number and talk to them later, drive" that now that I do that? I'm rude or something... You're blaming a system of drivers on the few you've encountered. Not taking into account the constant aggregation thrown at us by disgruntled passengers that has nothing to do with the bus operations like love issues financial issues their health problems so on... alongside a group of supervisors who are incompetent? Sorry for your experience. But no matter how much one claims to hate RTA I'd be hard press you find a system that literally covers as much of the county as we do.
What I mentioned on another video: The inside scoop was that the head of Cleveland's transit system wanted to get known as the BRT guy in transit circles, so he put in the HealthLine to make a name for himself. Any passenger service is pretty much not important.
@@grahamturner2640 I know they had the bus for a while but only recently did they have self driving. There’s a video on it if you search it. It even has “tracks” like a train but it’s a new flyer 60’ articulated!
If I understand correctly, BRT rankings are based almost entirely on infrastructure. Cleveland scores higher for off board fare collection. And from what you showed, it seems like the infrastructure is there to have a pretty good system. The operation is just bad.
The Healthline never had true signal priority as it was cut due to cost overruns. Instead, it opened with significantly longer light cycles favoring Euclid Ave, which made crossing Euclid in a car or another bus line a major headache. The summer prior to my last semester at Cleveland State I had a job conducting surveys on the line and most riders hated it and didn't see any benefits over the bus line it replaced.
I feel like Cleveland's RTA just sort of bought the fancy "bendy" busses that are meant for BRT and put them on regular bus routes. yeah, there is that one section of the Health Line that has dedicated bus lanes but what good is it if they disabled the traffic signal priority?
@@ClassyWhale I heard it would be opening in late 2023. And except for Browns games people don't really care about it or use it. It literally ends in a parking lot. Recently, I heard some local groups propose extending the Waterfront Line into downtown loop back to Tower City. Hopefully, that will eventually get off the ground.
Wait a minute... 59 stops in 6 miles, that's like a stop every 500 feet! And this is "Silver"??? Unless you're counting each stop on each side of the road separate, that's still one every 1,000 feet. So yeah, definitely Barely "Rapid Transit"! 🙄
ITDP's standards on what qualify as good BRT are sometimes pretty backwards. They think having fare gates is the most optimal station design... For buses. Definitely take everything they say with a grain of salt, even if some of their standards make pretty obvious sense.
They use to board at all doors with out paying on the bus but they got sued because people were riding without fares and they were minorities and got caught
I think people who want rail should support BRT. BRT is a viable and CHEAP form of public transit, and if more people use it, I think cities will have no choice but to upgrade from BRT to light rail or even a subway.
It is amusing that churches are very often overlooked when it comes to transit discussion, unless it’s a touristy European cathedral. Granted that different churches have a wide range of use patterns throughout the week, but many churches co-locate schools, daycares, offices, charitable services, soup kitchens, etc all in one place. There’s clearly something being overlooked by excluding churches from the discussion entirely.
man, that guest of yours was nuts
Crazy bloke
At first I thought this was a Miles in Transit video and I wondered who could be more excitable then him. The I realised he was the guest you were referring to. 😂 He is very talkative on his own vids. 👍
And you really like him but that’s just me
I took the Healthline daily for 9 months in 2018 to get to work in East Cleveland. You’re right - the Healthline is not “rapid” transit because it shares the road with traffic, but the buses reliably came every 10 minutes when I was riding it, which is really great for a city that is Cleveland’s size. More broadly, the Healthline should be praised for advancing equity: its route connects areas that were historically redlined and have lower incomes today with areas of employment, healthcare, colleges, and cultural amenities.
@@mwhite4764oh Lord…
The secret to understanding the healthline is that it was good when it opened. Years ago. And now it's not good.
Also yeah it wasn't built for rear-door entry even though people clearly can do that. In unrelated news fare evasion is super high on RTA
BRT creep, yeah, just keep it on the down low
@@Milo-nq9ep Actually it WAS built for rear door (and all door) entry. But a local judge decided that having policemen to check fares was unconstitutional.
I drive the bus here in Cleveland. It just amaze me how people come from out of town to survey our transit system
I drove last weekend from Columbus JUST to ride the red line from Brookpark to Tower City and explore downtown. I wish we had some good rail and bus service here in Columbus.
@@Davidgon100Clevelander here, I've honestly didn't like how car dependent CBus was. Cool place though.
I come there from toledo to ride transit and feel what a real city is like
That riff on the Cleveland tourism videos was a thing of beauty.
Just wait for next week
Omg, I knew I recognized that part from somewhere lol, haven’t seen that video in ages
@@Acidlib "At least we're not Detroit!"
"... still not Detroit!"
As a "local" (I go to school in cleveland, you actually first boarded the healthline right next to my film school!) I've been wholly dependent on the RTA for the last year and have some thoughts on the video. Firstly, yes you are supposed to walk upfront to pay your fares on the healthline, it ends up causing some serious delays during rush hour where people all line up to pay their fare. There are groups pushing for all door boarding but so far nothing has been done. Secondly, this isn't the only "BRT" on the network. Per RTAs website, the 55 "Cleveland State Line" is considered a BRT by their standards. I take the 55 Daily, it's a BRT that runs every 15 minutes during rush hour 30 minutes during off peak and hourly after 7pm on weekdays (weekends it's not considered BRT). There's rush hour direction bus lanes at peak hours on a small stretch of the route, and they run custom wrapped buses but besides that it's probably one of the poorest excuses for BRT I've ever seen, but they do technically call it that. Thanks for visiting cleveland, hope you enjoyed your time in the city!
As a Clevelander who has traveled to all 50 states, I can say that I am proud of our system. We actually have one of the better systems in the US. The Healthline alone passes Playhouse Square which is the second largest theater district outside of NY. It takes you to two hospitals that are ranked some of the best in the world(Cleveland Clinic exist in Florida and Dubai). Not alone the historical cemetery who as someone else commented has several prominent figures buried there like Garrett Morgan(inventor of the traffic light). Cleveland was also the first city to have a train connect downtown to its' airport. By the way, when you were waiting for the bus at the beginning of the line in Public Square, you were not only in front of our downtown mall, you were standing in front of where a scene from the movie "The Christmas Story" was shot. Like anything, it can be improved, but overall, if you want to get pretty much anywhere, there is a train or bus that will get you there.
I saw Cleveland Clinic in London when I was there
Public transport is really easy to fix. Everybody in City Hall must commute by public transit to get to work. Within a month, it’ll be working good.
problem is RTA is a county agency, which isn't actually run by the county either. It's a layer of a layer, or a sublayer of government. They have taxing authority and answer to almost no one. Look at the top people there.. they are all former politicians and government workers from other bureaucracies. We keep paying, so who cares if it's done right.
There was barely any traffic on the brt section because all the cars use Chester ave which is like a highway with intersections everywhere
I’m a student at Cleveland State University and take the Healthline pretty frequently. I thought this is a pretty accurate analysis of it, as RTA definitely overhypes the Healthline. I mean I think the Healthline is great in all (better than a regular local bus) but that being said the fact that the signal priority is clearly disabled between Public Square and E. 9th and takes forever on that stretch and that all door boarding is non-existent on this ‘rapid line’ leaves a lot to be desired. Just some simple improvements could speed things up and make service a lot better yet for some reason nothing is done. Well, “it could be worse though, at least we're not…. Detroit.”
Also, for a future video if you guys want to see some truly terrible “BRT” you have to see the MetroHealth line on Cleveland’s west side and the Cmax line in Columbus.
The "MetroHealth Line" first of all is bizarrely named since there's already a "Health Line" first off.
Also it's only BRT in the sense that there was some federal funding for it that had the term "BRT" in the grant proposal. :-) It's a regular bus! That's all!
@@markw.schumann297 Yea agreed. It's a regular old bus with some spray painted shelters, branded buses and yet for some bizzare reason RTA considered it "BRT". Its an ok bus route, just not remotely BRT.
Per the RTA website the only BRT are the HealthLine and the Cleveland State Line. The MetroHealth Line is not BRT
East Sider here, the Healthline varies for me. For the most part it's consistent with it's frequency but it's definitely given more credit than it deserves.
I think I took the metro health line (51?) Last time I was in Cleveland and I wouldn't have even guessed that was any different than a normal bus
Tried the Healthline this winter and it was definitely interesting. You're supposed to verify passes at the front. Additionally, someone said they turned back on the signal priority but that was not what I experienced. However, I will give it to them for running 24/7
🎶 Fun times in Cleveland again (still Cleveland)🎶
I agree the Pittsburgh BRT is more like what I think a BRT should be. It is grade separated and has well designed stations. Like you said what’s the advantage of off bus fare collection if you have to go to the front of the bus and scan the fare card there. There should be a fare card reader at each loading door or just have fare checks done at random like some transit systems do.
Honestly you coud get dedicaed trains in that right of way.
No farecard reader pove of paymet.
There could be cheap median high quality lanes in New York on a lot of roads. Sadly, in Cleveland, it takes 44 minutes on BRT, 33 minutes with signal priority. (Traffic takes 47 minutes) Some BRT creep here. Pittsburgh probably got points taken off for no off board fare collection. Cleveland might get points taken off for bad color of bus lanes and only going to 105th Street
Just an FYI, the buses are no longer Diesel Hybrids. The NFI DE62LFA's were retired in early 2022. These new XN60's are powered by CNG.
There are a lot more ppl buried in that cemetery, Elliot Ness, Garrett A Morgan and others. Also you enter the bus at the first door and pay there. Also we have a pretty robust transit system. Ride the rapids next time
that cemetery is awesome, Elliot Ness and J Paul Getty Buried there as well. Also there is a Tiffiny designed Chapel. I love that line, btw
this reminds me of the SBX in san bernardino, it has well-built stations and dedicated center-running lanes but the fare collection is confusing, at least to me when i visited
As a Roman Catholic it’s nice seeing churches served. In the area I live in there’s a bus stop right in front of my local church, however it’s served every day as the church is in an urban area and so commuters use it to get into NYC, but I do see a couple of people after Sunday Mass catching the bus to go where they need to go to.
A fellow Christian urbanist, nice to hear!
Eyy! What denomination, if you don't mind my asking?
@@ClassyWhale nothing specific, “evangelical” is the style of church I go to but im wouldn’t specially put myself under that umbrella, what about you classy?
@@sammymarrco2 raised Presbyterian, still influenced by that but not in lockstep with the denomination on the finer points
I actually saw those stations on Euclid Ave during myt trip to Cleveland and I didn't see too much activity around those parts (maybe because it was the weekend). Cleveland's RTA needs a revamp, they have an entire line the Waterfront Line which services the Flats and the First Energy Stadium which has been closed for over a year & half now. They really need to get their shit together! I did enjoy the metro to the airport which is the best part of the system.
The Waterfront Line has been closed because of a crack in one of the bridge structures along the right-of-way.
@@thedoeguy That's still no excuse. What if you relied on that line to get to work? These repairs should be expedited.
The ridership has been dwindling from about 1.5 million riders a day in 1946 when it was a city-only system to 50,000 a day last year across the whole region. Even in 1980 it was carrying 400,000 a day across the region.
@@jonw999999 2000 they were carring 200k. Red line back then had 3 services but in 50s and 60s it had 4 services with the express
I love down town Cleveland
6:39 hastily made Cleveland tourism
6:39 I will not accept this Garfield slander. He was a Civil War hero, playing a prominent role in the Battle of Chickamauga, and would likely have been an incredibly good president had he not been assassinated.
As a bus driver this kind of irked me but then more so i respected you guys viewpoints and opinions!!!
yes usually a RAPID bus service is supposed to just let people board from ANY door and not have to scan their bus pass to make it run faster. periodically, transit officers might board to spot check that everyone riding has a pass, and if not, fine them. so its strange that passengers yelled at you to scan your pass.
Miles didn’t do his research😅😂
I see were continuing the list of people that didn’t do the research. First Jared, then the man in seat 61, then miles
Now rewatching this, That’s not a hybrid-electric bus. It’s a CNG Bus
This brt is the most metro-tram like system I've ever seen. Even the buses have doors on both sides! You don't see that on Select Bus or other brts for that matter.
Offload fare collection is available at a few locations in Pittsburgh, such as Atwood station.
3:50 I'm sorry, but I have no idea where the idea that 15 minute headways are "frequent" come from. 15 minutes is a long time, and might be acceptable for an individual service pattern on a highly branched system, but not for a trunk like this. 10 minutes should be the bare minimum of "frequent" for an individual service pattern, but is it really frequent if its headway has more than 1 digit?
Hey, a fellow Christian who cares about cities, transit, and the well-being of others. Let’s be friends.
Hey! I love your content. Shoot me an email, I'd love to collab in the future :)
@@ClassyWhale will do! Do you have Instagram by any chance?
@@Thom-TRA sure, instagram.com/calebtheclassywhale?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=
@@ClassyWhale As Christian as well. I think great transit with great service, housing and places where all can thrive should be high priorities.
When I hear the word "Christian" my brain goes to those nut job televangelists like Kit Kerr, Jim Bakker, and Kenneth Copeland; and jerks like Ron DeSantis, Lauren Boehbert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Yet y'all seem like cool guys instesd.
We actually have 3 BRT lines in here in Cleveland, but only 2 of them run with 60ft buses. We have the Healthline, the Cleveland State Line (known as 55 running from CSU to North Olmsted & 55B/C during rush hour to Westlake/Bay Village) and the MetroHealth Line (51, 51A & 53, 53A). The Healthline was the original but I wouldn't ride it past Mayfield Rd, it goes into East Cleveland which is not the best neighborhood. The health line just replaced the route 6 Euclid Ave and we even used to have a 6A back until the mid 90's that ended at University Rapid Station.
Overall Cleveland has one of the best systems, you can pretty much get anywhere in Cuyahoga County in about an hour. I'm local to Lakewood and I have the 26/26A which runs every 15 mins, and most other buses run every 30 minutes except a select few which run every hour. Weekends are a little different. I have friends that work at RTA and they are phasing out the 60ft buses except the Healthline. They're crap buses and hard to repair. There's just 2 garages Triskett (West Side but includes east side routes 2, 16 & 90) & Hayden (East Side). Prior to 2005, there was also Brooklyn Garage, Harvard Garage and also North Olmsted & Maple Heights had their own transit systems.
The York Region Transit BRT system is absolute clown tier, literal multibillion dollar infrastructure investments for routes with greater than 20 minute headways, and in some cases worse service than what GO Transit provided in the late 90s.
Thank you, this was a great video of your journey on the Healthline bus service. It looks like it was something that was started but yet is not, as yet, complete. It would have great potential in the future. The Sunday only stop is a most unusual idea, churches, I have been to have had services during the week and other meetings too. It may be that there are other places to visit or maybe people live in the vicinity of the church on days other than Sunday. It was great that you met up with Miles in Transit.
idk why i had so much enjoyment just pointing at the screen and being like, "I GO THERE FOR LUNCH"
Wait where? And if you have that much enjoyment, I need to go there too!
@@ClassyWhale I work at the Cleveland botanical garden, and sometimes I go to lunch in the area at 5:08! There are a few great places around that area!
it's like the 1T route we have in the bay area!
What a fun video! Just a quick point, some the Healthline buses are actually CNG-powered (not hybrid), including the Xcelsiors that you took. Sadly I figured this out at 5:13 when you can hear that Allison since I'm a freakin' dork, but that's my own fault.
I regularly used the Healthline(#6) for about a year in 2012-3. At that time, all 3 right side doors were used for boarding, and it was an "honor system" kind of deal. Everybody just piled in and sat down. The RTA cops would roam through every once in a while (not very often) and ask to see your ticket. If you didn't have one they escorted you off the bus and issued a $99 ticket. That all changed a few years ago, well after I stopped using that route.
You're lucky the machines were even working. Tried to get a ticket for the Healthline and out of 3 or so bus stops, 1 machine was working.
You're supposed to enter the bus through the front door and then scan your ticket. Rear doors are for exiting passengers.
I'm from East Cleveland. I'm just glad you guys weren't around that area at night...... you guys kinda stick out like a sore thumb. I hope you guys remain safe and careful out there. Good video!
Glad to see someone else frustrated with our "lovely" Cleveland transit system.
ITDP doesn't know anyting about bus rapid transit. If they did, they would include the 103 on their scorecard. Gold for sure.
Providence would be platinum
Not surprisingly, that glorified underpass isn't on there either.
@@alexwithclipboard gasp!
St. Louis had a busway when they converted the Hodiamont line to bus and paved the ROW. The route was canceled like 10 years ago because the neighborhood had disintegrated.
I do like the rta system. I usedl it football games
Any misery you experienced was worth it for the Cleveland Tourism Video reference
RTA is definitely kind of a weird system, but something about their graphic design just really works for me. Man if I used that bus daily for commuting I would get so, so sick of hearing about the Resting Place of James Garfield, 20th President of the United States
we have an even more embarrassing BRT here in Louisville, It does not even qualify as BRT by nearly every standard
My understanding is that it’s built to be easily modified into light rail/street car.
Couldn't agree more. Cool tickets and fare cards are the best. Shout out to LA's Tap cards and WMATA Cherry Blossom cards.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the Red Line in Indianapolis! It runs in BRT lanes for more than 50% of it's route, but runs in mixed traffic on the South side of the city due to RoW restrictions.
The bronze, silver, and gold rankings aren't subjective. They're based on which specific features a line has or doesn't have. The MLK Busway in Pittsburgh is very speedy because it's essentially a two-lane freeway for buses, but it doesn't have BRT features because it wasn't designed as BRT. On the contrary, it's designed to be used by conventional buses that run conventional routes in outlying areas, then get downtown quickly via the busway. That alone pretty much precludes it from being highly rated as BRT despite its considerable merits.
Not explaining that to your viewers makes you sound ignorant, at least to me.
So is a grade separated BRT actually good? It seems that only really makes sense if there's like a population center, and then a large gap where no one would ever want to get on or off, and then another population/destination center. Genuine question. Not saying I'm wowed by the Health Line, but I don't see what's so great about the Pittsburgh line?
Ottawa has had a lot of success with that style of BRT. A rider could get on a bus on a suburban street and that bus would enter the transitway and give them a single seat ride to downtown...that was before the transitway was converted to LRT.
The Pittsburgh busways are kind of like that, not because the population centers are spaced out horizontally but because they are spaced out vertically. The west busway and south busway even go underground for some portions
There's no way this system is better than Pittsburgh's busways. The East Busway is a masterpiece of medium city transit infrastructure! I am also a biased PA resident...
Still though, as most North American transit, it could be worse, but it could be better. It seemed to have ridership, which is good to see.
It would take a while but next time ride all the busses of the rta
I actually don't exactly think these are hybrid electric but I've ridden this route and got one word for this route. Long.
OMG CLEVELAND MY CITY :) I went to college at Case Western, so I am well versed in it. They generally expect you to get on the front and people pay on board, so it is so sloww.
I get annoyed with that even on local routes (bus 9), you still hear about the "museum stop". It gets a bit old haha
Also, the signage at tower city for the red line is old, it has stations that no longer exist
Best city transit planning will always come from the passengers!
I just read Harvey Pekar is also buried in Lake View Cemetery
@@paulhealy2557 who?
@@ClassyWhale eccentric anti establishment figure. he did graphic novels about his life. was on Letterman a few times in 80s some where he Dave got angry at him. there was film staring Paul Giamatti 'American Splendor' that was mostly filmed in Lakewood
Talk to me when Pittsburgh gets reliable transit 🤷🏾♂️
Hello 👋
(This is me talking to you from Pittsburgh having taken reliable transit to school every week since August)
If I recall these bogus ITBE standards place a lot of priority on off-board payment in the ranking, of course this could hardly be called off board payment when you got to walk to the front of the bus to swipe. Amount of busway and bus lanes should be the basis for rankings.
The scoring was done before they shut off the signal priority and off-board fare payment. If the HealthLine got rated in its current form, it'd probably be downgraded to Basic, barely making the minimum requirements.
The Healthline certainly isn't the best-executed BRT system around, but I appreciate its route. To add to xavieryozwiak5508's comment about the Healthline's reliability and connection of historically redlined communities, it also serves as a valuable connection between Downtown Cleveland and the University Circle neighborhood's Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic (one of the best hospitals in the nation), Severance Hall (where the Cleveland Orchestra performs, which is consistently ranked among the very top symphonies in the country), Cleveland Museum of Art (which is often ranked as one of the top art museums in the nation), and the Cleveland Institute of Art and Cleveland Institute of Music. Cleveland State University is also right along the route. It really does connect valuable areas in the city, and it also provides service to neighborhoods that have historically been marginalized and redlined. I wish there would be some more investment in the Healthline as well as signal priority to set it apart as a true BRT system.
I agree, I think it's a good route that should have been metro or light rail
@@ClassyWhale Totally. Rail’s ability to be separate from road traffic and faster than it while still maintaining fairly frequent stops would do so much to connect the served areas better and improve ridership. Cleveland is quite fast and easy to drive, especially on Euclid Ave, so having a system that’s actually faster than driving could really incentivize transit use.
Good ole BRT creep, removing the signal priority promptly after opening fits the bill
Good video I know in America you will find bus rapid transit but you cannot find the BRT in singapore
I think Singapore figured out that rapid transit is usually better with trains...
Now that is what I call insane.
I like Miles’ channel. Anyway, BRT is a freaking joke. Other than fancy decals and off board fare payment, there’s no difference between a BRT and a standard limited stop bus.
I’ll use an example. I’ve used the Q44 bus in NYC back when it was a limited stop bus and when it became a Select Bus route. There’s a marginal difference in travel time. The Select Bus gets stuck in traffic just like the limited used to. Yes, off board payment helps. However, it’s negated by the fact that you may arrive at the stop right as the bus is arriving. You have to quickly purchase the pass before the bus departs.
The only way a BRT would work is if there was a physical barrier (like the Exclusive Bus Lane on I-495 leading to the Lincoln Tunnel). And in a downtown area, that wouldn’t be practical.
The way I look at it, if the bus isn't on its own grade-separated right of way or doesn't have level boarding it isn't real BRT.
Bring back the streetcar
Do the Spokane city line !!
I live in Cleveland, RTA sucks, 24/7 365! If my job was closer I would walk to work! Busses are not regularly cleaned and a lot of the drivers clearly despise or hate their customers. Screw RTA!
No one is going to read all of this. So.
As a driver of the GCRTA system I agree with everything stated. Basically.
However it is subjective.
1) Some drivers do clean their bus at the end of the line prior to beginning the next part of the route. If passengers insist on boarding during that time frame? Doesn't happen. We are required to walk the coach and pick up large visible trash. Many don't and this isn't enforced. It's my workspace so I clean mine. Passengers seem less rowdy with a clean fresh smelling bus.
2) Many drivers are conversational and will share their "last night events" with you. We are only required to assist anyone with RTA related information. If you had a driver that's a talker on one bus don't expect it from another. That's clearly situational and individual based but we are REQUIRED to assist you not entertain. Yes a greeting is appropriate but I remain baffled at someone wanting another whose safety is in their hands to chat it up. I used to be told by passengers "Shut up and drive" or "get the number and talk to them later, drive" that now that I do that? I'm rude or something...
You're blaming a system of drivers on the few you've encountered. Not taking into account the constant aggregation thrown at us by disgruntled passengers that has nothing to do with the bus operations like love issues financial issues their health problems so on... alongside a group of supervisors who are incompetent?
Sorry for your experience. But no matter how much one claims to hate RTA I'd be hard press you find a system that literally covers as much of the county as we do.
One of these stations gets blown up in Captain America Winter Soldier
What scene?
@@ClassyWhale it is part of the Samuel L Jackson/ Nick Fury car chase scenes. Euclid Avenue and Superior Avenue were used to film that scene.
Maybe the scoring is like golf, the lower the better, so Bronze is the best score????
i am still jealous of your wannabe BRT
What I mentioned on another video: The inside scoop was that the head of Cleveland's transit system wanted to get known as the BRT guy in transit circles, so he put in the HealthLine to make a name for himself. Any passenger service is pretty much not important.
Facts.
EmX is the better one! I want to see you guys ride that one. Even has a self driving new flyer!
Where's that???
@@ClassyWhale Eugene, Oregon.
How long has Eugene had the self-driving bus?
@@grahamturner2640 I know they had the bus for a while but only recently did they have self driving. There’s a video on it if you search it. It even has “tracks” like a train but it’s a new flyer 60’ articulated!
As a frequent rider of Albuquerque Rapid Transit, it definitely seems better than Euclid Avenue (except the lack of late-night service 😔)
I'm hoping to check that out this summer!
@@ClassyWhale If you like bunching, you'll really enjoy it!
Bring back the street cars
If I understand correctly, BRT rankings are based almost entirely on infrastructure. Cleveland scores higher for off board fare collection. And from what you showed, it seems like the infrastructure is there to have a pretty good system. The operation is just bad.
you rode the slowest part of the health line in the beginning as it went around pubic square.....
once you get out of public square it is quite fast....
you got off at a sketchy stop too....
y’all should check out the pulse BRT in richmond. it’s pretty much the exact same
Also that’s a CNG bus in the James getting off there’s the sticker
Wow Ohio! 💀
The Healthline never had true signal priority as it was cut due to cost overruns. Instead, it opened with significantly longer light cycles favoring Euclid Ave, which made crossing Euclid in a car or another bus line a major headache. The summer prior to my last semester at Cleveland State I had a job conducting surveys on the line and most riders hated it and didn't see any benefits over the bus line it replaced.
A9 in vienna manges every 10 minutes and thats just a bus not a fancy one.
Any idea why it's called the Health line?
It runs between Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals (and they paid for a joint sponsorship)
I feel like Cleveland's RTA just sort of bought the fancy "bendy" busses that are meant for BRT and put them on regular bus routes. yeah, there is that one section of the Health Line that has dedicated bus lanes but what good is it if they disabled the traffic signal priority?
Hey since live in CLE, if you need questions I can ask answer you
Same I can help too
How likely is it that the Waterfront Line will ever be restored? How much do people care about it?
@@ClassyWhale RTA is currently aiming for May 2023 or the start of the Browns football season. It's busy during gamedays but not so much other days.
@@ClassyWhale people do care about it. It’s suppose to be open summer of this year with a stronger bridge support and be ready by the browns opener
@@ClassyWhale I heard it would be opening in late 2023. And except for Browns games people don't really care about it or use it. It literally ends in a parking lot. Recently, I heard some local groups propose extending the Waterfront Line into downtown loop back to Tower City. Hopefully, that will eventually get off the ground.
What the Health were they thinking?
Wait a minute... 59 stops in 6 miles, that's like a stop every 500 feet! And this is "Silver"??? Unless you're counting each stop on each side of the road separate, that's still one every 1,000 feet. So yeah, definitely Barely "Rapid Transit"! 🙄
I think the sides are counted separately. It doesn't feel too crammed when you ride
They don't understand the meaning of BRT 😞
You only judged one BRT.
I think the Cleveland State Line is far superior
ITDP's standards on what qualify as good BRT are sometimes pretty backwards. They think having fare gates is the most optimal station design... For buses. Definitely take everything they say with a grain of salt, even if some of their standards make pretty obvious sense.
I thought that it was common knowledge to get on at the front of the bus and pay your fair and you exit from the back doors.
Yes, for a normal bus. This was a special bus.
@@ClassyWhale nothing special about any of the busses in Cleveland, I think you figured that out.
They use to board at all doors with out paying on the bus but they got sued because people were riding without fares and they were minorities and got caught
Maybe they water it down after it was certified by itdp
I think people who want rail should support BRT. BRT is a viable and CHEAP form of public transit, and if more people use it, I think cities will have no choice but to upgrade from BRT to light rail or even a subway.
Au contraire, there may be an attitude of "eh, there's already something there, so we don't need to build anything new."
Why were you in clevland
It is amusing that churches are very often overlooked when it comes to transit discussion, unless it’s a touristy European cathedral. Granted that different churches have a wide range of use patterns throughout the week, but many churches co-locate schools, daycares, offices, charitable services, soup kitchens, etc all in one place. There’s clearly something being overlooked by excluding churches from the discussion entirely.
What a depressing bus.
The lies. Bus goes all the way to east Cleveland
We were talking about the bus lanes, not the bus itself
I thought yall using profanity 0:51
Lmaooo