With a Budget Deficit to Fix—What Should The GCRTA Do About the 'Ghost Train'?

Tim Kovach explores the implications of a recent decision to raise fares on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) system in light of a $7 million budget shortfall. The GCRTA Board of Trustees recently "approved a series of stepwise fare increases that will take effect on August 16, which should increase annual operating revenues by $3.5 million. Single-ride fares will increase to $2.50 from $2.25 currently and, ultimately, rise again to $2.75 in August 2018. All day passes will increase from $5 to $5.50 and ultimately $6, while monthly passes will jump from $85 to $95 and then $105."

Not only do those fare increases mean "Cleveland’s fares are now on par with, or even higher than, some of the most extensive transit systems in the country," writes Kovach, they also won't cover the extent of the deficit.

Which brings Kovach to the debate over what to do with the GCRTA's "Ghost Line"—officially known as the Waterfront rail line, "which ferries customers from the Tower City transit hub along the Cuyahoga River and lakefront to the South Harbor," carrying 400 passengers a day and an average of two riders per off-peak train.

The main theme of the article is what exactly to do about the Ghost Train, in light of development expectations along the line as well as sunk cost (the line cost $50 million to construct and opened in 1996). Kovach recommends a few steps planners and local officials should take to determine the future of the line.