Tomorrow morning, with one relatively insignificant change in your routine, you can save money, reduce your level of stress, regain a significant chunk of personal time, improve the environment, and in a small but very real way, send a message to OPEC about what they can do with their oil. The question is, will you do it? Will you make that change?
Thank you, American Driver, for your Generosity.
Every morning thousands of Cleveland-area residents hop into their cars and race to one of the spontaneously formed parking lots that can be found with reassuring regularity on any of the various highways leading to Downtown. It’s an act of automotive masochism so seductive, apparently, that even the simplest, most logical alternative fails to break the spell. And that’s understandable, given the sublime pleasure of sitting at the wheel of a motionless car, watching as time and money and environmental degradation spew out of the tailpipe of the car in front of you, just as the person in that car watches the same thing, and so on, and so on. This is not productive time. And if this is your idea of relaxation, you probably defuse bombs for a living. But be of good cheer, because while you’re playing your part in this fossil-fueled daisy chain of stress, you and the other people sitting in their motionless cars on the same highway are picking up the tab for the Cristal a Saudi prince is pouring down his girlfriend’s pants in some massive disco on Ibiza.
Once you inch your way into Downtown you have to put your car somewhere. So unless parking is part of your compensation package you’re probably laying out at least a hundred bucks each month to rent a chunk of real estate the approximate size of a ping-pong table. What’s the return on that investment? And then, at the end of the day, you get to play the tape in reverse. So your workday, which for many of us a dependable source of the FDA’s Recommended Minimum Daily Allowance of wishing you were somewhere else, is bracketed by activities of the sort that have helped to make self-medication the national pastime. And you’re worried about carbs?
Make it all go away for $3
Every day, 185,000 Greater Clevelanders make use of the various commuter alternatives provided by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Among the most popular of these alternatives are the Park-n-Ride routes. The Park-n-Ride system is currently comprised of four free parking lots, located in Euclid, Strongsville, Westlake, and North Olmsted. Each Park-n-Ride route is serviced by MCI coaches, those big Greyhound-looking buses you’ve probably noticed. The MCI coaches feature luggage racks and high-backed reclining seats, each with a reading lamp and a personal air vent. Airline seats should be this comfortable.
Among the obvious differences between the MCI buses and those running other RTA routes is the absence of a back door. The unique nature of the Park-n-Ride routes makes back doors unnecessary. Buses traveling RTA’s regular routes make multiple stops, picking up and dropping off passengers along a fixed route. Front and back doors are necessary because at each stop passengers board and exit the bus. Park-n-Ride passengers, however, board all at once at the respective Park-n-Ride lots. Once leaving these lots, the Park-n-Ride buses drive straight through to Downtown, normally taking freeways. After arriving in Downtown the Park-n-Ride passengers to exit at their convenience at various stops.
Since the Park-n-Ride buses make no inbound stops, the drivers are free to take alternate routes in the event that the freeway is impassible because someone talking on a cellphone has rear-ended someone trying to put in contact lenses, who was distracted by an ambulance rushing to a previous accident.
RTA Media Relations spokesperson Jerry Masek reports that RTA’s Park-n-Ride customers are among the most loyal. I can personally attest to this. For me, the appeal of Park-n-Ride is that each morning – with remarkably few exceptions -- there are two or three buses lined up, waiting to board passengers. My bus is waiting for me – not the other way around. And if I miss the 7:52, the 8:00 is right there. If I miss that one, there’s the 8:15. And I still have time to pick up a donut and make it to the office before 9:00.
The bus ride from the Park-n-Ride lot at Columbia Road near I-90 in Westlake to my stop at 6th and Superior takes less than thirty minutes, sometimes a few minutes longer if the driver has diverted to an alternate route to avoid the carnage on 90 Eastbound. On the rare occasions that I’ve driven into town, the difference in travel time is negligible. But if I drive I give up thirty minutes that I normally spend reading, or napping, or looking out the window at people standing next to the freshly damaged cars lined up on the berm, exchanging insurance information while radiator fluid drips on the asphalt to mingle with bits of taillight. For this I pay $3 for the round trip. (RTA offers All Day Pass for $3 that’s good for all routes all day. These can be purchased on any RTA bus or Rapid.)
Masek describes the Park-n-Ride strategy as a far less expensive alternative to extending the Rapid Transit system to communities not served by commuter rail service. The idea is a success. According to Masek, the newest Park-n-Ride lot, in North Olmsted near Great Northern Mall, was recently filled to capacity. In response to this popularity four more Park-n-Ride lots are planned, including locations in Parma and Brecksville. In addition to route and schedule information available at http://www.gcrta.org, RTA is developing an online trip planner similar to Map Quest?. Type in your point of departure and your destination, and the system will plan your route. As Masek quipped, “This isn’t your father’s RTA.”
In a message posted on the RTA website, general manager Joseph A. Calabrese describes the organization’s mission:“Although many people would say that RTA is in the transportation business, I believe that RTA is really in the hospitality business.”
I’ve been a regular RTA rider for nearly two decades; I’m sold on the idea. But, cushy Park-n-Ride buses notwithstanding, I don’t know if I’m ready to equate hospitality with public transportation – not until they offer cocktail service. But when you add up the cost of gas and parking and added mileage and traffic congestion and air pollution and the unavoidable aggravation of morning and afternoon rounds of Psycho Bumper Cars, you have to question whether commuting to downtown Cleveland by car compares at all to a three dollar chauffeured round trip during which you can read, chat on your cell phone, use your laptop, sleep, or do absolutely nothing. What more do you want?
For more information, point your browser to: http://www.gcrta.org
From Cool Cleveland contributor Bob Rhubart (:divend:)