NEW YORK, N.Y. -- What can Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson do to provide Clevelanders with a higher quality of life and greater access to economic opportunity? He could start by paying attention to his city's buses and trains. While better transit is not the only development strategy needed in Cleveland, it is difficult to imagine a comeback plan that does not make it easy and affordable for people to navigate the city.



Jackson's last formal contribution to transit in Cleveland was in 2008, when he presided over the launch of the HealthLine rapid bus project.

However, that effort had been in the works since the 1990s and was well on its way to implementation during Mayor Jane Campbell's tenure.

In the past decade, the mayor has been apathetic as transit in Cleveland has spiraled downward. He has never articulated a strong, comprehensive vision for the rest of Cleveland's bus system and network of trains. Indeed, his most notable intervention was his attempted closure of Public Square to buses, which meant delays and longer walks for riders. The mayor ultimately reversed his position, not in response to riders' concerns but to the threat of substantial federal fines in a breach of contract dispute.



Research by my organization, TransitCenter, finds that transit thrives where mayors use tools at their disposal to take responsibility for its success, even if -- like Jackson -- they do not directly control the local transit provider. These range from economic incentives to spur transit-friendly development, to exercising the power of the bully pulpit to support new ways of thinking.

As mayor of the largest city within the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority service area and its most important customer, Jackson could make a significant impact by choosing from among these tools and challenging the agency to better serve the public.

Transit in Cleveland is on life support.

Funding cuts have made 30-minute or longer waits at rush hour common. And with fares set to rise next summer, the RTA will ask riders to pay more for shrinking service.

Cleveland's officials reflexively blame meager state funding. Ohio is indeed on track to allocate about $40 million annually for Ohio's transit providers at a time when the state Department of Transportation estimates that an investment roughly three times greater is needed to bring Ohio's transit fleet to a state of good repair and to meet current transit demand.

But neither the state nor federal government is coming to the rescue anytime soon. For now, the region must meet its own needs.

What should Jackson do?

The mayor should first take full advantage of the rail system he has inherited. Cities from Seattle to Charlotte are spending billions to build passenger rail networks like the one Cleveland already possesses. Instead of bestowing new subsidies on wealthy sports teams, why not offer tax incentives to bring transit-friendly residential and commercial development to the parking lots and vacant land next to train stations?

Cities like Columbus and Baltimore have decided that bus maps based on early 20th-century trolley routes no longer make sense today, and have begun to reorganize them. The mayor should make a case to the RTA to similarly examine where the current bus system fails to provide residents with fast, frequent, and walkable connections to jobs and neighborhoods, and to commit to updating its routes and schedules.

Of course the mayor should forcefully advocate for increased state investment in transit. As reported in The Plain Dealer,

, among the lowest in the nation, on transit. Yet despite the specter of further state cuts, Jackson has been silent. He has not made a public case for how state transit investment might benefit the health of his city's economy.

Consider what can happen when a mayor rallies community support for a clear transit vision. Beginning in 2008, then-Mayor Greg Ballard organized Indianapolis civic leaders around the idea that high-quality transit is an economic imperative. Residents agreed, and last November voted overwhelmingly to fund

, which promises a vastly expanded bus network. Ballard did not directly control the local transit provider, IndyGo. But he nonetheless marshaled support for it because he understood its importance for his city's future.

This year's election presents Mayor Jackson with the opportunity to describe the future he envisions for Cleveland: one where the assets of the RTA atrophy and development continues to sprawl; or one where a high-quality transportation system anchors thriving neighborhoods. It is up to Cleveland's civic leaders and voters to raise the issue at every turn.

funded by proceeds of the 2012 sale of TransitChek, a commuter benefits program. Colin Wright is an advocacy associate for TransitCenter , a New York-based foundation committed to improving urban mobility that was

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