RTA Hires Consultant to Study Bus Rapid Transit Line

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has hired a consultant to help develop a bus trapid transit line on Cleveland’s west side.

The new route would extend westward from downtown on West 25th Street starting at the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, running though Ohio City and past MetroHealth before ending in Old Brooklyn.

The cost of the project has been put at $36 million to $40 million and it would take five years to complete.

The service would be similar to the Healthline BRT that operates from Public Square to University Circle via Euclid Avenue.

Federal funding is expected to help pay for development of the westside BRT route but RTA won’t qualify for federal money for the project until it meets federal rules for bus rapid transit routes.

Those include having a dedicated bus lane for at least part of the route and installation of traffic signals that give priority to buses.

The consultant, the Boston office of Stantec Consulting, will receive $414,000 to conduct a study of how to implement the BRT route.

RTA officials say the study is part of the groundwork for RTA to meet federal rules to qualify for BRT funding.

The study will include a financial analysis, describe possible plans for development, design, land use, zoning, and solicit public opinion on the project.

RTA has said that West 25^th Street is one of its busiest existing bus routes.

FlixBus to Make Columbus First Midwest Stop

A German company will begin intercity bus service to Columbus on Nov. 14.

FlixBus, which began operating in the United States in 2018, will launch service from Columbus to Pittsburgh and Washington.

The service will use Central Ohio Transit Authority’s downtown Spring Street Terminal.

The Columbus route is the first into the Midwest for FlixBus, which operates in similar fashion  to Megabus, which ended service to Columbus nearly three years ago.

Most FlixBus service is to points in the Northeast, South and West.

In a news release, FlixBus described its purpose as seeking to change the way people travel.

“We want to show people how inefficient it is to use your car for long-distance trips in the age of high gas and parking prices, traffic and low mileage leases,” said managing director Pierre Gourdain in a statement.

He said riding the bus is a convenient and comfortable alternative allowing passengers to work, relax or sleep while they travel and save money.

FlixBus plans to operate a daily early morning trip to Pittsburgh with fares between $9.99 and $14.99.

Fares to Washington range from $24.99 to $29.99.

Connections could be made in those cities to such destinations as Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia.

German Bus Company to Enter U.S. Market

A German long-distance bus company says it plans to begin service in the United States in competition with Greyhound, Megabus and Amtrak.

FlixBus said it will be based in Los Angeles.

“There is a significant shift in the American transport market at the moment. Public transportation and sustainable travel is becoming more important,” FlixBus founder and manager Andre Schwaemmlein said in a statement.

FlixBus has been a major player in European long-distance bus service since 2013 and has survived a fierce price war among new market entrants to boost its market share in Germany.

A Reuters news service story said FlixBus has more than 90 percent market share and its bright green motor coaches are a common sight on German roads.

FlixBus does not own any of its buses but instead works with local and regional partners.

That is similar to how Megabus operates in the United States. Owned by Britain’s Stagecoach Group, Megabus began U.S. service in 2006.

One of its chief competitors, Greyhound, is owned by a British company, FirstGroup PLC. Greyhound carries 18 million passengers a year with a fleet of 1,700 vehicles.

By contrast, Amtrak carried 31.3 million in fiscal year 2016. Figures are not yet available systemwide for FY 2017.

FlixBus did not say when it would begin service or what routes it would serve.

Greyound to Use Ann Arbor Amtrak Station

Greyhound buses serving Ann Arbor, Michigan, will soon be stopping outside the Amtrak station.

Boarding will be on Depot Street. City officials have removed two metered parking spots to make room for the buses to load and unload.

Currently, Greyhound’s Ann Arbor stop is at a makeshift ticket office inside a parking garage along Fourth Avenue across from the Blake Transit Center.

That move came in 2014 after the bus line was forced to move from Huron Street when the bus station there was razed to make way for a hotel.

Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Susan Pollay said Greyhound passengers will enjoy a comfortable waiting area and the ability to transfer to Amtrak trains and Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority buses operating every 30 minutes between downtown and the Amtrak station.

No date has been announced for the move, but Greyhound’s lease for its Fourth Avenue space expires on Dec. 31.

Buses Replace LSL Boston Section in July, August

The Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited will not operate on certain days in July and August due to CSX track work.

In a service advisory, Amtrak said Nos. 448 and 449 will not run between Albany-Rensselaer, New York, and Boston (South Station) on the following dates:

• July 10
• July 17-20
• July 31-Aug. 3
• Aug. 7-10
• Aug. 14-17

Passengers will ride a bus between Albany-Rensselaer and Boston that will stop at the intermediate Amtrak stations of Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Framingham.

Bus service will not be provided to Boston’s Back Bay station. Amtrak said passengers should contact MBTA for travel information to Back Bay.

Passengers at South Station should go to the Amtrak Information Desk for instructions on boarding the buses.

At Framingham, passengers will board buses at the drop-off/pick-up area track 2 platform (at Waverly Street).

In Worcester, passengers should go downstairs to the intercity bus area and board the bus marked Premier Bus.

Greyhound Moving to Toledo CUT on June 15

Greyhound will begin using Toledo Central Union Terminal on June 15. It won’t be the first bus service at the facility, which is also served by four daily Amtrak trains.

Amtrak Thruway buses have been using the station for several years.

The Port Authority is undertaking a $500 million renovation to accommodate Greyhound at the now named Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza.

Amtrak’s Capitol Limited (Chicago-Washington) and Lake Shore Limited (Chicago-New York) stop at the station, which opened in 1950.

GoBus Adds Service to Wooster

An intercity bus service based in southern Ohio that specializes in serving rural communities has expanded its route network into Wooster and Wayne County while at the same time increasing service out of Cleveland.

GoBus recently launched a route between Columbus and Wooster with twice-daily service provided by Lakefront Lines.

The route has stops at the Port Columbus Airport, Columbus Greyhound Station, Newark, Mt. Vernon, Gambier, Berlin and Wooster.

At the same time, an existing route operated by Barons Bus Lines runs once daily between the major cities of Chicago, Columbus, and Cleveland began serving Van Wert in western Ohio.

It will make stops in Marysville, Kenton, Lima, Delphos, and Van Wert.

The GoBus program began operating to Cleveland, Akron and Canton this past March.

There are two routes that originate in Cleveland. One route extends to Charleston, West Virginia, and includes intermediate stops in Akron, Canton, New Philadelphia, Newcomerstown, Cambridge, Caldwell and Marietta in Ohio and in the West Virginia cities of Parkersburg and Ripley.

The other Cleveland route runs to Athens and has intermediate stops in Parma, Broadview Heights, Akron, Canton, Mt. Eaton, New Philadelphia, Newcomerstown, Cambridge, Caldwell, Marietta, Parkersburg, Coolville, Athens and Ohio University.

Both routes are operated by Barons Bus Lines. GoBus also sponsors service linking Columbus, Athens, Parkersburg and Cincinnati.

Tickets may be purchased at the bus stations in major cities, from the driver or online at ridegobus.com/gobustickets.

GoBus Intercity Bus Service is a collaboration between the Federal Transit Administration, Ohio Department of Transportation, and Greyhound, and is administered by Hocking Athens Perry Community Action.