[PRCo] Re: Latest on New Orleans RTA

[Bill Robb]

>From the Times-Picayune:

http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/library-88/1129272549221610.xml?nola

RTA back on track slowly, surely
Everyone rides free on skeletal service 

Friday, October 14, 2005

By Bruce Eggler
Staff writer 

The big Regional Transit Authority bus rumbled along a
nearly deserted St. Charles Avenue on Wednesday
morning, carrying three passengers from Carrollton
toward the Central Business District in lonely,
air-conditioned comfort. 

A day later and an hour earlier, another bus on the
same route seemed practically packed by comparison,
with about 20 passengers riding at least part of the
way to Canal Street. 

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the RTA is offering
skeleton service, operating 28 buses on 13 New Orleans
routes. The ridership also is skeletal, totaling just
over 2,000 in the first week after service resumed
Oct. 2. 

Before Katrina, the agency carried an average of
855,000 riders a week. 

But despite long waits between buses on some lines,
business seems to be building. Ridership nearly
doubled between Monday and Tuesday of this week, from
528 to 946, though it fell slightly Wednesday. 

One reason for the growing ridership: Everybody rides
for free these days and will continue to do so for as
long as six months, with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency picking up the tab through the
Federal Transit Administration. 

The 35 historic St. Charles Avenue streetcars survived
the hurricane and subsequent flooding without damage,
but mud and debris still cover the streetcar tracks in
many places, and many of the poles holding the cars'
electric power line were damaged, meaning that buses
will continue on the route for the foreseeable future.


Besides the St. Charles line, other routes in service
are Marigny-Bywater, Tchoupitoulas, Magazine, Jackson,
Louisiana, Leonidas and six West Bank lines: Algiers
Loop, Gen. Meyer, Pace Boulevard, Aurora Express,
Algiers Local and Gen. de Gaulle. 

The Marigny, Louisiana and Leonidas routes are
somewhat different than they were before Katrina.
Details can be found on the RTA's Web site,
www.norta.com. 

The RTA also operates the Kenner Loop route in Kenner,
though not the bus lines that run through East
Jefferson between Kenner and New Orleans, which are
operated by Jefferson Transit. Daily ridership on the
Kenner Loop has varied between 50 and 228 since it
resumed Oct. 2. That line is charging a 40-cent fare
for adults, half the normal rate. 

Except for two weekday-only lines in Algiers, buses
operate seven days a week, but service does not begin
until 8 a.m. and the last trip ends by 6 p.m., a real
drawback for many potential riders. 

One reason for the short hours is that the bus drivers
are living in Baton Rouge and must be bused to and
from New Orleans each day, said Pat Judge, the RTA's
director of public affairs. 

He said the agency is looking at ways to expand the
service, both in hours and in the number of lines
operating. 

"Additional lines and service will be considered as
buses, fueling and maintenance services can be
secured," Judge said. "Temporary housing continues to
be a critical need for RTA operators, maintenance
workers and administrative staff." 

Changes in service will be announced on the agency's
Web site. 

In a report to the City Council this week, Judge also
said: 

-- About 190 buses were lost to flooding. The
remaining fleet is either in service or is being
recovered after temporary use by the National Guard
and others in the hurricane's aftermath. 

-- All 24 streetcars on the year-old Canal Street line
were flooded and their running gears are inoperable.
One car was shipped to Pennsylvania this week for
damage assessment. 

-- At the urging of Mayor Ray Nagin, the RTA is
considering using a number of the undamaged St.
Charles streetcars on the Riverfront streetcar line.
Although the Riverfront track appears to be undamaged,
six of the seven Riverfront cars are inoperable. 

-- The RTA's staff of 1,300 is dispersed over a wide
geographic area and many are homeless. 

-- The agency's administrative offices in eastern New
Orleans suffered severe water and roof damage. The A.
Philip Randolph bus barn on Canal Street and the
eastern New Orleans bus facility and maintenance
building were flooded and badly damaged. 

-- An undetermined number of LIFT vehicles and
paratransit vans used to transport people with
disabilities were damaged, but many are still
operable. 

-- Union Passenger Terminal, where Amtrak service
resumed this week, is being served by the Algiers Loop
and Gen. Meyer lines, which run to Canal and Rampart
streets. 



		
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