[PRCo] Re: Latest on New Orleans RTA

[Fred Schneider]

OTHER THOUGHTS ON THE ST. CHARLES LINE:   I've mentioned this to  
others but perhaps not to this group (and maybe I have).   In  
addition to cleaning up the mess, there is another issue.    Several  
weeks ago I told a friend that I would be surprised if 300,000 to  
500,000 people didn't return to New Orleans.   I was thinking of  
Orleans, Jefferson and St. Barnabas parishes.   The Friday-Saturday- 
Sunday edition of USA Today came up with numbers of a similar order  
of magnitude (same number of zeros) ... they said 50,000 families  
which could be somewhere around 150,000 to 200,000 people.   I'm not  
sure any of us have clue until the next school census or the 2010  
U.S. census is conducted.

Whatever happens with NORTA, it will be a smaller system.   Not the  
one I knew in April 2005 and far from the one I rode in August 1958.

That also means that 1/3rd to 1/2 of the former bus drivers and  
trolley operators are not coming back either.    And supervisors.    
And mechanics.  Realism guys?   If someone walks in with a Class B or  
A commercial driver's license (and Fred Schneider happens to carry  
one), you found yourself a bus driver.   Half or two-thirds of the  
training is done.  (Right, Herb?)   But putting the trolleys back on  
its simply making sure all the poles are up and the branches aren't  
laying on the wires.   You need to train those new operators from  
scratch.   And you may not even have supervisors or instructors  
left.   Right now running buses is a whole lot easier.    Or is it....

Wow!  Boarding your bus drivers in 'Red Stick' and commuting several  
hours each way every day.  That smarts.   Even if you have drivers  
now for a dozen routes, doesn't say you'll have then in the next full  
moon .

>>> 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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