WRTA Service To Warren

[iwasthere]

rush gal brings her lunch in a brownbag that is mark, "ripple".

[mrniles266]

  Margherita's Grill. Located at 728 N. State St. Girard. State and 304 on the Warren Express bus route.

[jay]

Rushblvd,

Are there any good places to go for lunch in Girard?  Which places do you recommend that are on the Warren Express bus route? 

[northside lurker]

I think some of their smaller buses are supposed to be hybrid. (I think they received stimulous funds for some)  But none of the large buses are.  The oldest large buses in WRTA's fleet should be replaced in the next year or so.  We'll see if any of the new buses are hybrid.

[AllanY2525]

Is WRTA using any hybrid buses?  The diesel electric models do get better mileage
than plain diesel engines.  Lower emissions too.

[Rushblvd]

I sometimes am able to catch a glimpse of the Warren (WRTA) bus going through downtown Girard (422) and it seems like it is pretty full-both ways--

[jay]

From my limited experience (two trips), the larger buses are needed on the Warren Express bus route.  If anything, ridership is expected to increase over the next few months.  Switching to smaller buses would not be warranted.

Increasing the Warren Express to hourly service would double the cost of operating the route.  This would not be covered by the JARC grant.

[mrniles266]

  If all it takes to get buses into the Eastwood Mall, is a change of vehicle, why not try it? The schedule should be increased to every hour.  The other thought, is change the bus stop location to suite the Mall management. In the back maybe? Follow the route of the big trucks?

[jay]

The number of passengers departing Youngstown on the Warren Express usually exceeds the seating capacity of the mini-buses.

[Towntalk]

Here's the link to their web site. Why don't you send them an email with your ideas. From what I gather they are owned by the Eddy family - the car dealer - and they might see a benefit in a shuttle service to Eastwood Mall, and certainly the mall couldn't object a van or mini-bus coming into the mall don't you think.

http://afabcab.com/home.html

[mrniles266]

  The story was about Fab Cabs. Search for"Fab Cabs-Ready to roll" WKBN- 27 First News. Please comment.

[Towntalk]

I gather from Bell's reply that there will be no wiggle room so far as Eastwood Mall is concerned leading me to believe that you'll have to go back to the drawing board and figure another solution to the problem because sooner or later Bell is going to either tell you to buzz off or simply not reply to your messages. There is a new bus service in Youngstown that uses vans that hold about 12 passangers that operates on an on demand basis, and perhaps that might be the answer. I'll see if I can get the name of that company for you, or by chance someone else may have the information.

[mrniles266]

  I sent a second message, to Joe Bell of Cafaro, to clarify what he meant by not allowing the Warren Express buses into the Mall. What I wrote and his remarks. " Thanks for your suggestions. We'll keep them in mind as the transportation needs of of community evolve. You might be interested to know that we have not encountered any problems with the smaller buses used by the transit system operated by the  City of Niles. I understand that Trumbull County will soon be taking over that system, which operates on an "on call" basis for riders."
So it comes down to Small buses VS Big buses. I might go a little farther. The best we can hope, is that WRTA find some small Hybrid buses or maybe modify some of the present ones they now have. There have been suggestions that why does the buses have to come to the front door. Maybe a back entrance, like the area around the Len's Crafters entrance. It's like a Mini-hub for Trumbull Transit, WRTA, taxi service, and the other providers. The Eastwood Mall, Cafaro, should sponsor a semi-fixed and on call system for the entire Mall area. Have colorfull, small buses, with ads of the various stores, to help pay for the service, and promote themselves. Cars can be parked anywhere on the complex to get anywhere without having to worry do we have enough parking for this event or that.

[Towntalk]

  Getting old has both its advantages and disadvantages. 

The advantages ... an increase in wisdom ... sort of ... based on life experiences.

The disadvantages ... knowing that one is one step nearer the grave, not that I look forward to it, but when you can read the obituaries with the knowledge that your name isn't there, it's an affirmation that you've been given another reprieve.

[iwasthere]

They are probably afraid someone will fall on the property -get hurt-and sue.....
Who gives a crap if someone is runned down crossing 422--as long as its not on there property...
Ya gotta love people 

one must watch for flying chairs too in the mall. i heard if a cafaro is not happy with your amount of purchases from thier mall they throw a chair at you to cause you reason(s) to buy more stuff at thier establishments.