Class action update!

Trimet motioned to have the entire case dismissed on various grounds. The judge denied all the motions except for 2.

1-If operators did not time slip at the end of their runs they are responsible for that action alone. Although the process to claim extra time is cumbersome there is no 'official' policy that prevents operators from time slipping. If operators don't do it that's on them.

2-Trimet is not required to pay operators for the time involved in getting  their medical card which is required to be a passenger bus driver.

All the other items within the class action are valid. Of course either party can appeal this decision to the court of appeals.

Knowing Trimet as I do I would say its safe to assume they will drag this out as long as they can. 

Trimet has unlimited tax funds so why would anybody at Trimet care about costs?

So far Trimet has been on the losing end of these court decisions.

Trimet operators of the year

L-R Lyn Simmons, Kat Mclendon, James Hilliard and that dickhead  that stole our retirements

Good story about the travails of Trimet bus drivers

Blog is migrating back to twitter

My internet activity is going back to twitter primarily. The twitter feed is on the right of this blog. I will continue to update this blog when major events warrant it.

WES doesn't work!

#trimet WES trains delayed up to 30 minutes during the morning commute due to signal issue at Tualatin Station.

— unTriMet alerts (@unTriMetAlerts) July 1, 2015

Blog hits 1.5 million pageviews!

Endless pro Trimet propaganda

Boy these folks are working night and day to embed "The Trimet" into peoples consciousnesses. The bridge, the train, the art, blah blah blah. Look at how wonderful we are citizens!  (except the actual transit system has its problems which they never talk about)Their mainstream media minions dutifully publishing whatever Trimet asks them to publish.

See in Portland, Public Transit is BIG BUSINESS!

250-foot mural spruces up TriMet headquarters (photos/video) | OregonLive.com

Something fishy going on at The Trimet

Earlier this evening, I was on a Hillsboro-bound Blue Line train when two guys boarded. They were wearing plain white polos, with a discolored TriMet patch on the sleeve that said "Road Supervisor" underneath and asking passengers for their tickets. They had no identification cards or badges.
It seemed a little odd, as I thought TriMet had dedicated fare inspectors and wore uniforms/identification that looked a little more official.
Here's where it gets real weird: A third guy boarded the train with them, looking extremely disheveled. He had shorts, a tattered black t-shirt, and was carrying an old bag full of junk. He was also wearing a ratty old hat with the former TriMet logo that said "Supervisor" underneath it, a radio with one of those Secret Service earpieces that was hanging over his shoulder, and a police badge on his belt that had a TriMet logo. He was trying to hide the badge, and when the other "fare inspectors" came by, they asked for his ticket and acted like they didn't know each other.
When the train got to the next stop, they all left the train together too. Is this normal? Was the third guy some kind of half-ass undercover transit police officer? Is it normal to have Road Supervisors looking for fare evasion on MAX? The whole thing was just super sketch and fishy.
 Bizarre fare enforcement activity on MAX earlier : Portland

Truly amazing government propaganda

It's pretty amazing to watch actually. 

Trimet whipping up all this 'excitement' for something that is not exciting at all.

 It's a light rail line. It's not even going to be more convenient for current Trimet commuters. What used to be a one vehicle ride is now a 2 vehicle ride. 
There is absolutely nothing about this that is exciting at all.
It is of no use to the vast majority of citizens.

Its one of the best examples I've ever seen of government MANUFACTURING CONSENT

Incredible Trimet propaganda here---> Catch the Orange - Events

It's the Trimess!

UPDATE—All MAX lines delayed about 15 min. MAX Red Line disrupted due to switch issue; shuttle buses serving stations between Gateway & PDX.

— TriMet (@trimet) June 30, 2015

The usual

MAX Blue, Green, Red, Yellow lines delayed due to mechanical issue. Expect 15-minute delays through 7:30 a.m.

— TriMet (@trimet) June 29, 2015

TRIMETIZED!

I

Using public transportation can be an emotionally exhausting endeavor, and Trimet is no exception. People don't love public transportation. 

They use it because they have too.

Don't forget to check TRIMET SCANNER for the real scoop!

Trimet bus driver assaulted

That happened just now.

There was also a spitting incident about 3 days ago that I forgot to post! 

Bus drivers be careful out there!

Trimet prepares for the upcoming orange line disasters

And we know there will be plenty of them!

Controller: "We are aware there are a lot of people downtown with no clothes on"

TRIMET MAX CONTROL HERE!

Trimet is afraid of saying "naked bike ride"

Rather they use the term 'community event'! I don't know, is this actually a 'community event'? More like a bunch of exhibitionists on bikes.  Portland likes these sort of events because it adds to its 'mystique'.
 Most citizens could care less.

Cameron Johnson bus service analysis

He did a post over at PORTLAND TRANSPORT  (I'm banned for life from that blog) titled TriMet North Central Draft Service Plan.

His post is a detailed anaylisis of possible bus changes. Cameron always had a much more thorough understand of the Trimet system than I ever did. You may remember we had a close association with Cameron 'back in the day'
.

Cameron went his own way about three  years ago. Nice to see that he is still paying attention to the Trimet system. Hopefully now that he is 'mainstream'  he can influence some positive change.

Boy WES doesn't work at all when it gets hot?

Temperatures are forecast to reach 95+ today, so WES Commuter Rail trains will run slower, no more than 30 mph, for safety. Expect delays.

— TriMet (@trimet) June 26, 2015

Trimet- brilliant propagandists

Turns out this is a transit agency movement with various agencies doing this. Not as brilliant as I thought

It turns out Trimet was not responsible for cleaning up this mess

I take back my good words about Trimet!

Last week 3 big garbage bags of cigarettes were removed by their neighbor The Oregon Clinc. #trimet #pdx #trash pic.twitter.com/f8i7aEzyqt

— Joe Anybody (@iamjoeanybody) June 26, 2015

Thank you Bruce Hansen

I've been awfully mean to Bruce over the last several months but I want to make sure that everyone knows that I think that Bruce is an honorable man through and through.

 Although I was not happy with the way things turned out under his leadership I know that he did what he thought was the right thing to do.

 Bruce has always been a man of peace, I'm sure that he was attempting to end the bitterness between Trimet managers and ATU757. 

His heart was in the right place. 

My only problem is that Trimet executives have proven over and over they can't be trusted.

 We can trust Bruce, but we can't trust Mcfarlane or any of his overpaid  lackeys. 

Bruce Hansen is a true gentlemen and as honest as they come

Henry Beasley

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At the retirees meeting I heard something that was used to rattle the audience concerning health care. The person mentioned “private health care exchanges” and retirees need to watch out for it in 2016.  Most do not understand healthcare and the new laws under the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare and when people mention this, people usually think something negative.

Stedman next out the door?

Turns out the fat man is staying. The one leaving is the faceless Evelyn Minor who was cc'd every piece of discipline I ever got but who I have never seen even once 

The Trimet live scanner is off the air

The Trimet scanner was a collaborative effort of two transit bloggers.
 Myself and Jason Mchuff.

But  in reality it was a production of Jason's since he did all the engineering work required to make that feed worldwide over the internet.

 All I did was provide the computer and the internet connection. 

Unfortunately I am being called away and  can no longer host this site. 

Jason may or may not find another way to stream the scanner over the internet.

 For further information you need to contact Jason himself and the best way to do that is via Twitter @rosecitytransit. 

We had three great years and I enjoyed every minute of it. 
Nothing lasts forever though. 
Trimet supervisors, controllers, dispatchers and everyone else can now relax, you are no longer being recorded!
It's just a shame that Trimet won't pick up such a useful endeavor as the TRIMET SCANNER was.

Too bad more Trimet bus drivers can't be like Dan Christensen

How to make it as a bus driver "Love people! even if you hate the actions of individuals" #Trimet

— Dan Christensen (@Dan_Christensen) June 25, 2015