tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post8296538222455618957..comments2023-09-05T03:42:45.586-04:00Comments on Queen City Discovery: [Views of Cincinnati] A Series Named SouthbankRonny Salernohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09028420637930256541noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-44935755356019774402012-10-31T03:48:21.832-04:002012-10-31T03:48:21.832-04:00Thanks! Glad you like the shots. Transit is a gate...Thanks! Glad you like the shots. Transit is a gateway to creativity.Ronny Salernohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028420637930256541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-15786998878265651492012-10-27T08:59:50.651-04:002012-10-27T08:59:50.651-04:00I love the pictures! My boyfriend and I were actua...I love the pictures! My boyfriend and I were actually just talking last night about the seeming dearth of well composed photos from the inside of transit vehicles.(OK, I was talking, and he was listening politely) Good stuff :)Nate Wesselhttp://www.cincymap.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-43796300484936432712012-10-18T16:10:13.481-04:002012-10-18T16:10:13.481-04:00Nick,
Wow! Thanks for all the info! That's an...Nick,<br /><br />Wow! Thanks for all the info! That's an awesome story behind the shuttles that I never realized.<br /><br />I grew up in the suburbs and never used public transit until 2009, I can't imagine getting around cities any other way. While I do use my car a lot in Cincinnati, TANK has been a great service to me.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing all that!Ronny Salernohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028420637930256541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-17411311579603028722012-10-18T09:29:41.235-04:002012-10-18T09:29:41.235-04:00Hello Gordon,
The Shuttle was the brainchild of a...Hello Gordon,<br /><br />The Shuttle was the brainchild of a group of forward-thinking business people sparked by Wally Pagan of the Southbank Partners in the mid ninties. While there is a lot more behind the scenes activity than is immediately apparent, the Northern Kentucky consortium saw an opportunity to collectively promote the assets of Northern Kentucky.<br /><br />While I'm not privy to all the details, bus driving fit a niche in my life as part-time job. The actual operation of the service was initialy managed by Executive Transportation of Newport under contract to TANK in collaboration with the Southbank Partners. I was employed by Executive.<br /><br />The operation was highly experimental and cobbled together with a dozen or so very used (and inexpensive) repainted 26-passenger busses that were abandoned and later rescued from a Florida public transit company. To entice ridership, fare was initially set at 25 cents. The initial routes were circular between the cities and operated simultaneously in clockwise and counterclockwise directions across the Bailey, Beard, and Veterans' Memorial (Fourth Street) bridges.<br /><br />After an appropriate kickoff on Fountain Square sometime in the spring of 1998, service began. It did't start off as well as it is going today. Indeed I drove many complete routes with absolutely no riders.<br /><br />Ridership built slowly, and after about two years, total management was taken in house by TANK. Route changes have been made continually over the years to maximize ridership and adjust to changing traffic patterns on both sides of the river. Recall that this was before the stadiums, the Freedom Center, the aquarium and Newport on the Levee, the Purple People Bridge, the Ascent in Covington, the Covington Convention Center, the Hoffbrau House, the proposed Ovation housing complex in Newport, and numerous other developments.<br /><br />I'm a former school teacher (with a CDL) who's had the fortune to witness and participate in all our cities' rebirth. I'm proud to have played a variety of roles over the past decades.<br /><br />There is no question in my mind that the Cincinnati streetcar will be part of similar reinvestments in Cincinnati.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Nick<br /><br />PS. Personally, I related to your public transit comments. My personal experience as a bus driver graphically taught me why the modern civil rights movement started on a bus. Public transit is more democratic than most car-bound people realized. Next chance you get, ask a bus driver for some stories. Then thank him.<br /><br />Best wishes.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Nick Rechtinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-1976207230151480172012-10-17T15:13:08.282-04:002012-10-17T15:13:08.282-04:00Nick,
Thanks! Glad you liked the photographs.
I ...Nick,<br /><br />Thanks! Glad you liked the photographs.<br /><br />I was trying to find out when exactly the service started and couldn't find a definitive answer, I appreciate you letting me know and sharing your experience. Do you still work in transit or for TANK?<br /><br />Metro sort of offers something similar - the "1 for fun" is kind of in the southgate tourism spot vein. I just wish the southbank busses hit up Mt. Adams/OTR/Covington/Newport late into the night. It'd make getting a cab no longer an issue.Ronny Salernohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028420637930256541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812116909571848352.post-6362826209476506232012-10-17T13:40:19.071-04:002012-10-17T13:40:19.071-04:00I'm glad to see that the Southbank Shuttle con...I'm glad to see that the Southbank Shuttle continues to "move" people. I am proud to be one of the first drivers for the Southbank Shuttle way back in 1998 when the service was hatched and fare was only a quarter. <br /><br />What an experience! It was fun. I hope it still is.<br /><br />Good job, QC Discovery.<br /><br />Nick<br /><br /><br />I could never figure out why QC Metro never got on board with a similar service. Nick Rechtinnoreply@blogger.com