[PRCo] Re: Latest on New Orleans RTA

[Bill Robb]

Yes I do.

--- Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net> wrote:

> 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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> >
> 
> 
> 



	
		
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