Trimet "Deacon in Blue"

Portland's Transit Mall on 5th and 6th Avenues downtown are a mess these days. For decades they've been a hub of our transit system. North-going buses, light rail and streetcars use 6th, and southbound is on 5th. But the signage instructing motorists is horrible at best.
Why has there been so few publicized safety assessments of the transit mall, with suggestions as to how to fix the many problems?
Most likely, it's easily summed up by our city leaders by the age-old excuse: we don't have the money. Bullshit.
Why does local law enforcement turn a blind eye to blatant traffic rule violations on the transit mall?
We just spent $1.5 billion on a seven-mile new light-rail line without safety features designed to keep intending passengers from walking directly in front of approaching trains at its southern-most terminus. The transit agency was busted a few years ago for not funding its pension responsibilities, then saying it didn't have enough money to meet its obligations.
 If leadership had truly innovative and creative minds, it would have long ago improved the "culture of safety" it spouts at every media opportunity. It would prove a commitment to safety rather than giving this wonderful-sounding concept mere lip service.


Read the entire essay HERE!

Trimet "bans the box"

From where I sit this is just another public relations stunt. So you don't have to check the box that says you have been convicted, big deal. I wonder if this actually 'changes' a current policy of  Trimet NOT DOING criminal record checks if you checked "NO" on that box. They will probably do more thorough background checks then they did in the past is my guess. Has no real effect cause most people I know (including myself) always checked "NO" even though we had some sort of minor brush with the "law" (term used loosely)

Trimet Light rail-ALWAYS expect delays

Partial list of Trimet Light Rail delay tweets over the last week or so. Pretty unreliable. Nothing like standing outside in the winter to drive people off public transportation.

Trimet bus crash

Trimet has entered its "golden age"

Chaos reigns at the Trimess

What a mess going on at the transit agency. If you want to know the full extent of the chaos be sure to scroll through my Twitter feed. I understand these two happy operators did a pretty good job destroying the break room and they both got arrested

Trimet driver gets DUI on the job

Sunday night in the wilds of Hillsboro, a TriMet driver was cited for DUII.

According to Mike Rouches of the Hillsboro Police Department, police were notified of the situation at 11:20 pm when concerned citizens riding the bus began calling the police.

The grinch that stole Christmas

How come Trimet is not rolling back fares 25 cents?

They raised fares 25 cents to cover the high cost of gas so obviously they should be rolling them back now since those same prices are at lows nobody ever expected 

Trimet on time performance

My understanding that for statistical purposes a vehicle is 'on time' if its 8 minutes late or less.  One thing that this chart does not take into account is MAX turn-backs. Trimet control will turn max trains around if they are very late to get them back on time and the max statistics do not reflect the trips that are just skipped completely when a train is turned back. However you know its bad when bus on time performance is the same as light rail on time performance. Light rail is supposed to avoid the delays that the buses encounter. As anybody who has been paying any attention know Trimet light rail service has been very unpredictable lately.

 

We see this tweet so often

I just want to thank @trimet for leaving me and a few others stranded at gateway TC when the last few MAX trains didn't show up tonight

— Oki Warwolf (@Okers) December 6, 2015

Debunking the Transit Sleuth

Trimet priorities by Lane J

This sums up @trimet and their priorities in 30 seconds. pic.twitter.com/tZOpAPdOkB

— Lane Jensen (@lanejensenpdx) December 4, 2015

Public input? Public input? We don't need no stinking public input

Over the past four years, TriMet and Metro have been planning something called the SW Corridor Project. Metro describes it as a multi-modal project featuring new transit capacity, local street improvements, and enhancements to trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes. The project will begin at Portland State, travel along Barbur Boulevard, and terminate somewhere near Tualatin.
The exact nature of the transit element has never been disclosed; ostensibly, the choice is between light rail and bus-rapid transit. The Project Steering Committee insists that final decisions on the technology, route, terminus, and financial plan are still open for discussion, with some preliminary decisions scheduled for 2016.
Curiously, however, at the November 11 TriMet Board of Directors planning retreat, the Board was informed (at 3:17:05) by project staff that opening day for the project has already been set: September 12, 2025.
How is it that TriMet already knows the exact day that operations will commence, if it doesn’t even know any of the particulars – including a proposed, $250 million tunnel to PCC-Sylvania that would only be built if light rail is chosen?
Apparently, all decisions have actually been made, and future public hearings will be just as fake as the past ones.
All aboard for light rail to Bridgeport Village. Only 3,581 days till the opening ceremony!
John A. Charles, Jr. is President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization. http://cascadepolicy.org/blog/2015/12/02/the-futility-of-public-hearings/

Portland ranks 59 on this transit score rating

https://www.redfin.com/research/how-cities-rank-for-public-transportation-in-2016

Did you know that Trimet changed its mission?

I really had no idea and I am actually paying attention but it was brought to my attention that they had! And then they provided the proof! Who gave anyone permission to change the mission statement?

The original mission statement-click on for better view

The current mission statement

Trimet twitter actually fixed my problem

The ridership report for October on Trimet's accountability page was not retrievable. The twitter desk actually solved the problem. Kudos on that!

 

Trimet ridership goes down in October

Click for better viewing.

Obviously MAX ridership is up because of the Orange line. It's disturbing that total ridership is going down but it appears to be industry wide right  now. This  would lead us to believe that gas prices has something to do with it but on the other hand  Trimet ridership trends have been stagnant for a long time now. People are not flocking to ride Trimet that's for sure.  Anybody who follows this blog can figure out why that may be

Trimet Blogger Dan Christensen tweets with Trimet about the total lack of communication between management and bus drivers

Lets see if anything changes as a result of this conversation

Click for better viewing

 

Trimet insider gives me perspective on the latest Trimet Fail

I interviewed a supervisory Trimet employee who  provided me some insight into this latest Trimet disaster. A disaster which inconvenienced hundreds if not thousands of commuters last night. A disaster that was totally preventable. My questions are in red

Trimet employee caught in the mayhem that is the TRIMESS

Hi Al. How are you. It's XXXXXXXX

 Just started reading your blog. It is so right on I can't believe it!!  

Especially that driver who writes thing. It like he's reading my mind. I'm sitting in my red line

at PDX turning away good paying customers because 

once again, when Tmet has an emergency situation, it's like it's the first time we've ever experienced this!!!!!!!!

  I'm so sick and tired of making excuses for Tmets ineptitude!!!!  

I was supposed to be off at 10:00 and looks like I'll be spending the night with the train. They haven't said a thing about us because they're to busy with Gateway. What a bunch of B.S.!!!   So typical!!! 

Well just thought I would chew your ear since I had some time on my hands. Thanks for listening!  Miss ya. At least I'm gettin paid!!  You'd think all the O.T. Would be worth figuring out some sort of solution. 

They only have one bus available to shuttle people back and forth from the airport. I guess they don't get the weather report over there😂😂😂😤😤😤😤😤👎

Not sure what I think about this

I'm not sure how I feel about this weird shit #trimet pic.twitter.com/49I14MBchI

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) December 2, 2015

Trimet's "Dear Leader" Mcfarlane wins an award

It appears that NEIL MCFARLANE has won something called the RAY LAHOOD AWARD. It says its for advancing the careers of woman in the transit industry.

Not sure what Mcfarlane has actually done to advance the careers of woman? Lomax and Devine were already at Trimet . I guess the new CFO is a woman but why is that a big deal. I can't think  of anyone else that was female in Mcfarlanes 'inner circle'

My guess is the "powers" wanted Mcfarlane to get an award so they gave him this one.

These transit 'professionals' are always giving themselves awards for all sorts of stupid things.

They'll all have their usual dinner and gala 'celebration', probably another Mcfarlane speech  

Dead by Trimet MAX

We never did get any details on this incident which is interesting.
I love the fact that mainstream media only gives us information THEY want us to have, the rest of it is blacked out.
Just more evidence to never pay any attention at all to mainstream media 
I guess the victim was not where they were supposed to be and had not much to do with Trimet engineering.
It appears that this was a suicide by Trimet .
I also hear that the driver is still in shock over this incident, it was gruesome
Listen to the traumatized operator HERE!
Listen to MAX coms HERE

Update: victim did not survive, now a death investigation and active crime scene, investigators enroute,

— Portland OR Alerts (@pdxalerts) November 29, 2015

Blumenaur stuffing his face at the Trimet board meeting