As a Clevelander, it uses 60ft New Flyer buses on weekdays, but RTA has a limited amount of those buses that are also used on the 22 Lorain route. And there are zero plans to order new 60ft buses except for the Healthline (RTA just actually announced it would be replacing the 6 non-CSU line New Flyer 60ft buses with 6 40ft Gillig's in 2026). There are some blocks that use 40ft Gillig's because those stay out late and RTA likes to have the 60ft buses off the roads by 7-8pm. On weekends they use only Gillig's and no 60ft buses are on the road except for the Healthline because the 55 bus flips with the 90 downtown on weekends. On weekends RTA like's to utilize buses that flip, the 25 & 22 flip at Westgate, the 55 & 90 flip downtown, the 45 & 83 flip at Parma TC & the 26 & 26A flip at Crocker Park.
Since Ron Tober left RTA has gone down tubes, the last large bus order was in 2002-03 for 225 buses, Joe Calabrese ordered them he also brought the 60 ft. articulated buses to Cleveland, Ron Tober tried to bring them to Cleveland in the mid 1990's, the board of trustees rejected that idea.
They have 9 more 60 ft New Flyers, but they are reserve buses (that probably won't be put back into service again). They're not going to order anymore, primary reason could be the decrease in ridership during the pandemic that has not recovered. That being said, why run 60ft buses after rush hour (and the weekends)when they will be practically empty? Lol I think if there is any flipping with the 90 it probably is with the #77 (since they layover in the same place), I believe the 45 flips with the 51A (on Sundays), the #9 flips with the #11 also on Suns and the #40 flips with the 19A on Sat and Sun.
@@mauricecole1196 It has, though they're trying. Joe was big for the NABIs, whereas Mr Tober was the for the Novabus. Correct about the 60fts. He ordered extra to be used on the then busy #22 and #26 lines (#22 was definitely busy on Mondays when they used to have the Unique Thrift on Lorain and their popular 1/2 off Mondays). Mr Tober also had the circulators, "combiner routes" and the Off Peak Pass to name a few changes he had, Mr Calabrese eliminated this as well as absorbing Maple and North Olmstead bus lines into RTA (There actually was an idea for NOMBLto stay independent but they'd have to have their own funds to do so, (though RTA would give them the Novabuses). I miss those years of RTA, oh well.
@@zythr9999 We have 23 60ft buses actually at Triskett Garage, numbered 3201-3216 and 3251-3257. Not counting the Healthline ones at Hayden. The 3201-3216 ones are CSU Line (55/55B/55C) livery. And they are also used on the 22 route. Night routes will always have smaller Gillig buses. Ridership has nothing to do with why 6 Gillig buses were ordered to replace the 3251-3257 buses. Mechanics hate the New Flyers. They are unreliable and most of the time are downed in the garage. Routes 22 & 26/26A are the busiest lines out of Triskett. The reason the 60ft buses were removed from the 26 is because Lakewood didn't want them on Detroit anymore because it's hard to curb the bees at some stops and impedes traffic. Also during the week the routes that flip are 51/51A at Parma TC, 25/71 at Downtown and at night the 26/26A at Crocker Park. A few 26 buses due turn into 22's at Westgate around 7-8pm but that is so the 60ft's can get pulled in and the Westgate ones stop anyways on the 26 at night. And on weekends the routes that flip are 22/25 at Westgate TC, 55/90 at Downtown, 45/83 at Parma TC, 51/51A at Parma TC, 26/26A at Crocker Park.
Dude, they run the long articulated buses like they have on the Healthline on the Cleveland State Line on weekdays. But yeah, it’s true, it ain’t exactly BRT. RTA used to be a way better system 25 years ago, but state budget cuts have pushed them into a death spiral, so service keeps getting worse. We’ve lost a lot of routes.
Just took this bus today, as I always do to get to work/school. Today, while running every 15 minutes the 55B was running 15 minutes late at 8am, in peak commuting hour. It was untracked and arrived in a convoy with the 55 arriving at almost exactly the same time. Very BRT!
Some places called painted buses, and nice shelters BRT I bet it doesn’t even meet the lowest ITDP standards, right? The Healthline got a lot of points because it has nice branding but I don’t know how it got enough points to be rated silver. This doesn’t make the list.
I always thought clifton blvd was so wide because it used to have streetcars. But looking at old maps the streetcars went down detroit and madison aves as well
it's so weird to see a video about something you've used daily before being earnestly highlighted like a review channel Yeah the hourly bus schedule is a common issue across several bus lines in the city, which i would argue end up being the most commonly used bus lines too. It's a major pain point expressed by many folks in the area, myself included. I think it's why Buses are forced to accommodate for all the cars in the area, including downtown. Most of the flow of traffic comes from people in suburbs, like Parma, Rocky River, Bay Village, where everything is only accessible to cars. Students mainly take the CS Line to go to CSU or to make a connection to the healthline & go to CWRU CIA or CIM.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones served as the representative for Ohio's 11th congressional district from 1999 until her death in 2008. She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio! Public Square was part of the Connecticut Land Company's (never forget the tale of Long Connecticut and CT's true destiny) original plan for the city, which were overseen by Moses Cleaveland in the 1790s. Cleveland was modelled after New England, and the square is signature of the layout for early New England towns. In 1879, it became the first street in the world to be lit with electric streetlights, thanks to arc lamps designed by Cleveland native Charles F. Brush! What's now North Olmsted was originally called Lenox in 1823. In 1806, the vast tract of land comprising present-day North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township was purchased by Aaron Olmsted, a wealthy sea captain. In 1826, his son Charles offered to donate books from his father's personal collection in Connecticut if the residents agreed to change the name to honor his father! His collection became the Ox-Cart Library, now located in the North Olmsted Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library!
Ahhh the Gillig DE40. Not my favorite bus, but the one I know the best. Fun fact, the power steering unit in the thing is in the back right corner…. Just about as far as you can get from the operator steering wheel or the steering wheels.
It's actually a Gillig BRT Plus and 90% of RTA's Gillig buses are CNG. The 3500's are Diesel because they were ordered for the MetroHealth Line (51/51A) before RTA converted the West Side Garage (Triskett) to CNG. Now that the NABI's are all retired Triskett is getting the older 3300's from Hayden (east-side garage). The only Diesel buses left are the 3500's, the Gillig Trolley buses and the 60ft New Flyer buses. So probably less than 40 buses total.
🤣🤣 We clowned you! The rapids are the RTA trains, the buses are the RTA buses. There are very few bus lanes in Cleveland. -Only in Ohio, sincerely, an Ohioan.
You really let your intrusive thoughts win with this Gordan Ramsay takedown of the Cleveland State Line and poutine! Yes, this is just an express bus, not BRT. Having bus lanes just during certain hours of the day is unreal, let alone the fact they're not enforced properly during said times it's supposed to be a bus lane! And hourly headways on weekends for an express bus is horrendous...they do know people DO stuff on weekends, whether it's activities downtown, church, or errands, right? They just dumped fancy shelters, some signs, and called it a day. Poutine was created in the 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, which include Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. This region is known as the breadbasket of Quebec as it's big on agriculture like poultry and more importantly, the dairy industry. Hence having plenty of cheese curds!
I'm not a fan of BRT, as it's basically a very expensive bus line that should have been light rail and prevents places with less budget from making buses actually work. I live in Barcelona, a city with an extensive transit system with everything from metro, trams,suburban/regional trains, intercity/medium/long distance/high speed trains, 2 funiculars (3, but one is not part of the system and more of a touristic and expensive one connecting to the Tibidabo amusement park) and plenty of buses. There are 100+ urban bus lines and in 2012 an important change was made to the network (that was a large scale of a small test called RetBus). The city converted a number of old style routs into a grid type system that was opened in stages and includes 8 horizontal lines(marked with H+even number), 17 vertical (marked with V+odd number) and 3 diagonal (marked with a D +20/40/50). This network is set in a grid, as much as possible, with easy changes between the lines (and other transport means), increased distance between stops (but not too far) and they added bus lanes, to those that already existed. It is called by many BRT, but it's not as it uses normal stops (which, unless not possible, use a basic shelter, maps of routs and a basic digital next bus sign), other regular buses use the same stops and bus lanes (and taxis also use those lanes) and during the weekend people can park on those many of those lances (but not at /near the stops). This provides a good and reliable system that is easy to use and faster than normal but is far less expensive to implement and prefers actual service, like frequency (5-8 minutes on work days, 11-20 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays - depending on the day and line), quality of buses (they are now converting lines to fully electric) and increased speed. All of those things are basic and should be implemented for all buses but instead one "special" project gets a huge investment while the rest stays horrible. I understand that in the US it's hard to get funding for public transit which is why the focus should be on making the system usable without the bells and whistles of titles like BRT. I live in the city center, I have to main metro stations next to my house and now i prefer buses because they provide a good service and they are easily accessible everywhere.
I am not a transit professional (well, unless you consider the ones with wings) but to me BRT should be dedicated busways and essentially a sort of 1 to 1 replacement for light rail for reasons of cost or right of way challenges. Or at a minimum should be dedicated lines, perhaps even with a barrier. As an aside: I enjoy your Cleveland videos. I got sent there for my prior employer for a few months to help correct their operation at the airport. I kinda like Cleveland.
So: I used to ride this thing's predecessor on approximately a daily basis, and back in those days there was a 55, a 55B, a 55C, and a 55X for eXpress. And I 100% agree that the so-called BRT is basically just that service. The designating it as BRT and selling off the naming rights was simply a cash grab. I also had a buddy who worked for RTA with a real enthusiasm for transit, and the inside scoop is that the reason Cleveland has anything called BRT in the first place is that the then-head of the RTA wanted to get a reputation as a great BRT guy so he could be hired in a different city that could pay him better. So any benefits to Cleveland residents were basically entirely optional.
Two words, Gold Line, lol. Remember the Gold NABI buses that were supposed to be used on the 55 back in the early 2000's. I remember back in the 80's and 90's you had the 55X (Detroit Rd. - County Line), 55AX (Gold Coast), 55NX (Westgate via Wagar), 55SX (St John Westshore via Center Ridge), 55CX & 55CF (Bay Village - Cahoon).
Yes the 55 uses the gilligs on the weekends. Only uses the Cleveland State Line buses Monday - Friday. And also the 55 when it gets downtown, it switchs over to the 90 bus ( Broadway - Libby) to the summit county line. Same thing with the 90. Gets downtown, switchs to the 55 to Lorain county line.
During the morning rush hours with the dedicated lanes it still barely qualifies as an express bus. The 26 runs parallel and is as traditional of a city bus as possible. In the morning they are almost the exact same speed. In the evening, yeah the 55 is notably an express.
my city (Calgary) does the same thing with their BRT, we have two types, the BRT and the MAX, the BRT is pretty much just a limited stop route and the MAX gets fancy shelters and some bus lanes
Sydney says hold my cake: its T80 Parramatta - Liverpool via T-Way is proper BRT, mostly in its own roadway with intersections only. Every intersection has a massive sign saying AUTHORIZED T-WAY VEHICLES ONLY. DEMERIT POINTS AND FINES APPLY. T-WAY IS CAMERA MONITORED. Elsewhere there are bus lanes in most places. We only got caught in traffic on a half block outside Parramatta's city centre, where the bus lane ended for a left turn beside a school. Now we're talking (by the way the route is just listed under Buses on Transport for NSW's website!
That route 2 bridge always made me nervous feels a couple feet of concrete between you and 100ft drop. Also route 2 between edgewater and where it joins i90 being a wide freeway is one of Clevelands problems
Luckily it only goes on the bridge westbound only now. I hate the bridge also. Eastbound it now gets off at the West 25th exit and goes across the Detroit-Superior bridge. This is because the Sherwin-Williams project permanently closed West 3rd St.
@@ClassyWhaleI don't understand how you can open lanes for express bus for so few hours and expect citizens to know, or even care... and if you're not from Cleveland, you definently won't see those tiny signs that restrict access for a few hours every day.
That reminds me of the bus lanes on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, they're only effective during rush hour to and from downtown. But I don't think any of those busses claim to be BRT.
Not a single person in Northeast Ohio who doesn't work for RTA thinks this is just like the Healthline. BTW, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones transit center looks like it'll be the new terminal for Greyhound and Barons Bus when they redevelop the site of the soon-to-be-former Greyhound station.
Yup, this is just like the Albany, NY BRT that isn't. I ride it to work and other than a couple bus only traffic lights, it's an express bus. But try to tell CDTA that.
BRT Creep at its finest... Seriously, from the perspective of NZ, this wouldn't even be considered an express bus. Highway running buses are still numbered as normal buses. And peak-time bus lane buses are still numbered like every other bus. The only difference in designation is that the high frequency buses (i.e. the ones with bus lanes) have 2 digit route numbers and maybe a letter while everything else has 3 digits. The only buses which AT call "express" are the ones that run on the busway or along bus lanes on the motorways. Edit: Looks like I forgot about the 72X, 309X and 333X which are "express" limited stops or highway-running versions of the base route. Either way, AT is not pretending that normal bus routes are "BRT"
I thought for sure, maybe it only runs hourly on the weekend, but its 3 routes interlining right???. Thats 20min service. No the B and C routes dont run AT ALL on the weekend. Then I checked weekday. B and C only run during rush hour in the peak direction. The regular 55 is 30min service on weekdays. The B and C are hourly, only from 5/6am to 8am. The combined section is thus every 15min (at rush hour, in the peak direction only). Honestly, no its not BRT, but I get it. They want to funnel college students downtown, the B and C routes help collect extra ridership area. When its combined together at rush hour, the bus lanes help, but at hourly or 30min service the bus lanes aren't really necessary. I imagine traffic in Cleveland is like St. Louis. Very light except for like 2 hours around rush hour.
What's the typical stop distance of the 55 and what's of the other lines? Because if it's between 300 and 500 m, the 55 is just a bus line as I (German) know it.
Unless a bus route is physically separated from other traffic, it’s not a true BRT. A painted bus lane would only work if everyone obeyed traffic laws- and that’s certainly not the case.
@@1kCam05 This has been in the works for 5 years now and I believe recently put on the back burner until after the new Rapid trains arrive in 2026. You don't know how much work they have to do on the Red Line to get it ready for the new trains. If the trains arrived tomorrow, they couldn't fit right now. Luckily they won't arrive until 2026 in a staggered arrival. And if you read the West 25th corridor plans, the bus lanes would only from from Detroit to Metro Hospital. So the 53/53A which is also the MetroHealth Line wouldn't even use them since it uses I-71 from Downtown.
ב''ה, what's the fare out there? I'm not picky, so this being aspirational to painting some diamonds on the lanes and dedicating it.. cities have to work with what they've got. Climate might appreciate Illinois' push-for-heat system if it can avoid vandalism and burning down neighborhoods.
@@ClassyWhale Lol I originally wanted to tell you that about Bogotá but didn't want to ruin the moment! I guess on the topic of Colombia, that restaurant you ate at by Junction Blvd was Ecuadorian, not Colombian! Morocho is an Ecuadorian specialty, and the flags they had hanging were Ecuadorian. The Ecuadorian flag has a coat of arms!
@@ClassyWhale MY city has a "BRT" line. NJT's go28, which is basically an express route. Express buses already exist in NJ Transit. It has special paint and branding, but there's almost no bus lanes in Newark
Hey classy whale the Cleveland state buses run Monday thru Friday. Just to notice on trips Sat and Sunday it runs from near Ontario as a start point also 55 used to be called the gold coast line until it became a brt 55A 55B 55C those are rush hour only routes 55 runs then it switches in to a 90
And the most pathetic thing is they put the MetroHealth line on the metro map... SMH Tbh It may not be actual BRT but the CSL is definitely a good bus service... brings me directly to campus with almost no extra walking.
When they meant BRT, they meant they run Gillig BRTs on this route.
Not really cause they run dedicated buses on it like the healthline
As a Clevelander, it uses 60ft New Flyer buses on weekdays, but RTA has a limited amount of those buses that are also used on the 22 Lorain route. And there are zero plans to order new 60ft buses except for the Healthline (RTA just actually announced it would be replacing the 6 non-CSU line New Flyer 60ft buses with 6 40ft Gillig's in 2026). There are some blocks that use 40ft Gillig's because those stay out late and RTA likes to have the 60ft buses off the roads by 7-8pm. On weekends they use only Gillig's and no 60ft buses are on the road except for the Healthline because the 55 bus flips with the 90 downtown on weekends. On weekends RTA like's to utilize buses that flip, the 25 & 22 flip at Westgate, the 55 & 90 flip downtown, the 45 & 83 flip at Parma TC & the 26 & 26A flip at Crocker Park.
Since Ron Tober left RTA has gone down tubes, the last large bus order was in 2002-03 for 225 buses, Joe Calabrese ordered them he also brought the 60 ft. articulated buses to Cleveland, Ron Tober tried to bring them to Cleveland in the mid 1990's, the board of trustees rejected that idea.
They have 9 more 60 ft New Flyers, but they are reserve buses (that probably won't be put back into service again). They're not going to order anymore, primary reason could be the decrease in ridership during the pandemic that has not recovered. That being said, why run 60ft buses after rush hour (and the weekends)when they will be practically empty? Lol
I think if there is any flipping with the 90 it probably is with the #77 (since they layover in the same place), I believe the 45 flips with the 51A (on Sundays), the #9 flips with the #11 also on Suns and the #40 flips with the 19A on Sat and Sun.
@@mauricecole1196 It has, though they're trying. Joe was big for the NABIs, whereas Mr Tober was the for the Novabus. Correct about the 60fts. He ordered extra to be used on the then busy #22 and #26 lines (#22 was definitely busy on Mondays when they used to have the Unique Thrift on Lorain and their popular 1/2 off Mondays). Mr Tober also had the circulators, "combiner routes" and the Off Peak Pass to name a few changes he had,
Mr Calabrese eliminated this as well as absorbing Maple and North Olmstead bus lines into RTA (There actually was an idea for NOMBLto stay independent but they'd have to have their own funds to do so, (though RTA would give them the Novabuses). I miss those years of RTA, oh well.
@@zythr9999 We have 23 60ft buses actually at Triskett Garage, numbered 3201-3216 and 3251-3257. Not counting the Healthline ones at Hayden. The 3201-3216 ones are CSU Line (55/55B/55C) livery. And they are also used on the 22 route. Night routes will always have smaller Gillig buses. Ridership has nothing to do with why 6 Gillig buses were ordered to replace the 3251-3257 buses. Mechanics hate the New Flyers. They are unreliable and most of the time are downed in the garage. Routes 22 & 26/26A are the busiest lines out of Triskett. The reason the 60ft buses were removed from the 26 is because Lakewood didn't want them on Detroit anymore because it's hard to curb the bees at some stops and impedes traffic. Also during the week the routes that flip are 51/51A at Parma TC, 25/71 at Downtown and at night the 26/26A at Crocker Park. A few 26 buses due turn into 22's at Westgate around 7-8pm but that is so the 60ft's can get pulled in and the Westgate ones stop anyways on the 26 at night. And on weekends the routes that flip are 22/25 at Westgate TC, 55/90 at Downtown, 45/83 at Parma TC, 51/51A at Parma TC, 26/26A at Crocker Park.
That's six hours per day more dedicated bus lane than all three 'called a BRT' MAX lines in Kansas City have put together.
nods sadly in Louisville TARC Rapid "BRT"
Same as the 2 "BRT" lines in Allentown Pa
Dude, they run the long articulated buses like they have on the Healthline on the Cleveland State Line on weekdays. But yeah, it’s true, it ain’t exactly BRT. RTA used to be a way better system 25 years ago, but state budget cuts have pushed them into a death spiral, so service keeps getting worse. We’ve lost a lot of routes.
You mean when Mr Tober was GM, (it was better), with the combiner routes, circulators and the off peak pass?
They do, but the same buses also run on the #22 and are "school buses" during the school year.
Just took this bus today, as I always do to get to work/school. Today, while running every 15 minutes the 55B was running 15 minutes late at 8am, in peak commuting hour. It was untracked and arrived in a convoy with the 55 arriving at almost exactly the same time. Very BRT!
Nice, they still do that,
North olmsted
Not stead..
You disappoint me young padawan
Some places called painted buses, and nice shelters BRT
I bet it doesn’t even meet the lowest ITDP standards, right?
The Healthline got a lot of points because it has nice branding but I don’t know how it got enough points to be rated silver. This doesn’t make the list.
Minneapolis calls fancy shelters and TSP (without complete dedicated lanes) aBRT
I always thought clifton blvd was so wide because it used to have streetcars. But looking at old maps the streetcars went down detroit and madison aves as well
it's so weird to see a video about something you've used daily before being earnestly highlighted like a review channel
Yeah the hourly bus schedule is a common issue across several bus lines in the city, which i would argue end up being the most commonly used bus lines too. It's a major pain point expressed by many folks in the area, myself included. I think it's why Buses are forced to accommodate for all the cars in the area, including downtown. Most of the flow of traffic comes from people in suburbs, like Parma, Rocky River, Bay Village, where everything is only accessible to cars. Students mainly take the CS Line to go to CSU or to make a connection to the healthline & go to CWRU CIA or CIM.
Agreed - systems like this give BRT a bad rap and only make it more difficult to expand/fix things
Stephanie Tubbs Jones served as the representative for Ohio's 11th congressional district from 1999 until her death in 2008. She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio! Public Square was part of the Connecticut Land Company's (never forget the tale of Long Connecticut and CT's true destiny) original plan for the city, which were overseen by Moses Cleaveland in the 1790s. Cleveland was modelled after New England, and the square is signature of the layout for early New England towns. In 1879, it became the first street in the world to be lit with electric streetlights, thanks to arc lamps designed by Cleveland native Charles F. Brush!
What's now North Olmsted was originally called Lenox in 1823. In 1806, the vast tract of land comprising present-day North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township was purchased by Aaron Olmsted, a wealthy sea captain. In 1826, his son Charles offered to donate books from his father's personal collection in Connecticut if the residents agreed to change the name to honor his father! His collection became the Ox-Cart Library, now located in the North Olmsted Branch of the Cuyahoga County Library!
Ahhh the Gillig DE40. Not my favorite bus, but the one I know the best.
Fun fact, the power steering unit in the thing is in the back right corner…. Just about as far as you can get from the operator steering wheel or the steering wheels.
It's actually a Gillig BRT Plus and 90% of RTA's Gillig buses are CNG. The 3500's are Diesel because they were ordered for the MetroHealth Line (51/51A) before RTA converted the West Side Garage (Triskett) to CNG. Now that the NABI's are all retired Triskett is getting the older 3300's from Hayden (east-side garage). The only Diesel buses left are the 3500's, the Gillig Trolley buses and the 60ft New Flyer buses. So probably less than 40 buses total.
@@WatchSparkkTV Reading a bit more the BRT is just a restyled xx40 (whatever the fuel source may be, since that is what the first two letters denote.)
@@WatchSparkkTVProbably starting in 2031, , they hope to do away with all ICE buses
line with a branding and special buses = BRT
🤣🤣 We clowned you! The rapids are the RTA trains, the buses are the RTA buses. There are very few bus lanes in Cleveland. -Only in Ohio, sincerely, an Ohioan.
You really let your intrusive thoughts win with this Gordan Ramsay takedown of the Cleveland State Line and poutine! Yes, this is just an express bus, not BRT. Having bus lanes just during certain hours of the day is unreal, let alone the fact they're not enforced properly during said times it's supposed to be a bus lane! And hourly headways on weekends for an express bus is horrendous...they do know people DO stuff on weekends, whether it's activities downtown, church, or errands, right? They just dumped fancy shelters, some signs, and called it a day. Poutine was created in the 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, which include Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. This region is known as the breadbasket of Quebec as it's big on agriculture like poultry and more importantly, the dairy industry. Hence having plenty of cheese curds!
I'm not a fan of BRT, as it's basically a very expensive bus line that should have been light rail and prevents places with less budget from making buses actually work.
I live in Barcelona, a city with an extensive transit system with everything from metro, trams,suburban/regional trains, intercity/medium/long distance/high speed trains, 2 funiculars (3, but one is not part of the system and more of a touristic and expensive one connecting to the Tibidabo amusement park) and plenty of buses.
There are 100+ urban bus lines and in 2012 an important change was made to the network (that was a large scale of a small test called RetBus). The city converted a number of old style routs into a grid type system that was opened in stages and includes 8 horizontal lines(marked with H+even number), 17 vertical (marked with V+odd number) and 3 diagonal (marked with a D +20/40/50).
This network is set in a grid, as much as possible, with easy changes between the lines (and other transport means), increased distance between stops (but not too far) and they added bus lanes, to those that already existed. It is called by many BRT, but it's not as it uses normal stops (which, unless not possible, use a basic shelter, maps of routs and a basic digital next bus sign), other regular buses use the same stops and bus lanes (and taxis also use those lanes) and during the weekend people can park on those many of those lances (but not at /near the stops). This provides a good and reliable system that is easy to use and faster than normal but is far less expensive to implement and prefers actual service, like frequency (5-8 minutes on work days, 11-20 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays - depending on the day and line), quality of buses (they are now converting lines to fully electric) and increased speed.
All of those things are basic and should be implemented for all buses but instead one "special" project gets a huge investment while the rest stays horrible.
I understand that in the US it's hard to get funding for public transit which is why the focus should be on making the system usable without the bells and whistles of titles like BRT.
I live in the city center, I have to main metro stations next to my house and now i prefer buses because they provide a good service and they are easily accessible everywhere.
They did have a BRT like route, from Clifton West 117th to Downtown, it was called the 75X
I am not a transit professional (well, unless you consider the ones with wings) but to me BRT should be dedicated busways and essentially a sort of 1 to 1 replacement for light rail for reasons of cost or right of way challenges. Or at a minimum should be dedicated lines, perhaps even with a barrier. As an aside: I enjoy your Cleveland videos. I got sent there for my prior employer for a few months to help correct their operation at the airport. I kinda like Cleveland.
Not a bus, but a "bus rapid transit vehicle"
So: I used to ride this thing's predecessor on approximately a daily basis, and back in those days there was a 55, a 55B, a 55C, and a 55X for eXpress. And I 100% agree that the so-called BRT is basically just that service. The designating it as BRT and selling off the naming rights was simply a cash grab.
I also had a buddy who worked for RTA with a real enthusiasm for transit, and the inside scoop is that the reason Cleveland has anything called BRT in the first place is that the then-head of the RTA wanted to get a reputation as a great BRT guy so he could be hired in a different city that could pay him better. So any benefits to Cleveland residents were basically entirely optional.
Bruh...that explains everything
Two words, Gold Line, lol. Remember the Gold NABI buses that were supposed to be used on the 55 back in the early 2000's. I remember back in the 80's and 90's you had the 55X (Detroit Rd. - County Line), 55AX (Gold Coast), 55NX (Westgate via Wagar), 55SX (St John Westshore via Center Ridge), 55CX & 55CF (Bay Village - Cahoon).
Yes, Mr Calabrese, whose tenure ended in shame.
@@WatchSparkkTV They used them there, and on other routes as well
Yes the 55 uses the gilligs on the weekends. Only uses the Cleveland State Line buses Monday - Friday. And also the 55 when it gets downtown, it switchs over to the 90 bus ( Broadway - Libby) to the summit county line. Same thing with the 90. Gets downtown, switchs to the 55 to Lorain county line.
also, the bus lanes on clifton blvd are peak direction only during rush hours
During the morning rush hours with the dedicated lanes it still barely qualifies as an express bus. The 26 runs parallel and is as traditional of a city bus as possible. In the morning they are almost the exact same speed. In the evening, yeah the 55 is notably an express.
my city (Calgary) does the same thing with their BRT, we have two types, the BRT and the MAX, the BRT is pretty much just a limited stop route and the MAX gets fancy shelters and some bus lanes
Low expectations is part of life around here.
Sydney says hold my cake: its T80 Parramatta - Liverpool via T-Way is proper BRT, mostly in its own roadway with intersections only. Every intersection has a massive sign saying AUTHORIZED T-WAY VEHICLES ONLY. DEMERIT POINTS AND FINES APPLY. T-WAY IS CAMERA MONITORED. Elsewhere there are bus lanes in most places. We only got caught in traffic on a half block outside Parramatta's city centre, where the bus lane ended for a left turn beside a school.
Now we're talking (by the way the route is just listed under Buses on Transport for NSW's website!
Bruh......you did it. You found the Fyre Fest of Bus Rapid Transit.
That is, unless my WiFi is working
That route 2 bridge always made me nervous feels a couple feet of concrete between you and 100ft drop. Also route 2 between edgewater and where it joins i90 being a wide freeway is one of Clevelands problems
Luckily it only goes on the bridge westbound only now. I hate the bridge also. Eastbound it now gets off at the West 25th exit and goes across the Detroit-Superior bridge. This is because the Sherwin-Williams project permanently closed West 3rd St.
its just an extra regular bus with an (express) happy hour
They should have happy hour for fares then 🙃
@@ClassyWhaleI don't understand how you can open lanes for express bus for so few hours and expect citizens to know, or even care... and if you're not from Cleveland, you definently won't see those tiny signs that restrict access for a few hours every day.
If they want to have a fancier express bus, just call it an express bus. Don’t call it BRT.
That reminds me of the bus lanes on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, they're only effective during rush hour to and from downtown. But I don't think any of those busses claim to be BRT.
Once per hour is embarrassingly bad.
It's like that during the summer and weekends. 💀
Not a single person in Northeast Ohio who doesn't work for RTA thinks this is just like the Healthline. BTW, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones transit center looks like it'll be the new terminal for Greyhound and Barons Bus when they redevelop the site of the soon-to-be-former Greyhound station.
In Summit County Ohio we would NEVER call that BRT… We call it Metro
At this point in cities like this the only way to have actual bus lanes would be a full wall
Watching from Ontario 🇨🇦
Yup, this is just like the Albany, NY BRT that isn't. I ride it to work and other than a couple bus only traffic lights, it's an express bus. But try to tell CDTA that.
I'm pretty sure they call it BRT because they got grant funding that was designated for BRTs.
Might as well put in regional rail
3:00 lmao I’ve never heard him raise his voice
Healthline MENTIONED ✅✅✅ It’s not perfect but I love my bus
If you have a chance check out Richmond, VA. All their busses are free and they have a real BRT. Also the Amtrak station is nice.
BRT Creep at its finest...
Seriously, from the perspective of NZ, this wouldn't even be considered an express bus. Highway running buses are still numbered as normal buses. And peak-time bus lane buses are still numbered like every other bus. The only difference in designation is that the high frequency buses (i.e. the ones with bus lanes) have 2 digit route numbers and maybe a letter while everything else has 3 digits. The only buses which AT call "express" are the ones that run on the busway or along bus lanes on the motorways.
Edit: Looks like I forgot about the 72X, 309X and 333X which are "express" limited stops or highway-running versions of the base route. Either way, AT is not pretending that normal bus routes are "BRT"
BRT in this case probably stands for Barely Rapid Transit.
Banana Republic Transit
Uh yeah, that’s what it stands for in most of Ohio at least. What do you think it stands for?
they usually just run the brt’s on weekdays
I thought for sure, maybe it only runs hourly on the weekend, but its 3 routes interlining right???. Thats 20min service. No the B and C routes dont run AT ALL on the weekend.
Then I checked weekday. B and C only run during rush hour in the peak direction. The regular 55 is 30min service on weekdays. The B and C are hourly, only from 5/6am to 8am. The combined section is thus every 15min (at rush hour, in the peak direction only).
Honestly, no its not BRT, but I get it. They want to funnel college students downtown, the B and C routes help collect extra ridership area. When its combined together at rush hour, the bus lanes help, but at hourly or 30min service the bus lanes aren't really necessary. I imagine traffic in Cleveland is like St. Louis. Very light except for like 2 hours around rush hour.
You could say the same about Boston’s SL4 and SL5
What's the typical stop distance of the 55 and what's of the other lines? Because if it's between 300 and 500 m, the 55 is just a bus line as I (German) know it.
There is a section with no stops at all along a 5km quasi-autobahn, and then as you guessed stops every 400m or so.
Caleb you look like Stu from The Hangover
Am I crazy for thinking that you're better off having a tram system? Or any form of a railroad system?
what a misnomer
Unless a bus route is physically separated from other traffic, it’s not a true BRT. A painted bus lane would only work if everyone obeyed traffic laws- and that’s certainly not the case.
Also I live in SF now
bus lanes reserved only for peak directions of travel is pitiful
Cincinnati has part time parking lanes, that are used as traffic lanes during peak times
How long ago were the streetcar tracks paved over?
My guess would be the 50s.
It's Bus Rapid Pulse Rate, an illness commonly caused by inappropriately named transit. Hopefully Kalkedan was able to sing you to sleep🙂
Fun Fact, The metrohealth line will become real BRT in the future
Really how
@@ClassyWhale RTA planned it in a recent board meeting to expand West 25th and Add dedicated BRT Lanes like the Healthline for the Metrohealth Line
@@1kCam05 This has been in the works for 5 years now and I believe recently put on the back burner until after the new Rapid trains arrive in 2026. You don't know how much work they have to do on the Red Line to get it ready for the new trains. If the trains arrived tomorrow, they couldn't fit right now. Luckily they won't arrive until 2026 in a staggered arrival. And if you read the West 25th corridor plans, the bus lanes would only from from Detroit to Metro Hospital. So the 53/53A which is also the MetroHealth Line wouldn't even use them since it uses I-71 from Downtown.
ב''ה, what's the fare out there?
I'm not picky, so this being aspirational to painting some diamonds on the lanes and dedicating it.. cities have to work with what they've got. Climate might appreciate Illinois' push-for-heat system if it can avoid vandalism and burning down neighborhoods.
Come on Caleb! The capital of Colombia is BO-GO-tah.... not buh-GO-tuh.
Caleb didn't do his research 😭
@@ClassyWhale Lol I originally wanted to tell you that about Bogotá but didn't want to ruin the moment! I guess on the topic of Colombia, that restaurant you ate at by Junction Blvd was Ecuadorian, not Colombian! Morocho is an Ecuadorian specialty, and the flags they had hanging were Ecuadorian. The Ecuadorian flag has a coat of arms!
Not gonna lie the 55 is good but its too long plus it goes to the lorain County line
Great video, any other US cities that have fake brt?
Many
@@ClassyWhale MY city has a "BRT" line. NJT's go28, which is basically an express route. Express buses already exist in NJ Transit. It has special paint and branding, but there's almost no bus lanes in Newark
@ClassyWhale maybe you should try cota in columbus's cmax. It is kinda fake brt but is kinda not
Go to Spokane WA, they just opened a new one that's barely 7 miles
Not really a BRT, and honestly it's BARELY an express bus. It is however, at least in my opinion. The most scenic of all the RTA bus lines.
Hey classy whale the Cleveland state buses run Monday thru Friday.
Just to notice on trips Sat and Sunday it runs from near Ontario as a start point also 55 used to be called the gold coast line until it became a brt 55A 55B 55C those are rush hour only routes
55 runs then it switches in to a 90
What’s BRT?
@@xeavor9177 bus rapid transit
LETS MAKE you Really crazy Look at HART brt
No the one in florida..
At least they painted it green
Its a gillig BRT!
Nope it's mainly a new flyer XD40 brt but weekends they don't run them. On weekends they run gillig
Clevland line uh oh
Classy🐳 😃
And the most pathetic thing is they put the MetroHealth line on the metro map... SMH
Tbh It may not be actual BRT but the CSL is definitely a good bus service... brings me directly to campus with almost no extra walking.
Ummm, people actually care about this?!!!!
Yes?
✌🏾
only in Ohio 💀💀🥶🥶