On further googling, I found an RTA presentation on their program to hedge fuel costs, bringing diesel equivalent costs to $1.80-$2.00 per gallon range.

This does not correspond to the numbers published on Cleveland.com of RTA paying over $3/gallon now.

If RTA has been hedging fuel costs for some time, what contracts are in place at what prices? Are some contracts over $3 and some under?

This may explain how we are locked into a rate of $3.17/gallon until April 2010, for some amount of fuel, but the attached presentation indicates RTA is currently buying fuel at lower rates, as well.

This makes me wonder, are we locked into some contracts at rates of over $3/gallon simply to justify the Board increasing and maintaining high fares, to avoid more serious cost-cutting?

To compare how another regional transit authority is impacted by diesel price changes this year, consider "Property tax decline puts dent in TARTA: Lower cost of fuel helps offset crunch" for Toledo.

Disrupt IT

  Norm--I am going to link to your article over on Cleveland.com.  There is obviously some major discrepancy over who pays to operate RTA and who benefits from those monies spent.  It's not about providing transportation for those who need it.  Instead, RTA has become another development tool for contractors salivating for the big federal construction monies that gave us the Health Line and soon the overkill Redline station at Cedar in University Circle.
 

I use the system on a weekly basis.  To ride the 20 bus is to suffer the indignity of being crammed into a cattle car with 40-50 people--armpits, butts, in everyone else's faces---disabled and elderly forced to stand because there is no room for them.  Then, you ride the Health Line with dispensed pass machines that don't work and you face further indignity, as boot jack RTA guards board the bus demanding to see "your papers please..."  I have watched these same guards kick people off the Health Line--usually the dark-complexioned men. 

The other day, I rode the Red Line with my bicycle--on a Saturday.  No attendant in the booth at the West 25th station, so no fare check--machines are wrapped in paper.  Boarded the train and no fare collected.  I rode the train with a young man from El Salvador going to work as a restaurant on the far East Side--He also had his bike and he got off to take the 32 and then to ride his bike to his employer miles away from the last stop.  As I walked through the urine soaked University Circle station, I saw another immigrant from Central America trying to work the pass machines, obviously distressed because he was going to miss the train and could not understand the text on the machines and did not know where to insert his money.  I gave him my pass.  

This is the REAL RTA, folks. 

I saw another immigrant from Central America trying to work the pass machines, obviously distressed because he was going to miss the train and could not understand the text on the mahcines and did not know where to insert the money.

This comment is slightly off-topic, but I'll make it anyway. I think whoever designed the user interface for the RTA fare machines did a terrible job. I would guess the machines are largely unusable by those with poor eyesight, limited literacy, poor English skills or limited familiarity with computers. (In other words, a fair number of people.) Tiny type, unexplained flashing cursors, cryptic virtual buttons labeled "Increment+" and "Decrement-," and long sequences of button-pressing to do simple things all scream, "Incompetent design."

Then all you have to do is transfer money onto it or add some cash at a machine, bank could do that, and ATM can do that

RTA makes attempt to offer transportation to every area, think about that.

Rather than saying if you do not drive or want to live on public transport then live here.

Something about Mohamed and the mountain.

The solution is about stratification and clustering and efficiency.

Bottom line the current methods are not affordable and will be less and less as time goes on.

As for the costs of fuel:

Is there a burp in the actual line? What caused the spike in diesel fuel? August of 2005?

The refineries lost production, then brought it back, the high prices have a lag on events, everything has a lag and policy can also affect that.

Increased demand and change in behavior. In the fall of 2006 the fuel production came back with cleaner low sulfur and with increased consumption in Europe.

Then there is the potential for bio-diesel, which could alter the forecast or not?

An introduction of higher efficiency engines will have an affect on prices. Light trucks in particular will shift from gasoline to diesel. That’s because the have greater power and use less fuel.

The production is know set to supply the market, which is moving towards diesel and consuming less of it.

What interests me is the conversion or correlation of electricity with plug in hybrids, the Chevy volt is rate at 130 MPG on a tank of fuel, but how many kilowatts does it consume?

What about the 220 or 110 outlet and it taking either 8 or 16 hrs? What does that covert to in actual electricity consumption? The cost, then the obvious how much coal will that take to burn and how much C02 will be generated?

The hybrids are the real solution, and diesel hybrid have a big place in commercial use. All of our commercial rail are diesel electric, high efficiency electric motors and highly efficient engines that power them and the recapturing of regenerative energy, then highly efficient batteries.

Reducing consumption at all levels should produce lower prices. That should be kept relatively constant, with increases in taxes based on the price of crude. If its component cost is 60% as it is today then if it lowers the price should be kept constant and the related demand pushed down. Lower demand through efficient alternatives the tax should be variable and keep the price constant. The alternative is only efficiency, in more fuel efficient.

The tax should go into the alternatives, as the demand or consumption fall the price would remain the same. The increased taxes directed into alternatives, that further reduce consumption. Alternatives should be real, and in a variety of forms. From not owning a car, walking area that are nearly fully contained live work environs to simply reducing commutes and relative miles driven. Then just by reducing the MPG and eliminating low mileage vehicles.

Taking a small part of the line, just 2007 -2009 not a real difference in prices.  

  Please see the above comment---Thank you DifferentPointofView--I appreciate your input here and welcome you to REALNEO. Please feel free to contact me any time.   You can click on most of the posters here and you should have the option to contact via email, if we have set up our accounts with the email option. 
 

Did someone post these things here?

Policy Matters Advocacy effort for Public Transit

It is difficult to pay attention to all the website, email news... Just sayin'.

Looks like there will be a train - 3C is funded, sort of... but what about local public transit. Still struggling.

What a mess... "RTA plans to avoid fare increases and service cuts in 2011" ... especially love:

A steep decline in fare revenue was unexpected, Fisk said. Initially the agency projected $55.7 million from fares this year but now expects $47.4 million. It is budgeting $50 million in fares for 2011.

The $8 million loss this year is the same amount RTA had expected to generate in additional revenue following fare increases last September. A bus ride now costs $2.25.

"Most of the fare increase got lost because of ridership drops," Fisk said.

Total ridership of 18.9 million for the first five months of this year was 11 percent less than the same period in 2009. While some ridership losses were due to 12 percent service cuts in April, it is mainly attributed to unemployment and people working fewer days each week, officials said.

Higher transit fares and lower gas prices have resulted in people deciding to drive to work or to special events instead of taking RTA, said General Manager Joe Calabrese.

Disrupt IT