Health Concern: Greater Cleveland RTA Defends Decision To Stop Service During Snow Storm

CLEVELAND — As streets filled with slush and vehicles skidded off roads during the snow storm on Jan. 17, the Greater Cleveland RTA (GCRTA) shuttered bus and rail service across its service areas — a decision that a nonprofit group now wants investigated.

“It’s bad enough that GCRTA has let the Rapid fall into disrepair from decades of neglect and a failure to fund and procure replacement of equipment, some of which is way beyond its designed life span," said All Aboard Ohio Executive Director Stu Nicholson in an emailed statement. “But a total shutdown of the rapid along with all bus service makes us wonder if this approaches willful neglect on the part of GCRTA management.”

RTA management however defended the decision as necessary to protect the health and safety of both employees and riders. Cleveland received approximately 15 inches of snow during the initial hours of the storm, according to the National Weather Service. RTA leadership said more than 50 buses were stuck in snow at some point on Monday, while multiple trains began rolling backwards because they had no traction on the tracks.

“It was approximately at that moment when RTA made the decision to suspend bus and rail service until further notice," said GCRTA Deputy General Manager of Operations Floun’say Caver. “Communication of this decision was sent via RTA’s website, social media channels and transit app, and broadcasted by the local media."

During Monday's storm, Patch was one of the outlets that publicized the GCRTA's shutdown and the eventual restoration of service.

GCRTA staff worked with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb's office to try and clear both rail lines and streets to restore service. Carver believes those efforts helped RTA restore some service before the end of the day.

All Aboard Ohio countered that the winter storm that hit northern Ohio had been predicted and communication with customers should have begun earlier and been more transparent. The organization also wondered how many riders GCRTA left out in the cold — riders who "depend on the Rapid to connect with jobs, health care and school?"

“We call on the Mayor of the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County Executive, both of which are represented on the GCRTA Board, to appoint GCRTA board members that will address these issues with urgency," Nicholson said. "We also demand a full investigation of why those who depend on or choose to use public transit were literally left in the lurch by the decision to suspend rail service.”

GCRTA leadership however said they "stand firm" in their decision to temporarily stop services.

"RTA’s decision to suspend bus and rail service was a matter of continued health and safe operations for our employees and customers. While we apologize for any delays the suspension caused, we stand firm in our decision as stewards of public transport, as it relates to the life, health and safety of the public we serve. RTA believes in Connecting the Community and recognizes that it is our responsibility to do it safely, to the best of our ability, every day," the organization said in a statement.