Does it really have to be so big?

Columbia Park and Ride: Will span nearly two blocks at Columbia and Fifth streets and hold 570 vehicles.

Sounds like a good idea and a good compromise....

Leibenguth said such a system could be either "opt-out," which would give students the free pass unless they turned it down, or "opt-in," which would let students sign up for it.

PPS transpo director supports ‘opt-in’ YouthPass | Portland AFoot

Now how about free student passes for private schools in Portland? 

TriMet D40LF 2001 at Beaverton Transit Center

Who would have thought that this bus was delivered new to TriMet in 1998, and is now 13 years old?

That's right, this bus is eligible for FTA funding for replacement!!!

TriMet and "Psychopath" post on Facebook?

TriMet had an rather unusual Facebook post earlier today about a story on NPR about psychopaths...

Sorry this picture didn't turn out (I should have learned how to take a screen shot BEFORE I cleared this page), but here's the link that it linked to:

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/21/136462824/a-psychopath-walks-into-a-room-can-you-tell

This link has since been deleted and replaced with a story about a MAX maintenance technician who is serving in the National Guard...

TriMet Historical Bus Roster

http://www.reocities.com/~buslist/Portland_TriMet.html

Celebrating Carter's 7th Birthday with a ride on WES

Took Carter and Kaia out for a quick Tigard-Beaverton-Tigard ride on the ex-Alaska Railroad RDCs.  Here's our train on the Tigard Crossover entering Tigard Transit Center.

WES needs a wash

"Kicker" checks getting the boot

http://bojack.org/2011/05/kicker_checks_getting_the_boot.html

DID YOU KNOW?

7. Four-Way Flashers are a safety device used as an alert or distress signal. Use them in the following situations:

• During emergencies and breakdowns, whether stopped in a traffic lane or parked on the shoulder.

• At railroad crossings where stopping is required.
• When making a road relief. When laying over on the Transit Mall.
• Whenever there is an extended delay at a stop.
• When backing a bus. When using the lift.
• When driving very slowly in a traffic lane because of vehicle problems.
• To warn other vehicle operators of a traffic accident or hazard requiring care in approaching, overtaking or passing.

It is not appropriate to use your four-way flashers for a routine service stop where there is no extended delay. Use of four-way flashers for routine service stops can lead to confusion at shared bus stops and to the potential for customers passed ups. 
Instead, follow SOP B804:

INFO FOR UNION MEMBERS-SECURE SITE

http://tmemployeespot.blogspot.com/2011/05/calcualtions-excel.html?zx=6c2a67f8c0ecddb

GAWD- IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!

Official Trimet photo

Official Trimet photo-2

Jim Hightower (2)

Jim Hightower | THE KOCHS TAKE ONE ON THE CHIN

ACADEMIC FREEDOM FOR SALE CHEAP!

Billionaires are different from you and me, for obvious reasons, including the fact that they buy much pricier baubles than we do.
A sleek car costing $100,000? Why that's just an impulse purchase. A few million bucks for a Matisse original? Go ahead – it'll liven up the hallway. How about throwing a fat wad of cash at a university to get an academic chair named for you? Sure, it's all a part of living in BillionaireLand.


Jim Hightower here!

BLASTS FROM THE PAST

Motorist sends a message to management

CSI TURNS INTO SIP--operators tell the true story of complaints

Chat with Dave ABOUT CELL PHONES

YouTube - I CHAT WITH DAVE STUBBLEFIELD ABOUT CONSPRIRACY AT TRIMET

ATU OFFICIAL LEGAL NOTICE

The right way to hold steering wheel

http://www.driving.ca/right+hold+steering+wheel/4718918/story.html

Study: Lawmakers Outperform on Stock Investments

A new study says Congress members routinely outperform the stock market in their personal investments. Researchers poured over some 16,000 stock transactions by around 300 lawmakers from 1985 through 2001, finding what they called "significant positive abnormal returns" of around six percent per year. The report speculates the lawmakers’ gains could stem from their ability to trade on non-public information and to vote in favor of their economic interests.

David Sale upset that Sandi Day gets to drive commerically

Safety First!

Portland Transport

Government propaganda machine growing

But Pacific University political science professor Jim Moore says it’s legitimate to ask whether spending so much on PR is justified when some governments are slashing services and laying off workers.

“It becomes an issue for the electorate,” Moore says.

This month, New York-based journalism nonprofit ProPublica published a report noting that the ranks of public-relations reps have surged by more than 30 percent in private PR agencies—while American newsrooms shrank by about 27 percent in recent years. Many former reporters have moved into PR, including former WW managing news editor Hank Stern, who in April took an $80,000 gig at Multnomah County.

As newspapers shrink, government plays a bigger role informing the public. Jim Middaugh, who makes $132,300 as head spokesman for Metro, hired part-time reporter Nick Christensen at $40,560 a year to publish stories about Metro on the agency’s website.

http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-17536-giving_us_flack.html 

Cascade Policy Institute files complaint with the FTA

http://cascadepolicy.org/pdf/pub/LTR-JohnTriMetFedAgreement5.20.11.pdf

Dangerous By Design: How the U.S. Builds Roads That Kill Pedestrians

Millions of Americans live in communities without safe places to walk. And so they either don’t walk, adding to traffic congestion with every trip, or they do walk, risking joining the ranks of the 47,700 pedestrians killed and 688,000 injured in crashes with automobiles in the last decade.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill » Dangerous By Design: How the U.S. Builds Roads That Kill Pedestrians