RTA – Tower City Public Square Rapid Station

This is the most convenient way to get around Cleveland especially when you are traveling to Ohio City, University Square, Lakewood, and other neighborhoods. It’s very easy to navigate and the train schedules are linked to Google Maps transit feature (just download the Google Maps app and type in the address or name of the location you are trying to travel to and it will give you detailed directions to catch the right train or bus. It’s been a lifesaver for me many times!). If you are traveling into downtown from another part of the city, there are many RTA park and ride locations which are usually more convenient and cheaper than parking downtown, especially when there is a game or event taking place.
It’s fairly clean and safe and it’s monitored by the RTA police and I can’t say enough good things about them. They go above and beyond the call of service to keep riders safe.

You’ve got to be crazy to take this RTA station. We witnessed someone shoplift from the Tower City mall upstairs and then head straight to this station. My guess is that he didn’t bother to purchase a ticket lol.

Cleveland RTA must be the worst transportation system ever! If you’re new to it, good luck figuring out how to purchase a ticket for your ride, since you can’t pay cash. Out of 4 machines that sells RTA passes at Tower City, 2 will not accept my credit card (tried many times), and they all use the most horrific User Interface that makes the process unnecessary complicated and clunky. And as I just found out, you are not supposed to «activate» your pass, because if you do, it charges you for a full ride (???). It still doesn’t make any sense to me why they give that option without explaining it, and the only conclusion I can make that it’s a scam to get more money from ppl who don’t pay attention to how many rides they actually get from their 5-​ride pass (the RTAs answer is 4)
Another problem is with their notification system that is never updated and never shows the correct times of departures and next trains.
Overall, RTA is a joke and I wish RTA management was required take their own trains and purchase their own passes through their unusable machines.

The mobile service is not fully function in most of the basement level — definitely not track side. This is a problem because there are not multiple signs listing arrival time (there is one facing the doors as you enter the waiting area). It would be nice to be able to use your phone (WiFi would be a fine solution) to check on train times as you wait. Or they could move the sign /​add more signs. Kept quite clean down here actually I’m well pleased — both inside the waiting area and in the center ticketing lobby. If you have questions there are plenty of RTA workers and transit police around to provide help and if you need a map this location is your best bet of finding one (they always seem to be out on the rail cars and trolleys). Sometimes when the lines are really long there is a thoughtful worker who will just open the gates and let everyone through who shows a ticket instead of making every person scan it through the machine individually. This is not a bad place to be dropped off — there are coffee shops upstairs (Caribou and independent ones). You can connect to the free trolleys in Public Square, the Healthline in Public Square (going a bit farther east), or from right in the basement change to the blue/​green line (going the farthest east). If you’ve purchased an all day pass it will work on the latter two options and for the former no ticket is needed.

I am surprised to hear that Cleveland now has an underground train that takes you places. I did not know that they have this now available for those that don’t have their own car or that there are major problems with your car.
Back in the nineties and through out the two thousands Cleveland did not have any buses nor subway that can give others a ride. if you did not have your own car, you had to have someone pick you up or drop you off to your destination. Everyone used their car to get a ride from someone. (Which now seems old school.)
It is good to hear that there are now buses and subways it makes Cleveland now modern and less old school.

It gets me from point A to point «B, very effectively. No complaints.

I have taken the «Rapid» many times over there years. I never fully understood why it is called the Rapid as it stops for automobiles. If it were a true rail system like Chicago, the cars stop for it. Be careful on some of the lines at night as the riders get very scetchy. I have witnessed two fights over the years and both times was terrified.
The city of Cleveland wonders why it loses money year after year. How about because it works on the honor system! For instance, I rode the Red Line from West 25^th station to the Airport. There was no ticket checker or turnstyle at either stop. Yes I paid the $ 2.25, but after I realized I could have just done it for free. How many residents from the East 40^th to East 170^th block of Cleveland are taking advantage of this?

The new and improved way to pay for your tickets is kind of confusing but affective. I think the transit police should be more courteous to people, besides that its one. of the better ways to get around.

This station serves the Red, Green, and Blue Lines in Cleveland’s Rapid light-​rail system. When I lived in Cleveland, I normally caught the Red Line at the Ohio City station, but once or twice I caught the train here because I happened to be downtown.
The station itself can be hard to find if you’re not familiar with Tower City. Getting here involves a lot of stair (or is it escalator?) climbing. But when you finally do get down here, you’ll be thrilled to be in a strange subterranean station that doesn’t really look like it belongs in Cleveland. OK, maybe you won’t be thrilled, but I always was. And maybe it does look like it belongs in Cleveland, but I never thought it did.
People made a big deal in 2000 or so because they filmed part of a (pre-​West Wing) Rob Lowe HBO movie in this station. I was less than pleased, though, because the station was closed that day and I needed to take the Red Line to the airport.