Tuesday, January 17, 2012
DID MACFARLANE ACTUALLY TWEET?
(excerpt)
TriMet
invited people to the town hall meeting through tweets, a notice on its
website, emails to riders who have signed up for agency alerts and a
press release. Thirty-three people posted questions on a TweetChat page
Trimet created, using the hashtag #askneil. During the hour-long
session, McFarlane answered 35 questions — though he didn’t actually do
the tweeting.About a dozen people gathered in the room with McFarlane to view the questions on a large screen as they came in. McFarlane dictated the responses, but agency personnel familiar with TriMet’s Twitter account — and Twitter’s 140-character tweet restrictions — did the tweeting. Meanwhile, communication department officials were on hand to ensure responses were consistent, IT department folks were on hand in case there were any technical difficulties (there were none) and a handful of agency officials from various disciplines were in the room in case a question required a more specific response. Another person monitored the questions to ensure McFarlane answered to all participants (rather than addressing multiple questions posed by a single person) and grouped similar questions together as they came in so McFarlane could issue a single response.
ACTUAL SNOW-in portland
It finally started snowing, around 10pm in Portland. Does it vindicate TRIMET with its "chains all day" policy"
I say not at all. People were late to work for no reason, drivers and passengers were subjected to the worst sort of pollution, and the system became unreliable, well before it was necessary.
I personally can live with the chains, earplugs and a short work shift.
But the drivers that have to deal with this all day for 10+ hours for basically no reason, and everybody who was late to work this morning, they did not deserve that sort of treatment.
This is the sort of event that occurs when people who don't use the system and don't understand the system end up in charge.
From their ivory tower they think they are doing the public some sort of favor.
All they do is discourage people from using the transit system and make their drivers sick.
It would have been much more effective, and far fewer people affected, if they had just waited for the snow to hit, then dealt with it.
Just saying.....But I am a nobody.....
Chained up #94 bus on I-5 this evening
Now...WHY would you drive a chained up bus on I-5 knowing that you are going 25 MPH, and all those big trucks are doing 55?
OSHA violation?
Hey al... has anyone looked up osha requirements of noise? I mean its loud on the busses with chains. Your ear plug idea may be required by law!
Expensive trash cans!
A Perspective from Portland, Oregon: TriMet trash cans: Oregonian Living in the Pearl - I haven't taken MAX lately so it wasn't until I was out drinking and dining with my son that I noticed an...
A REPRESENTATIVE TWITTER SAMPLE FROM TODAYS "END OF THE WORLD" RAIN
shellb7: What was up with US 26 traffic? Why is TriMet so eager with tire chains ... t.co/5EKEShgh
mranweiler: @pdxcommute #Trimet always has excuses. Those buses don't need to be chained in the garage. Set up stations around the city for chains
kristinanewmann: Got to love taking the fucking Trimet when your sick. ·
wscott5799: Rider Tip: As a MAX train comes in, move towards the one you want to board. Don't wait for it to stop #trimet
Ari_Caria: I hate being a slave to the trimet system. How does it make sense to have the bus connecting PSU and MLK run only every 30mins? IT DOESN'T!
PDXtrimetrider: I wonder if my bus will even run tonight? Tomorrow morn/night? Well, @trimet...i'm waiting for an answer
PDXtrimetrider: RT @pdxcommute: Boy, this thing is shaping up to be the biggest storm of 2012! #pdxtst #pdxtraffic #sarcasm #trimet
DXtrimetrider: Chained buses on bare pavement torture to continu for at least the next 24hrs: t.co/pg8hKAIp (via @apmargulies) great. Thanks #trimet
ironmysandwich: Nobody's at the mall because people are afraid to drive on wet roads. Maybe they should put on chains like trimet. Haha
heilkitler: So why did Trimet have to cancel service to the 20 when there's no snow? It's just rain. It's nothing we're not used to. :I
codebutler: All trimet buses running with chains on bare pavement today. Loud and bbuummmpppyy.
DelBravoTomTom: @trimet you suck. Portland needs to seriously learn how to handle snow.
supergalloo: Woa, Trimet buses have chains on their wheel today, no snow. No wonder our roads are all jacked up
nixesha: Fuck you, trimet. :'(
MrsDWhiteOR: RT @doctor_jeff: A belated thanks to all @trimet operators today, both for driving in this and putting up with people bitching about their bus being late
WiredPig: Headed in. @TriMet's drivers doing a good job today with the snow / slush / ice. I'm rocking it on the 57 bus (bus # 2903)
nahjuh_: woke up on time. . .still gonna be late cause fuckin trimet is trippin -______-
mranweiler: @pdxcommute #Trimet always has excuses. Those buses don't need to be chained in the garage. Set up stations around the city for chains
kristinanewmann: Got to love taking the fucking Trimet when your sick. ·
wscott5799: Rider Tip: As a MAX train comes in, move towards the one you want to board. Don't wait for it to stop #trimet
Ari_Caria: I hate being a slave to the trimet system. How does it make sense to have the bus connecting PSU and MLK run only every 30mins? IT DOESN'T!
PDXtrimetrider: I wonder if my bus will even run tonight? Tomorrow morn/night? Well, @trimet...i'm waiting for an answer
PDXtrimetrider: RT @pdxcommute: Boy, this thing is shaping up to be the biggest storm of 2012! #pdxtst #pdxtraffic #sarcasm #trimet
DXtrimetrider: Chained buses on bare pavement torture to continu for at least the next 24hrs: t.co/pg8hKAIp (via @apmargulies) great. Thanks #trimet
ironmysandwich: Nobody's at the mall because people are afraid to drive on wet roads. Maybe they should put on chains like trimet. Haha
heilkitler: So why did Trimet have to cancel service to the 20 when there's no snow? It's just rain. It's nothing we're not used to. :I
codebutler: All trimet buses running with chains on bare pavement today. Loud and bbuummmpppyy.
DelBravoTomTom: @trimet you suck. Portland needs to seriously learn how to handle snow.
supergalloo: Woa, Trimet buses have chains on their wheel today, no snow. No wonder our roads are all jacked up
nixesha: Fuck you, trimet. :'(
MrsDWhiteOR: RT @doctor_jeff: A belated thanks to all @trimet operators today, both for driving in this and putting up with people bitching about their bus being late
WiredPig: Headed in. @TriMet's drivers doing a good job today with the snow / slush / ice. I'm rocking it on the 57 bus (bus # 2903)
nahjuh_: woke up on time. . .still gonna be late cause fuckin trimet is trippin -______-
AMAZING
I'm always surprised by the casual nature of TRIMET management in creating mayhem at their transit system.
Most supervisors reported no snow in most of the service area, yet all the buses went out with chains.
Buses didn't show up, buses were late, and people were left standing, all for no reason.
What's the matter with this management?
Why are they so callous to the needs of its riders?
WARNING! WARNING! MANAGMENT INSANITY CONTINUES AT TRIMET
The chains will stay on for at least the next 24 hours, the agency
says. “It’s just as difficult to remove the chains,” said spokeswoman
Mary Fetsch. “With the weather forecast the way it is, we’d have to
re-chain them later. It’s just a difficult endeavor in the field. We
have to be ready for the next storm.”
MARY MIGHT HAVE HAD A LITTLE LAMB BUT SHE NEVER ENDURED THE TORTURE OF DRIVING A BUS ON PAVEMENT WITH CHAINS!
CLICK HERE FOR JOE ROSE ARTICLE
MARY MIGHT HAVE HAD A LITTLE LAMB BUT SHE NEVER ENDURED THE TORTURE OF DRIVING A BUS ON PAVEMENT WITH CHAINS!
CLICK HERE FOR JOE ROSE ARTICLE
TRIMET NEEDS TO DO BETTER WHEN THE CHAINS GO ON
TRIMET does a monstrous disservice to its riding public by not being honest about its bus service when they freak out over possible snow and put chains on.
The correct alert should be:
DUE TO OUR SAFETY MEASURES (needed or not) RIDERS SHOULD LEAVE ONE HOUR EARLIER THAN USUAL.
ONE HOUR DELAYS ARE THE USUAL AND LONGER DELAYS ARE VERY LIKELY.
That would be the honest rider alert.
They probably should also put something in the alert stating you might not get picked up at all!
I've received report that a Line 51 bus slide off Southwest Dosch Road about 8 a.m. but another chained-up bus soon came up the hill after it. Also, I'm hearing more reports of full buses passing up stops this morning. That's always a risk when the weather forecast prompts people to leave their cars at home.
VIA JOE ROSE
They probably should also put something in the alert stating you might not get picked up at all!
I've received report that a Line 51 bus slide off Southwest Dosch Road about 8 a.m. but another chained-up bus soon came up the hill after it. Also, I'm hearing more reports of full buses passing up stops this morning. That's always a risk when the weather forecast prompts people to leave their cars at home.
VIA JOE ROSE
HOW TO MAKE YOUR BUS SYSTEM WORK-(hint-do the opposite of Trimet)
Across the city's transit system, ridership has soared by more than
50 percent since 2008, steadily increasing every year. In 2011, more
than 1.55 million people boarded a city bus, city officials said. The
tally includes about half of the system's passengers who needed to take
more than one bus on the same fare. Those people are counted more than
once per trip.
City officials credit newer, cleaner buses, extended evening hours
and route changes over the past few years designed to help buses run on
time.
"They're more reliable, and people recognize we've made a lot of
steps to improve service," said Randy Hume, the transit director.
FayObserver.com - Fayetteville bus ridership jumps, FAST turnaround credited to improvements
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