Advertisement Sacramento RT: Crackdown on freeloaders is working Changes on light rail also spotlight cleanliness Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Regional Transit's new General Manager Henry Li heard from customers on Thursday, who gave him some very candid comments."You're supposed to be the capital, and you've got lousy service in Sacramento," one passenger shouted at the RT's chief executive officer. "We should have the best RT service that ever was."Li quickly responded, "That's what we are working on."But the RT customer was just getting started, telling Li, "And work on your bus drivers, because you got some real nasty bus drivers."Li has his work cut out for him. Last November, a KCRA 3 investigation found unsanitary and gross conditions on light rail trains and stations, including discarded food and bandages. KCRA 3 also documented an elevator car covered in bird droppings at the Watt Avenue station.Since that time, RT has more than doubled its cleaning staff. All 97 light rail vehicles are cleaned at night -- seven days a week."We were down to about 10 cleaners cleaning the trains,” RT's Chief Operating Officer Mark Lonergan said. “So, we're up over 22 now, devoted to cleaning the cars, including the people coming out mid-day."In Thursday’s ride-along with Li, KCRA 3 traveled on three separate trains at random -- and found them to be much more hygienic than in the past. On one train, KCRA 3 observed a mid-day cleaning crew on board, keeping things tidy. KCRA 3 did find some scratched-up windows, but RT is wrapping 36 of its trains to improve the look of its oldest cars.Regional Transit is also addressing security concerns."There was one instance where I was catching a light rail to meet a friend and then a fight ensued," RT passenger Mychael Jones said. "I just had to leave the station.”RT has added 25 transit agents to crack down on transients and others who try to ride the rails for free."We're observing people that normally would try to jump on without fare aren't boarding our trains now, or they are purchasing fares," RT's Security Vice President Norm Leong said. "That has changed how people behave on the trains."In July, RT raised ticket prices by 10 percent. A one-day ticket rose from $2.50 to $2.75, while an all-day pass jumped from $6 to $7.The price hike has proven to be a financial challenge for passengers like Molly Morello."And, $7 a day to get back and forth to work -- that's an hour of my work,” she said. “It's a little crazy to pay an hour's worth of work just to get to work.”RT is making $6 million worth of improvements."Revenues are slightly up," RT's board chairman Jay Schenirer said. "They were going down. So we know we've stabilized, and we really look to this opportunity with the new arena to attract new riders.”With Paul McCartney set to appear in concert for the opening of the Golden 1 Center on Oct. 4, RT's goal is to shuttle up to 8,000 people from the arena within an hour of the event starting and ending.On Thursday, RT reported it had reduced the number of freeloaders from 15 percent in May to just 5 percent now."We are transforming Regional Transit system wide," Li said. "Riding RT will be clean, safe and convenient."