Dilbert gets it right

Essay on Trimet bus drivers

Is it Tri MET...or Tri MAD????

Classic Tweets

"TriMet union benefits are too high"-says the GM making $290k/yr with 11 wks vacation & expected pension of $17k/mo. Who's the REAL problem?

— MAX FAQs (@maxfaqs) November 19, 2014

Appearance at the Trimet board of directors

We all know that speaking to the Trimet board is about as productive as speaking to the wall in your house. It absolutely means nothing to these people. Doesn't change anything and testimony is completely disregarded as soon as you end your presentation.

But today was a good opportunity to pay the debt I owed to Mr Mcfarlane for my failed small claim. The court ordered me to pay him, how's that for justice?

I made my little speech and that's that.
I think I qualify as the most hated employee in Trimet history.
Sorry about that, I'm a product of the Trimet culture

Pretty sweet to be a Trimet executive

General Managers and construction contractors get what ever they want

Has there ever been a #trimet contract that did not exceed the original bid? pic.twitter.com/jsq8UNV50q

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) November 19, 2014

Mcfarlane's greed is unparalleled

This post  is from  TriMet GM's raise: How does new salary compare to rider, driver pay? Take the quiz | OregonLive.com

 

Mcfarlane keeps getting richer and richer

Just two years ago his salary was $221k. I'm sure he is very proud of himself. He will also be pulling a retirement that rivals Fred Hansen.

Mcfarlane has abrogated years of commitments to his employees/retirees stealing away the health care that the retirees were promised.

He has sent Nazi type fare inspectors  into his light rail to intimidate riders.

He got rid of the fareless square He toyed with Opal
And he raised fares for riders making Trimet one of the most expensive public transit systems  in the country

So Mcfarlane gets richer on the backs of his employees and the public..

Trimet reliability has gone down the tubes since Neil became General manager

In my opinion he is the worst general manager in Trimet history.
My opinon means nothing to the trimet oligarchs. And the opinion of the public is of no conern to these people. 

Satisfaction ratings of Trimet shows a steep decline. What do these sock puppets do? They give him another "retroactive' raise.

What a joke that Trimet board is, completely useless 

Welcome to the new Amerika!

October's weird TriMet service alerts

NOTE: Many of these alerts were written by dispatchers who are not expected to be language experts, may not have time to proofread, and make mistakes like all humans.  They may have many other tasks in progress at the moment, such as dealing with buses that are already stuck due to the blockage or situations elsewhere.  While the errors probably should be forgiven, they can cause confusion or problems for those who try to follow them.

And yes, I'm weeks late in posting these. 

COME TO THE NEXT BOARD MEETING

I assume its a 9:00am, its not specified on the Trimet web page. 

The materials for the board meeting are "coming soon". 

I'm planning on attending this  board meeting and at that time  I'll pay Mcfarlane the $150 I owe him that I promised to pay when he pays me for my health insurance

Don't cheap out on your medical care and make sure to mail early!

Another Trimet bus driver assault

#trimet Line 4 operator was spit on by rider who was asked to leave

— TriMet Scanner (@trimetscanner) November 15, 2014

"Crime Train" news

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -  A 16-year-old girl was stabbed while riding the MAX on Friday night in the middle of the evening commute.

Her attacker is still on the run, according to police.

Police say it happened just after 5 p.m. on board the blue line MAX train.  A Trimet driver reportedly called for help as the train pulled into the Gateway Transit Center,  but it's believed the girl was stabbed around 162^nd Avenue.

Police say the suspect, a black man possibly in his teens, jumped off the MAX at the 162^nd Avenue stop, and was with a Hispanic woman at the time.  It's not known if the teenage victim knew her attacker.

Police have not said where the girl was stabbed, but say she was rushed to the hospital. Her injuries are said to be non life-threatening. 

“It's absurd, it's crazy, this shouldn't be happening. The MAX should be safe,” passenger Alan Monteverdi said.

“Getting stabbed on the MAX? I mean someone's gotta be real crazy for doing that,”  passenger Frank Lrenz said.  “And they still haven't found him,  that's pretty bad." 

Trimet says they have cameras positioned on board their MAX trains.  Investigators say they will be able to view those tapes and get a better sense of what happened, and a more detailed description of the suspect. 

If you know anything about what happened, Portland Police want to hear from you right away. 

Girl, 16, stabbed on board MAX train during evening commute - KPTV - FOX 12

Interview with Jeff Ackerson about the latest contract

I talked with Jeff about the process involved with the contract deal. I admit I flew off the handle when the deal was reached because I (like everyone else) had no idea that they were even close to a deal.

I also admit that I have no 'inside' information about the process that went down in reaching this agreement. From where I sit I saw it as total capitulation giving Mcfarlane his crowning achievement, the union contract he wanted when he took over as general manager.

So Jeff has taken it upon himself to attempt to educate me further on the details of the contract and why things are the way they are. 

This interview has been edited 

TriMet’s Service Guidelines document

What we have here is how Trimet does its service planning, supposedly. 

It appears all  very logical and comprehensive.

Of course there is no way for anyone outside of Trimet to actually evaluate whether the steps that are outlined here actually occur. 

But they are taking comment if  you wish to provide that

TODAY'S RAIL FAIL

ST CAR IS A MESS http://t.co/mvDVrpB9SL
— TriMet Scanner (@trimetscanner) November 15, 2014

Photo by Lane Jensen

Trimet chain fiasco-'snowvember'

Very reliable sources tell me that Trimet never intended to chain up the buses that already had the insta-chains .

The rumor is that Roberta Alsdadt   told the Oregonian that all the buses would be chained so the order was changed to accommodate what Alstadt told the Oregonian

KGW report on Snowvember!

Trimet coughs up the $$$$$

Like don't steal money from employees?

After 2 courts  ruled that Trimet must refund money they  stole from employees paychecks for health insurance premiums Trimet finally refunded the money.

(Blue cross only)

Trimet agreed to the refunds after the union agreed to give Trimet what they wanted on the health insurance.

This should have never been part of the deal since Trimet was illegally withholding this money.

How do we know its the right amount? 

I have no idea.

 Do I trust Trimet to 'do the right thing'? 

Absolutely not.

Now I have to figure out how they calculated these refunds

Who's that tweeting for Trimet?

Jessica Ridgway huh? 

How bout a face Trimet? 

Come out of the shadows!

Trimet cheapskates actually paid postage

The Trimet oligarchs have a policy of  nickel and diming its riders and union employees so its somewhat of a surprise that they actually paid the return postage for the health benefits signup material this year.

Trimet Blue Cross options costs compared

This information is only for members that like Blue Cross, the only difference with Kaiser is that the member pays $10 instead of $5. Kaiser is the cheapest option and Trimet would love to force all the union employees onto that.
 Its my understanding that 1/2 the union employees already choose Kaiser.

Here are the out of pocket charges each month for Blue Cross coverage

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80-20 plan: retiree only=$37.29; with spouse=$78.31; with family=$104.42

90-10 plan: retiree only=$82.84; with spouse=$174.01; with family=$231.97

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Click to enlarge

Trimet customers take to twitter to rage over the latest fail

The day started with Trimet needlessly chaining up buses. It was 37 degrees outside when I went to bed the night before and was actually getting warmer yet the powers that be decided to chain up all the buses. Needless to say there was no snow (which is almost always the case when Trimet chains buses before it actually snows.)

Then in the afternoon there was some minor freezing rain but it was enough to paralyze the max service surprisingly in the tunnel of all places!

TRIMET REALLY NEEDS TO BE CALLED ON THE CARPET ABOUT THEIR TERRIBLE COMMUNICATION

Trimet fails again

MAX service fails thousands of people stranded