RANTINGS OF A FORMER TRIMET BUS DRIVER

Saturday, November 2, 2013

THE JOY OF BEING A TRANSIT OPERATOR

Kids behaving badly http://t.co/wBokYdRJGq http://t.co/67t2D3zsE0 http://t.co/5F1ch9tV0T
— TriMet Scanner (@trimetscanner) November 3, 2013

My first visit to the Portland Convention Center

TRIMET PART TIMERS WITH FAMILIES GET SQUEEZED OUT OF HEALTH INSURANCE

Part timers only work 25-30 hours a week and start at wages much lower than senior operators. It takes three years to reach full wage. Not sure what happened but now for a part timer to insure themselves and their spouses its $312 a month effectively barring them from providing health insurance to their families. In the past Trimet used to be the place for people wanting decent health insurance to work, no longer. Not many people really aspire to driving buses as it was, this change lessens the chance of finding good people to fill driving jobs. Of course we know that Trimet (and virtually all large transit districts) view their union employees as 'equipment' easily replaceable. That's the main reason there are so many bad bus drivers. Good people don't apply.

TWEEKS ON TRIMET

Report: Man shows naked picture to student on TriMet bus - WNEM TV 5

KGW DOES STORY ON THE CUTESY TRIMET BE SEEN PR EVENT

Another blogger comes out for Lane Jensen

Mover Mike » Lane Jensen Is Fighting Our Fight

Does this look like the face of a criminal to you?

Lane on a video chat

RUMORS

There is a rumor going around Trimet that the driver who had a stroke yesterday was waiting outside to do a road relief, when his bus arrived and the driver noticed that something was wrong.
1/2 his face was drooping and his speech was slurred. The rumor is that instead of calling 911 the driver was taken back to the garage. There he passed out completely and a MANAGER apparently went to the hospital to check on him. You know its bad when they send a manager to the hospital

The conditioning of operators is to 'grin and bare it' which leaves them totally alone when a true emergency strikes as in the situation of "Dale" who died in the Rose Quarter bathroom and the rail operator who died in the rail yard.

All the while Mcfarlane continues destroying the medical coverage for the people who do the work while his employees literally die on the job.

A Trimet manager clears up the rumor:

Good info for folks Al. Just so we're straight, another Operator and friend saw him at the Merlo train platform and noticed his condition. She brought him to the bullpen and medical was called. He did not pass out. I arrived at the garage from a function and checked in to find that this was happening. Yes, I went to the hospital...of course....but it's rare that we don't go when someone is transported. Kudos to several great Operators for caring for him and acting quickly. He is doing pretty well, all considered. Thanks again...Greg

Friday, November 1, 2013

THIS VIDEO GENERATED 2000 VIEWS

And now I am the only one left of the FEARSOME FOURSOME!

(not a very good capture unfortunately)

TRIMET SOCK PUPPET MEETINGS ON CABLE TV

The Trimess board of directors (sic) will be broadcast on Comcast Cable TV on the following Dates. This broadcast is brought to you by JASON MCHUFF because Trimet has no interest in providing the public access to their process.

Sun 11/03/13 01:39 AM Channel 22
Sat 11/09/13 06:00 AM Channel 22
Mon 11/11/13 04:00 AM Channel 11
Tue 11/12/13 01:00 PM Channel 23
Thu 11/14/13 09:00 AM Channel 23
Fri 11/15/13 04:30 AM Channel 23
Sun 11/17/13 10:00 AM Channel 22

Dumb Trimet driver KOIN report

Turning bus went around ODOT barriers

Video taping on transit makes cops crazy

St. Louis County Police Arrest Man for Video Recording on Train | Photography is Not a Crime: PINAC

WHAT'S EXPECTED FROM AMERICAN WORKERS TODAY

BACK WHEN FRED WAS GENERAL MANAGER

I was walking into the garage after bringing my bus back and it occurred to me, there are all these empty buses sitting here at the garage why don't they turn them into homeless shelters in the winter.
I sent Fred a email about that, never got an answer of course and the buses just rotted there till they were towed to the graveyard.
Homeless turn overnight California bus route into ‘Hotel 22’
Photos: VTA Bus 22

WHEN YOUR COMPANY IS FULL OF ROOKIES YOU GET ROOKY MISTAKES

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - TriMet officials are looking into an incident where a bus driver went around construction barriers at SW 20th and Jefferson Street Friday morning.

Photos taken by a witness, Mike, and given to KOIN 6 News through Report It show the number 58 bus delaying traffic during a maneuver.

Mike, in a Report It email to KOIN 6 News, said the driver was trying to go to Highway 26 but then "spent 5 minutes attempting to back into a parking lot multiple times, while blocking traffic exiting 26, to return back eastbound."

In a statement, TriMet officials said buses are allowed through a construction zone when other vehicles are not.

"When the operator realized the bus could not proceed, a TriMet rail supervisor as well as a TriMet road supervisor responded and assisted."

TriMet apologized to the riders.

KOIN 6 News will have more information later in the day.

Turning bus went around ODOT barriers

GAWD LOVE TRIMESS CRAZINESS

#trimet 9410 may not have run http://t.co/WeBWKGb38G
— TriMet Scanner (@trimetscanner) November 2, 2013

'DO THE RIGHT THING' is Trimet's motto

An astute reader pointed out that in DO THE RIGHT THING , the movie, it all ended in a riot. Very appropriate for Trimet's misuse of that motto

Trimet says do the right thing from al m on Vimeo.

TRIMET UNION EMPLOYEE HEALTH COSTS FOR NEXT YEAR

I HEAR TRIMET IS HANDING THESE OUT

They were very effective for people trying to flag buses in dark areas. They had one batch on year that was excellent. I guess they are not giving them to buses tho, which makes it more of a PR stunt than an actual safety campaign.

OH THE IRONY OF IT ALL

Check the yellow highlighted bottom of this picture

BEST EDITORIAL YET ON THE BART STRIKE

The nauseating paternalism toward BART's multiracial workforce echoed the whines of the segregationist press in the South where I grew up. One could almost hear the phrase "uppity blacks" ring out when reading the Chron columnists talk about the BART workforce — and by extension all workers in the Bay Area. "Be grateful for whatever you get," wrote Andrew S. Ross, "this is the new economy."
As if taking a page out of Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent, the papers also claimed to find a furious groundswell of support for BART management and for banning transit strikes. Amid a constant barrage of misleading information about the actual pay and benefits of BART workers, the editorialists claimed that the transit agency's employees were trying to live like royalty, and, in doing so, were sucking extraordinary salaries and benefits from the wallets of the average Bay Area resident — unlike the tech tax breaks or America's Cup, I suppose. There was a fury for sure, but it was coming from these editorialists and their big business allies, not the general population.

Let Them Eat Cake | Raising the Bar | Jay Youngdahl | East Bay Express

ATU757 RETIREE NEW INSURANCE RATES

We heard Randy Stedman say at a board meeting that the rates for Blue Cross actually decreased, it appears his statement is now reflected in the new rate structure. My rate appears to have gone down about $57.55, a nice surprise indeed.

LANE JENSEN MAKES THE WILLAMETTE WEEK

A Visit From the TriMet Squad: Blogger Arrested After Repeatedly Texting Spokeswoman

Lane Jensen recognized the cops who came for him.

The 26-year-old blogger had tangled before with officers of local police departments who work for TriMet, the transit agency Jensen regularly investigates, exposes and harangues on his blog, Portland Transit Lane.

In the past, Jensen had recorded arguments with transit police and posted them to his website. But his dealings with them had always been peaceable until Oct. 17, when four officers walked into his place of work, shoved him up against a pole, handcuffed him and took away his cellphone.