The Health Line, a seven-mile-long bus rapid transit

The Health Line, a seven-mile-long bus rapid transit (BRT) route, is expected to begin operating on Cleveland’s premier street the last week of October. At a cost of about $200 million, mostly from the federal government, the BRT line has been installed on Euclid Avenue from the downtown Public Square to University Circle. Sixty-two-foot-long articulated, rubber-tired vehicles will pick up passengers at stations on islands in the center of the street. To speed departures, an “off-board fare collection” system will enable passengers to pay prior to boarding. The Greater Cleveland Transit Authority is doing everything possible to avoid the term “bus” to the purportedly train-like conveyance. This includes placing the Health Line on the Authority’s rail map rather than on its bus map, a spokesperson told New Urban News. Some of the expense of the project stems from the rebuilding of sidewalks and efforts to improve appearances along the route. The line is named for two health institutions on the route.