Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Good comment on the budget at Portland Transport
I visited the SMART terminus at the Wilsonville end of WES today and saw posters forthrightly stating that only registered service dogs were allowed on SMART buses; companion animals offering psychological support are not compliant with American with Disabilities Act standards and are forbidden.
Is there a line item in TriMet's budget to enforce stated policy that pets aboard must be in cages? On the 77 out by Edgefield yesterday a couple of old drunks got on with some sort of big mongrel Doberman cross--I felt sorry for the dog!
I have seen dogs with their dirty behinds plastered on seats where people are supposed to sit, and smelled others wafting various stinks and allergies. Further malign influences are easily imagined.
Operators give the impression that they do not like such boarders, but TriMet refuses to back them up. I spoke with TriMet about it a while back, but they intended to do nothing.
Maybe they should just charge the critters a separate fare; that would make it a budget item.
Not a good day to be a MAX rider-eyewitness
one lady said she was on max from 510 to 630 just from downtown to btc
Testimony at tomorrows board meeting
There are some elements of the proposed budget that move TriMet in
the right direction. I support the proposals to eliminate the free-rail
zone and reduce streetcar funding. Rail passengers have been coddled for
far too long and these changes will require them to finally put some
skin in the game.
Notwithstanding this progress, the budget overall has serious problems that the Board needs to address. The first is the assumption that management will win its protracted dispute with the ATU. Management has been forecasting this outcome for years, and has consistently been wrong. Examples of past predictions include the following:
Read the rest of the article HERE!
Notwithstanding this progress, the budget overall has serious problems that the Board needs to address. The first is the assumption that management will win its protracted dispute with the ATU. Management has been forecasting this outcome for years, and has consistently been wrong. Examples of past predictions include the following:
- TriMet press release, April 13, 2011: “The FY2012 budget assumes that a new Working and Wage Agreement with the ATU has benefits more in line with peer agencies, and consistent with those contained in TriMet’s July 2010 Final Offer.”
Read the rest of the article HERE!
God please give us LIGHT RAIL!
#trimet Due to a train malfunction at Beaverton TC, MAX Blue/Red Line trains are experiencing delays. Plan for extra time.
— unTriMet alerts (@unTriMetAlerts) April 25, 2012
HEALTH PLAN AUDIT-COMPLETE IT OR GET FIRED
I need to ask 1743 of you to do something fairly simple and very important over the next few months. Look in your mail at home for an envelope from TriMet. We’ve hired an outside company called Mercer to conduct a “dependent eligibility audit”—which means documenting that everybody who gets health insurance through TriMet is eligible to do so. In the envelope you’ll find a letter from me, a list of dependent eligibility requirements, and a short form that lists who’s on your medical/dental plan. It’s simple – if you have someone on your health insurance plan that shouldn’t be there – take them off.
In a small number of cases, we expect that employees may read the list of requirements and realize someone is listed on their plan who shouldn’t be. During this “amnesty phase”—which lasts through May 18—anyone in that situation can just check the “NOT ELIGIBLE” box to remove the person, return the form to Mercer and there will be no penalty.
Why I don't use the MAX to get to the airport in the mornings
Due to a switch problem, MAX Red Line trains are not running between
Beaverton Transit Center and Washington Park station. Use Blue Line
trains. Expect Red Line disruption to continue for next hour.
Been listening to this all morning-what are they doing?
Dispatch
( the answer to your question is "DAQ testing" for comparison of the existing 450MHz radio system to the new 700MHz radio system.)
( the answer to your question is "DAQ testing" for comparison of the existing 450MHz radio system to the new 700MHz radio system.)
At TriMet – The Buses Are Rolling Without any Wheels
http://wp.me/p197B7-57
It has been a record number for one year. I am referring to the number of local newspaper articles and editorials published about TriMet, its financial problems and its contract dispute with the Union representing TriMet employees. While most of these articles and editorials were slanted in favor of TriMet, the main theme in all of them is that TriMet’s problems were caused by everyone else, except by inept senior management. And the latest editorial in The Oregonian, which was published in the April 20, 2012 edition, is no exception.
By Jonathan Hunt, President
TRIMET ACTIVIST "H.B."
Brothers and Sisters,
By now, I’m sure you have gotten the proposed compromise in the mail. And I must say, this has been one of the most interesting so-called negotiations and labor disputes, which I have been a part of. One of the things that bother me the most is: WHEN DID WE START FIGHTING BACK?????????? So far I have seen no ultimatums from the union on the issues of labor. “We” work hard to make the system go, and “our” pockets grow, and “our” futures are influx due to Trimet cutting away “our” benefits, while this union lies down and does nothing. Filing lawsuit after lawsuit, is only a stop-gap in a labor dispute, it may or may not come out in “our” favor. The question still remains, “WHEN DID WE ACTUALLY START FIGHTING BACK???????? As I have observed, using the same argument when disproven in front of the Board does nothing but wastes time (although that should be done at every opportunity), and these informationals are a waste time, due to the fact that almost no one is interested in hearing the same argument over and over again, they become disinterested in “our” plight, just look at the last turn out, not many of “us” were there in support of “our” cause, why, “we” don’t see it as going anywhere. For the past eight plus months, I have (and others) have stated that “we” need to go into a different direction, due to this useless tack, “is not” working to change the argument in “our” favor. That is sad.
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