TriMet’s new light rail vehicles (purchased to build up the fleet for the upcoming Green Line service) have been described as “sleek” and “sexy.” As I started watching them in operation, noting that the new cars only have operator controls at one end, I realized there’s a snag in this plan.

Currently, when one car of a two-car train has problems, TriMet staff can decouple the cars, set one of the cars into a side track out of service, and continue service with the remaining car. With the new cars and only one direction for controls, I wondered what would happen given a malfunction with one of the cars. I posed the question to TriMet’s public relations person, Bekki Witt, and she confirmed:

I verified that the two-car consist would be taken out of service together, even if there was a problem with just one of the cars.

In related news: tonight as I got off the train at Gateway, there was a two-car set of the new vehicles in the side track, out of service.

Did style win over function?

Related Posts

• February 10, 2009 -- TriMet Question of the Day (2)
• May 13, 2009 -- No Rollerskating on the new bus mall (3)
• March 28, 2009 -- TriMet Warning: Gateway Area to be Borked Starting Tuesday (1)
• December 7, 2009 -- Portland Police: The Problem is Perception (3)
• September 28, 2009 -- A Green Line Redux (2)

Seen today on the transit mall… two mounted officers end up with a line of cars behind them at a slow walking pace as they mosey down SW 5th Avenue….

Related Posts

• October 8, 2009 -- PDX in Your Pictures: Silver Dude on the Bus (1)
• August 24, 2009 -- Sleek, Sexy… and Inconvenient (12)
• May 13, 2009 -- No Rollerskating on the new bus mall (3)
• February 18, 2009 -- Welcome back transit mall benches (7)
• February 10, 2009 -- TriMet Question of the Day (2)

photo.jpg
Originally uploaded by dieselboi

TriMet has been very busy the past month with final preparations for the re-opening of the 5th and 6th st. bus mall. Buses will move there later this month with MAX coming in September. As of yesterday, not all of the mall shelters and kiosks were finished, so I know they are getting down to the wire with this project.

Along with ticket machines and fancy new shelters, TriMet has put up new signage detailing what is prohibited in the “area only for boarding, exiting or waiting for a bus or train.” The obvious no no’s are there – no smoking, no skateboarding, and no bike riding. What struck me as odd is the final prohibition – No Rollerskating. Wow, seriously? I honestly haven’t seen a rollerskater in 10 years. Back in the 90’s, the craze was rollerblading and yes, you saw them everywhere, but today? And rollerskates? Are we talking the 4 wheeled while laces ups we had as children? If so, again I have to call shenanigans. When was the last time you saw gangs of rollerskaters disrupting bus and train travelers in Portland? Ooh, ooh, flashmob idea people. Rollerskating pillowfighting Santas with clown makeup.

I’m guessing someone from a different generation than mine put together this display. They still live in an era of big wheels, full size Tonka trucks, light bright and yes, rollerskates. I wonder, maybe the TriMet team was forced to come up with a 4th item for the sign and this is all they could come up with. If you had to fill in the blank for a 4th prohibition, what would you put in? No meth? No chuggers? No puking (that is a serious problem downtown if you didn’t know.)

Related Posts

• September 28, 2009 -- A Green Line Redux (2)
• August 24, 2009 -- Sleek, Sexy… and Inconvenient (12)
• May 13, 2009 -- Pains, Trains and Automobiles (3)
• February 15, 2009 -- If you cut me… (5)
• February 10, 2009 -- TriMet Question of the Day (2)

Dear TriMet: this evening’s MAX service disruption must’ve happened before 7:00pm, because that’s when I tried to catch a train and the station reader board indicated a problem.

Why was it not until 7:35 that you sent out a Service Alert message to those of us who have subscribed to the service? I’m pretty sure the whole point of having an instant-delivery type system that pushes to e-mail and smartphones is so that folks can get up to date information in a reasonable period of time.

P.S. For those of you clamoring to yell “But TriMet won an award as America’s Best Transit System! That’s what the stickers on the trains say!” I respond by pointing out that award was in 1989.

P.P.S. I’ll preemptively note that this post would qualify as something for the White Whine blog, but had TriMet’s communications been timely I might’ve altered my course and made it home in time to see my children before they went to sleep.

Related Posts

• August 24, 2009 -- Sleek, Sexy… and Inconvenient (12)
• May 13, 2009 -- No Rollerskating on the new bus mall (3)
• March 28, 2009 -- TriMet Warning: Gateway Area to be Borked Starting Tuesday (1)
• December 7, 2009 -- Portland Police: The Problem is Perception (3)
• September 28, 2009 -- A Green Line Redux (2)

Obviously, these are tips for getting to PDX during Snowpocalypse ‘08. Getting to the airport on Tri-Met under normal circumstances is generally a breeze. Not so yesterday. Here is my experience and some tips, from someone who spent 3.5 hours on slogging her way a few miles from inner NE Portland to PDX and then back home again.

The biggest lesson? I’ll give props to Tri-Met for terrific service and information, despite horrible road and weather conditions. However, PDX and the airlines could use a lesson or two on utilizing technology, technology they already have implemented I might add, for better and more accurate communications. This is where problems and communications breakdowns really seemed to occur, and I believe a whole bunch of hassle could have been avoided if the airlines and PDX simply made it a priority to post updated information as quickly as possible, even if that information is, “we don’t have any information yet.” People want honesty and transparency and basically just want to know true facts so they can make up their own minds. One of the issues? KGW and other news sources were announcing cancellations, directly from interviews with ticket agents and other airline representatives. Yet the “official” sources on the PDX site and airline sites would have those flights listed as “on-time”, even hours after the news announced they were canceled. Who to believe? Oh, and good luck calling your airline directly. Alaska and Horizon had solid busy signals at least from 8AM to 6PM (when I finally gave up trying).

So onto my tips for PDX travel during this heinous weather:

1. Do not believe what your airline states online with regards to cancellations. Apparently, and according to the Alaska ticket agent at PDX, the airlines can take up to two hours to relay updated info onto their websites and to PDX, despite what the “last updated” time stamp on the website’s page states.

2. Do not believe the flight arrival/departure information on the PDX website. See# 1 above for explanation.

3. Do not rely on the “text message updates” or “email updates” option from your airline. My flight was officially canceled at 1PM for a 2PM flight (but “unofficially” canceled much earlier than that). I received a text message from my airline at 6 PM telling me my flight was canceled. That’s 5 hours AFTER the airline canceled the flight. Annoying? You betcha.

4. Plan your trip on Tri-Met carefully, have a plan B and even C in order, and call Tri-Met to verify things are still running on time, or running at all. Once again, do not rely on their website. I waited for the #6 bus for 30 minutes, despite different info on the Tri-Met site checked on my Iphone while waiting at the stop. I finally called the Trimet 238-RIDE number with my bus stop ID, only to be told, “We can not say when the next bus will arrive.” I then drove to the Irvington area and walked several blocks to MAX (my plan B).

5. Give yourself 3-4 times the amount it would normally take you to get to the airport, and budget getting to the airport 3 hours before your flight leaves. At least.

6. Don’t assume just because Tri-Met is running a shuttle bus (because the MAX tracks were frozen) from the Gateway MAX to PDX that it is a quick and direct shuttle. It isn’t. We made several stops and detours along the way. It took 30 minutes to get from Gateway to the Airport and the shuttles were packed with people. There were also 10-20 minute wait times for shuttles to arrive.

7. Common sense: remember to dress appropriately, drink plenty of fluids and eat before your leave the house (or bring snacks). There is nothing worse than being hungry, dehydrated and cold/wet for hours.

8. I’m not even going to comment on how to deal with the massive lines and chaos at the airport itself. It’s just too traumatic for me to write about right now. Which brings me to my last tip -

8. Mentally prepare yourself. Remember that stress levels are high for everyone right now. A smile, small acts of kindness towards others and patience make things easier. If you find yourself getting stressed, losing your temper or FREAKING OUT then take a time out. Take a deep breath, find a quiet corner or bench and sit for a minute and/or reach out and talk to someone. Remember that we are all pretty much in the same circumstances and we are all pretty much in this together. And believe it or not, it can always be worse than it is.

Resources: Trimet – www.trimet.org or call 503-238-ride
PDX Airport – www.pdx.com (but don’t believe what you read!) or 503-460-4040
Multnomah County Mental Health Crises Line (you might need it) – (503) 988-4888

Good Luck, Bon Voyage, and Happy Holidays.

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• December 14, 2008 -- Snowpocalypse!!!111eleventy!! Storm Open Thread (19)
• July 3, 2008 -- Out of Focus (4)
• February 18, 2010 -- What IS That Glowing Orb? (1)
• January 22, 2010 -- A Portland Flyer’s Lament (8)

I purchased a motorcycle this weekend, my first. It’s amazing how fast that makes one a member of a certain “club.” Motorcyclers seem to stick together and have a strong regard for compatriots.

I had a few nice conversations this weekend in which other motorcycle folks who asserted that they thought Portland was a fairly decent place to be on a bike. Drivers for the most part are attentive and courteous.

Do you think this is because of our preponderance of bicycles? Our generally friendly Portland nature? Are you a motorcycle person in Portland? What has been your experience?

As for my personal decision to buy a bike, it was something that filled a hole that a bicycle couldn’t quite fill for me. I wanted a more responsible replacement for my late Audi TT, something for mid-range trips around the city. My commute is still on foot, but I wanted an occasional non-car option that was still a kick in the pants. I expect this year will be a good one for motorcycle sales.

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• August 24, 2009 -- Sleek, Sexy… and Inconvenient (12)
• May 27, 2009 -- For Rapid Transit, they Gallop… (6)
• May 13, 2009 -- No Rollerskating on the new bus mall (3)
• May 1, 2009 -- Badass Biker Dawg (1)
• February 10, 2009 -- TriMet Question of the Day (2)

Last week, the Willamette Week published an interesting take on Oregon’s hybrid tax credits—which combine with existing federal tax credits to make the purchase of hybrid automobiles more attractive to shoppers. Last year alone, the state paid out more than $5 million to those applying for the credit. When the tax credit was created, the concept was to incentivize the purchase of more fuel-efficient cars, thereby cutting down on fuel consumption and associated pollution, especially in urban areas. Yes, a very good intention, indeed.

Tucked gracefully in this well-intentioned incentive are two intriguing issues: one, enviro-messaging; the other, social inequity. First and foremost, this credit is explicitly for the purchase of hybrids; it’s not a credit simply for fuel efficient vehicles or fuel efficient transportation. The message here is that hybrids are the best choice for personal transportation. As the WillyWeek references, the tax credit is readily available to anyone ‘green’ enough to chunk down the change for such planet loving steeds as the GMC Yukon hybrid SUV ($50K price and an estimated 21 mpg in the city) and the Lexus LS 600h ($100K price and an estimated 20 mpg in the city). Nope, you chumps slumpin’ down the freeway at nearly 40mpg in your $12,000 Toyota Yaris will just have to suck it. And for you schmucks silly enough to ride a bike… suck it even more.

Sure, this credit is ripe for criticism as it relates to rewarding technology as opposed to plain old efficiency, but the WillyWeek made a point to identify what I find to be the more prescient issue: social inequity. As writer Corey Pein points out, by taking mass transit (TriMet), people simply burn less fuel than individuals in cars (any car, hybrid or otherwise). Subsequently, transit riders contribute less to global warming and other auto-associated negatives (e.g., traffic congestion, street-level pollution, multi-vehicle road dynamics). Pein references a study from the highly respected Sightline Institute, which states that a mostly full transit bus is three times more efficient than a Prius with a lone driver. I’ll take it one step further: if the bus is burning Oregon-sourced and refined biodiesel from Salem’s SeQuential BioFuel, then its impact is even less.

Pein’s perspective on the state’s failure to reward the most efficient transportation is a steaming issue. I have a difficult time with this because I understand to some degree what the legislature is attempting to accomplish with this credit: make the biggest possible positive impact without asking people to shift their behavior too far. This is exactly what they did when they offered credits this past tax year to purchasers of bio-diesel for transportation (the largest sector of diesel fuel consumption). It’s worth noting that the state also offers a reduced tax credit to purchasers of bio-diesel for home heating, of which I claimed after burning through hundreds of gallons of B99 bio-diesel (from Sequential Biofuel).

Back in 1999, the legislature likely took a look at the market and said, ‘people are buying cars and they’re going to keep buying cars, no matter how much negative impact they have. So we need to figure out a way to get them to buy the most efficient cars while still getting what they want.’ Conversely, people on the bus are more likely to be riding the bus because they have to be –or in some cases choose to be because it’s the easiest or most environmentally responsible thing to do. Unfortunately, for the majority of transit riders, they’re going to ride the bus whether you incentivize their transportation choice or not. Subsequently –in the legislature’s collective mind– why waste money trying to get people to make the most efficient transportation choice (motorized or otherwise)? If you did that, you’d be handing out checks to a lot of people who made no change at all to their lifestyle –because they didn’t have a choice.

Again, I understand this line of reasoning as it relates to the legislature, but I don’t like it. If we as a collective people want our fellow citizens to make better transportation decisions, we may need to feel the pain of making the wrong choice instead of rewarding ourselves for making a slightly less destructive choice. Yes, the hybrid credit is not fair, nor does it make sense in today’s market, where gas is hovering around $4.50/gallon. But in my opinion, the credit is also rewarding the wrong thing: a purchase. I believe we need to reward behavior that benefits us all and punish behavior that hurts us all.

But that would be too simple and the problem is far too complex. What about the citizen who can’t afford to live in the city (or near a frequent-stop TriMet bus line), and subsequently lives outside of Estacada but still holds a job in Portland? What if they have a crazy work shift and simply can’t get to work on time any other way? How do we handle other social inequities and still incentivize socially responsible behavior? Hmmm… tough question. Now I see the legislature’s issue. That being said, it’s their job to tackle tough issues that affect us all and deliver solutions that produce positive environmental impact while rewarding socially responsible behavior and making those with the means to afford any choice, pay for the selfish choice. Good luck, Oregon.

Related Posts

• August 24, 2009 -- Sleek, Sexy… and Inconvenient (12)
• May 27, 2009 -- For Rapid Transit, they Gallop… (6)
• May 13, 2009 -- No Rollerskating on the new bus mall (3)
• April 16, 2009 -- Grease on Earth (2)
• February 10, 2009 -- TriMet Question of the Day (2)