RTA Seeks First Sales Tax Increase Since 1975, Declining ridership, rising costs, and budget pressures

C & P News wire

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is preparing to ask Cuyahoga County voters to approve its first increase in the agency’s share of the county sales tax since 1975, launching what is expected to be one of the most closely watched public funding debates in Northeast Ohio.

The proposed tax increase comes as the transit agency grapples with declining ridership, the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding, rising labor…