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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Why TriMet machines epic fail
Originally uploaded by dieselboi

NT 4? Are you serious? I chuckle that TriMet uses an OS in their ticket machines that was retired 7 years ago and hasn’t been supported by the vendor for 4 years.

Get with the 21st century TriMet. Linux baby!

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One intrepid correspondent sent me this email update from the Central Library computer:

The MAX platform at 10th and SW Yamhill (eastbound) is currently the scene of what appears to be an accidental death. Word on the street is a transient female leaned too far over the third floor railing and took a tumble. The medical examiner is on scene, and the west end of the block is taped off.

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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.

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