CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cleveland RTA announced plans to reduce some services in 2026 following a budget deficit during the 2025 fiscal year.

Discussed during a board meeting, the RTA spend approximately $50M more than they made in 2025, leading to a deficit. They will make that up using $40M from their “rainy day fund” and $10M in cuts.

Cuts will be:

Reduction of 56 vacant positions ($1.7M)

Implement hiring freeze ($1M)

Reduced overtime ($1M)

Reduced non-personnel budget ($2.5M)

Eliminated transfer to Rolling Stock Reserve Fund ($5M)

The staff reduction will lead to service cuts as not every line could be staffed. RTA says these will happen in 2026 and will be announced at a later date.

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