HealthLine
The HealthLine is a bus rapid transit line run by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority in Cleveland and East Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The line runs along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in downtown Cleveland to the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. It began operation on October 24, 2008. Its current name was the result of a naming rights deal with the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. The HealthLine is denoted with a silver color and abbreviated simply as HL on most RTA publications.
The HealthLine's ridership peaked at 5.08 million rides in 2014, but has since declined by over 25% through 2018, with 3.7 million rides that year.
The Healthline is tied with Connecticut Transit's CTfastrak as the second-top rated BRT system in the United States each with Silver rating according to the BRT Standard. Only ABQ RIDE's Albuquerque Rapid Transit has achieved the top rating of Gold.
History
Going back to the 1950's, the city of Cleveland considered alternatives for rapid transit along Euclid Avenue between downtown and University Circle. In 1985, the city commissioned a study called the Dual Hub Corridor Alternatives Analysis/Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The study estimated the cost of a subway along this corridor to be $1 billion and an option that involved a light rail component at $750 million. A further study in 1993 examined additional alternatives, including a bus rapid transit plan, which ultimately was selected by the RTA in 1995. Upon adoption by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency in December 1995, the name of the project was changed from the Dual Hub Corridor to the Euclid Corridor.The plan included the Euclid Corridor busway, relocating five Red Line stations and right-of-way improvements on East 17th and East 18th Streets. At the time, the estimated cost of the project was $210 million with the federal government funding 80% of the cost. In 1996, the Federal Transit Administration provided $4.0 million in funds for initial engineering studies. The initial ridership projections were 29,500 boardings per day by 2025. In 1999, the plan was scaled back to include only the busway and a budget of $228.6 million was established with the city seeking a 59% federal government share, or $135.0 million. The final design was completed in 2002 and the project was funded in 2004, with completion in 2008. The total cost was $197.2 million, which accounted for some additional changes to the initial scope.
In 2008, the RTA secured a naming rights deal with the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals for $6.25 million over 25 years and the route was renamed the HealthLine.
Route description
The HealthLine route travels along Euclid Avenue from Public Square in Downtown Cleveland to Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. It passes through the neighborhoods of Downtown, Midtown, Fairfax, University Circle and the suburb of East Cleveland.There are 59 stations along Euclid Avenue that serve the HealthLine. All stations are equipped with a fare card vending machine, 24-hour lighting and an emergency phone. An illuminated text display informs passengers of expected arrival times. Between Public Square and East 107th Street, all stations have raised platforms that align with the floor of the rapid transit vehicle, easing boarding and alighting.
Between Public Square and East 105th Street, Euclid Avenue has two "bus only" lanes close to the inner median which only allow HealthLine vehicles passage, reducing delays due to conflicts with general traffic during busy times. Complementing the HealthLine is a set of bike lanes on the outer edges of the stretch Euclid Avenue that connects Cleveland State University with Case Western Reserve University.
As late as July 2010, the trip from East Cleveland to downtown during rush hour was more than 40 minutes – longer than the planned 33 minutes. This was due to traffic light timing and the 25 mph speed limit along most of the route. The speed limit was raised to 35 mph for buses and traffic light timing was adjusted further to combat this issue.
The decision to turn off signal priority along portions of the line has been referred to as a form of BRT creep.
Bus fleet
The HealthLine runs a fleet of 21 articulated DE63LFA-BRT vehicles, manufactured by New Flyer Industries, each with a seating capacity of 47 and able to accommodate 53 more standing up. The vehicles have two doors on each side and run on a diesel-electric hybrid motor system that produce 90% less emissions than regular buses. A low sulfur diesel engine generates electrical power to run smaller electric motors mounted on each of the wheels. Each vehicle also has a GPS locator on board, which allows automated traffic signals to give the HealthLine buses priority at busy intersections.Bus stops
The RTA classifies its bus rapid transit stops as "curb stations" and "median stations". Median stations are located within the Euclid Avenue busway and can only be accessed using crosswalks. Median stations can utilize left- or right-side boarding, as buses have doors on both sides. Curb stations are more traditional bus stops where buses open their doors to the right curb of the street.Schedule
On weekdays, the HealthLine runs every 7-10 minutes from 6:10am-7:10pm, and every 15-30 minutes outside that window. On weekends and holidays, it runs every 15 minutes from 4:40am-11:40pm and every 30 minutes outside that window.Stations
All stations are ADA-accessible| Station | Platform style | Doors opened | Location | Connections / Notes |
| Public Square/West Roadway | curb | left | Downtown | West side of Public Square; eastbound only |
| Public Square/Tower City | curb | left | Downtown | RTA Rapid Transit RTA Bus: most lines serving downtown and Public Square; Adjacent to Tower City station; eastbound only |
| East 2nd Street | median | left | Downtown | Serves The Arcade |
| East 6th Street | median | left | Downtown | |
| East 9th Street | median | left | Downtown | Serves Playhouse Square |
| East 14th Street | median | left | Downtown | Serves Playhouse Square and TV station WVIZ Ideastream |
| East 19th Street | 2 median | right | Downtown | Serves Cleveland State University |
| East 24th Street | 2 median | right | Downtown | Serves Cleveland State University and Stephanie Tubbs Transit Center |
| East 30th Street | 2 median | right | Central | |
| East 36th Street | 2 median | right | Central | |
| East 40th Street | 2 median | right | Central | Serves Children's Museum of Cleveland |
| East 51st Street | 2 median | right | Central | Serves The Agora |
| East 59th Street | 2 median | right | Central | RTA Bus: 16 |
| East 66th Street | 2 median | right | Central | |
| East 71st Street | 2 median | right | Central | |
| East 79th Street | 2 median | right | Fairfax | RTA Bus: 2 |
| East 83rd Street | 2 median | right | Fairfax | |
| East 89th Street | 2 median | right | Fairfax | |
| East 93rd Street | 2 median | right | Fairfax | RTA Bus: 7, 9, 32, 48, 48A Serves Cleveland Clinic |
| East 100th Street | 2 median | right | Fairfax | Sunday service only |
| East 105th Street | 2 median | right | University Circle | RTA Bus: 10 Serves Cleveland Public Library MLK branch, Ronald McDonald House Easternmost stop on exclusive BRT right-of-way |
| Stokes/Stearns | 2 curb | right | University Circle | RTA Bus: 7, 9, 32, 48, 48A Stokes westbound, Stearns eastbound |
| Adelbert Road | 2 curb | right | University Circle | Serves Case Western Reserve University |
| Cornell Road | 2 curb | right | University Circle | RTA Bus: 9 Serves University Hospitals |
| East 115th Street | 2 curb | right | University Circle | RTA Bus: 38 Serves Cleveland Institute of Art |
| East 118th Street | 2 curb | right | University Circle | |
| East 123rd Street | 2 curb | right | University Circle | RTA Bus: 38 Former RTA Red Line connection at Euclid–East 120th station |
| Lakeview Road | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | RTA Bus: 38 |
| Delmont Avenue / Roxbury Road | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | Delmont westbound, Roxbury eastbound |
| Emily Street / Garfield Road | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | Emily westbound, Garfield eastbound |
| Superior Avenue | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | Red Line RTA Bus: 3 and 40 |
| Eddy Road / Wellesley Avenue | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | Eddy westbound, Wellesley eastbound |
| Lakefront Road / Belmore Avenue | 2 curb | right | East Cleveland | Lakefront westbound, Belmore eastbound |
| Debra Ann Lane | curb | right | East Cleveland | Westbound |
| Louis Stokes–Windermere | right | East Cleveland | RTA Bus: 3, 28, 28A, 30, 37, 41, 41F |