A light-rail train from Shaker Heights pulls out from Tower City Center downtown onto the Cuyahoga Valley viaduct where it will switch tracks and return east. If a transit levy passes in May, light-rail trains from Shaker Heights could continue expand service west of downtown to the airport (NEOtrans). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Cuts won’t happen at all if May levy passes
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) General Manager and CEO India Birdsong Terry accepted the recommendation from GCRTA’s staff and decided to delay a second round of service cuts until after the planned May special election in 2027.
Terry made her decision in accordance to GCRTA policy yesterday evening, according to a press release from the transit authority that was issued today.
“Per board-adopted policy, the GM & CEO makes the final decision on service changes, and my decision was aligned with the expressed views of our riders and GCRTA Board members who attended our public hearings, and who also shared their daily reliance on existing GCRTA service,” said Terry in the written statement.
Though GCRTA financial projections have improved slightly, thanks to administrative cost cuts, reduced healthcare expenses and greater than expected tax collections, Terry warns that the fundamental financial problem remains.
A No. 10 route bus makes its way south on East 105th Street, approaching the Red Line station at Quincy Avenue (NEOtrans).
“If the upcoming 2027 ballot initiative fails, GCRTA will need to make deeper cuts,” Terry added.
GCRTA largest source of income comes from Cuyahoga County’s sales tax. Out of the 8 percent levied on purchases throughout the county, 1 percentage point goes to GCRTA.
That permanent 1 percent countywide sale tax was passed in a special election held in July 1975. Of the voters casting ballots, 71 percent supported the transit levy 51 years ago.
But Cuyahoga County’s population has dropped from a peak of 1.7 million right before that levy was approved to 1.2 million today. That meant reduced sales tax revenues to cover growing costs of providing public transportation.
The No. 22 route bus along Lorain Avenue rolls past St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood (NEOtrans).
GCRTA’s Board Members have voted to ask for a tax increase in the May 2027 election but the amount remains in question. Trustees are expected to deliberate the size of that tax increase at the Sept. 22 Board Meeting.
The board has two options. One is a quarter-percent sale tax hike that would raise about $70 million per year for GCRTA, allow a modest increase of service on existing routes and put off any service cuts for at least a decade.
The other is a half-percent increase that would generate $140 million per year, stave off fiscal uncertainties for four decades, and allow for a more “transformative” expansion of service frequencies.
That means a bus or train every 10 minutes on 10 routes and every 15 minutes on another dozen routes. It would allow for restoration of park-n-ride express buses from North Olmsted and Westlake into the city and extend the Blue/Green light-rail lines from Shaker Heights through downtown to the Airport.
END
