(Plain Press December 2025) On Tuesday, November 18, during a presentation to the Board of Trustees on its 2026 operating budget, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced its plans to reduce bus service in 2026.

   Service cuts are a life-threatening blow to a transit agency already struggling for relevance. People have fled public transit because it is usually less convenient than driving, and service cuts will only accelerate the death spiral. RTA can’t cut its way out of this. New revenue generation is the only way. In terms of what that new revenue generation is …. whatever works. There are multiple revenue sources that could be tapped.

COMMENTARY

   Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) has spent years as Cassandra shouting warnings of impending financial doom coming to RTA. Yet, the RTA Board of Trustees has done nothing to prepare for where we find ourselves now. 

   RTA’s financial health has been on life support since 2017 when the State of Ohio narrowed the state sales tax base by removing Medicaid managed care organizations from its coverage. That resulted in a $20 million blow to RTA’s operating budget. Service cuts and fare hikes likely would have occurred then if it weren’t for the pandemic-era Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These two federal laws provided hundreds of millions of dollars to RTA, which have been keeping the transit agency’s books balanced since then.

   Yesterday, RTA presented its 2026 operating budget in which it predicts it will run out of its rainy-day fund (where CARES Act and ARPA funds were placed) in 2027. Yet prior to spending that rainy day fund down entirely, RTA is planning to cut bus service because of, the agency says, quickly rising healthcare costs. 

   As a short-term solution for 2026, instead of cutting service, RTA should plan to spend down its rainy-day fund entirely. It must also find new, local sources of revenue. While the Trump administration proposes gutting the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund, we know we can’t count on the current federal government. Nor can we count on the State of Ohio, with its Republican supermajority, to properly fund public transit. We must act locally. 

   Thankfully, there are several possible sources of revenue that local leaders could provide to RTA. Most importantly, the RTA Board of Trustees has the power to place on a countywide ballot the question of either a property tax levy or a sales tax levy. A .5% increase in the county sales tax would plug RTA’s budget holes and allow the agency to expand service – something CPT has been demanding of the RTA Board of Trustees for years. (On the flip side, to cut expenses, RTA should also slash spending on its $19 million police department.) Generating around $14 million each year, there’s also Cleveland parking tax money that is currently pegged toward maintenance at Browns Stadium but could be redirected to RTA operations. Another possible source of revenue for RTA is Cleveland’s smart parking meter revenue, which Mayor Bibb promised to public transit during his first mayoral campaign. The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, or any of the 58 suburban municipalities in the county also could directly transfer funds from their coffers to RTA. Major employers could provide funding directly to RTA. Community Benefits Agreements could mandate fees be paid by developers to fund transit. It is the belief of Clevelanders for Public Transit that only a sales tax increase will be sufficient to prevent future service cuts, but all sources of revenue should be on the table. 

   Service cuts will devastate lives. Quite the opposite of RTA’s mission to connect the community, the transit agency is preparing to disconnect people from access to jobs, education, healthcare, family, and friends. In Cleveland, more than 20% of households have no access to a car. These folks will be hit hardest. Yet, we all lose when public transit or other public goods are cut. 

   Public transit is a poverty reliever – needed here in one of the poorest big cities in the nation. Public transit is climate resilience – needed now more than ever as highlighted especially by the federal government decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords. Public transit is pro-social in a world that is increasingly atomized. We must fund public transit well because it is crucial to achieving a healthy planet on which we can all live equitably in harmony with one another.

Editor’s Note: This commentary was submitted by Clevelanders for Public Transit. The Chairperson of the organization is Chris Martin.