The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is expanding services to the city’s premiere attractions.
Starting today, RTA is adding three trolley services to the downtown area on weeknights and weekends.
The new lines will cost the transit system about $1.2 million a year, funded primarily through the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, said RTA general manager Joe Calabrese.
“The great thing about Cleveland today is that we’re seeing more and more activity than we have maybe ever, in my 12 years today,” Calabrese said at an announcement last week. “People are concerned about traveling, concerned about parking. Those are good signs, and this will help.”
As the downtown area continues to grow, Mayor Frank G. Jackson said the trolley expansion will play a significant role.
“There’s been a lot of development in recent years, significant development, but there was always something missing,” Jackson said. “This initiative helps provide that connectivity. As we look at all these things, we need something to allow people to move around the city of Cleveland, particularly downtown, and go to the different venues, the different nose of activities and investments.”
THE C-LINE
The Convention and Casino Line trolley combines major attractions from the B-Line and E-Line trolleys. It services run from 7 to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. According to the RTA website, the C-Line connects the Horseshoe Casino and the future Medical mark and Convention Center, with stops along the way to Playhouse Square and the East Fourth Street entertainment district, the historic Waterhouse District and seven major hotels.
THE L-LINE
The Lakefront Line takes passengers from Public Square to popular lakefront destinations, like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center and Voinovich Bicentennial Park. Service for this line runs from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends.
THE NINETWELVE LINE
The NineTwelve Line is a weekday commuter service from the Municipal Parking Lot, Gateway East Parking Garage and businesses in the NineTwelve District. The service will run from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The RTA trolley system started in April 2006, and now, nearly 5,000 people ride it every day.