[PRCo] Re: Latest on New Orleans RTA

[Fred Schneider]

Bill:    Do you accept off list e-mails?   Fred Schneider


On Oct 16, 2005, at 12:35 AM, Bill Robb wrote:

> 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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