The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority was awarded $130 million in federal funding on May 5, 2023, to help replace its aging rail fleet. With the check, from left, is RTA's General Manager and CEO India Birdsong Terry, Congresswoman Shontel Brown, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
Trustee David Weiss, the mayor of Shaker Heights, said approval of the 5-year contract was an important step toward maintaining stability and continuity for the transit system. Now it is up to the board to make clear to taxpayers that they’re getting their money’s worth. Ridership has started to recover, reaching about 19 million boardings a year. Before the pandemic it had been about 32 million boardings a year.