Doug Kelsey at the Trimet board

Doug puts forth the argument that Trimet light rail is operating in a dangerous manner and a major accident could happen at any moment.
I have no idea if its true, it appears there were a couple hundred rule violations that weren't investigated. I guess that's why Don Allison got the boot.

I love the dispatch spoofs

"From the Driver's side" UNION FIRST

What constitutes “fair compensation” is a hotly contested point. The District acts as if we’re overpaid and greedy. They inject this propaganda into a largely unsympathetic public mindset via local media. The last time, this tactic was successful for them. Most of those whose valuable support management hopes to secure however, have not endured hours in the seat. They haven’t been screamed at, spat upon, threatened at gunpoint, punched or stabbed. Their bodies have not been subjected to the repetitive motions which gradually wear us down. Numbers and innuendo are management’s game. Yet upper management isn’t as vital as we are in competent transit operations. We could still efficiently do the job without them; they could not do our duties and simultaneously manage themselves.

Read the full essay HERE!

Anthony Forester at the Trimet board of directors

Trimet dispatch spoofs

Hairy supporter at the Trimet board meeting

Trimet general manager report

How to be a Trimet shill-Lesson 1

Kelsey attempts to blame light rail operator for derailment

Poor Doug, egg all over his face

Following standard management procedure, Trimet executive Doug Kelsey attempts to shift blame for the derailment due to ice buildup onto the light rail operator who was driving at that time.

TriMet Chief Operating Officer Doug Kelsey told KOIN 6 News it was up to train operators to assess the situation, since there was no plan in place to deal with ice.

Of course its complete bullshit and we have seen this over and over and over. 

Management screws up and points the fingers downstream.

 I guess they have to because if they told the truth they might be embarrassed, and who knows, possibly something even more severe?

When in doubt point fingers at the people doing the work. 

Sorry Doug, its up to management to think ahead and prevent disasters. 

Pointing the finger downward only makes you look pathetic and helpless.

KOIN story and video HERE!

Trimet leaves on duty bus driver hanging in the wind

ATU757 BLUES

#trimet #atu757 pic.twitter.com/aRqw7F5ofT

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) February 23, 2017

Jim Howell delivers knock out punch to the Trimet board

Jim Howell has been around a long long time. He's a former Trimet planner and has some of the best ideas for transit in the Portland metro area. He should be on the Trimet board. Alas, he is not an insider so he can only speak to the board like the rest of us peons

Trimet cash machine

Trimet wields its tremendous power and influence due to the huge amount of cash that goes through it.

 Millions upon millions is handed out to all sorts of places and companies.

 Actually its billions. 

Anybody ever wonder why Trimet NEVER publicizes its board meetings?

 Obviously they would rather the public be ignorant of the goings on.

Trimet is a huge industrial complex enriching many different  organizations and people.

At today's sock puppets meeting the following cash was handed out:

$315,000 for some bicycle nonsense 

$1/2 a million dollars to four separate companies for some safety nonsense

$20 million in a no bid contract for "repairs" 

$1 million for "legislative services"

$7.5 million in "pass through" dollars, which Trimet gets a cut obviously 

$1/2 a million to "help" Trimet buy electric buses

So when you hear these heartless souless overpaid technocrats talking about "not enough cash to pay your benefits" or "not enough cash to beef up actual transit services" remember

ITS NOTHING BUT A LIE

Dan Christensen gets it

Another laughable "investigation" into Trimet policies

We've already seen how ODOT , a corrupted agency itself , handles investigations into Trimet mistakes. 

Laughably. 

These Oregon organizations and their respective armies of overpaid hacks all know each other and all cover for each other when called upon.

Now we have another one:  TriMet had no rules about running MAX trains on tracks with visible ice accumulation prior to a January derailment.

 "These types of events do not happen frequently in this area," state investigator Gary Ferguson wrote. "In light of this incident, adding some language for operating procedures when ice is present is advisable."

"Duh, it never occurred to us that ice accumulation could cause a derailment.

We'll put it into our standard operating procedures because we are to stupid to know this ahead of time and never bothered to look at other agencies SOP's."

"Sorry about the thousands of people who had their days ruined, we promise we won't do it again."

Nice to be an executive in an unaccountable tax funded monstrosity, you can get away with anything, make a huge salary, and retire with an obscene pension.

Read the "story" HERE

If you read this blog you know that Jason Mchuff had already written about this.
Guess what? Jason has no fancy degrees and gets no six figure salary.

Trimet capital projects wants $2,4000,000,000 billion.

 It's the same old same old. This was all very predictable and they've been talking about all of this for a year.

 The thing that citizens should keep in mind is that the technocrats have made all of the decisions about how this $2.4 billion  will be spent. The citizens got no input at all.  No public comment,  No request for feedback, no nothing.  It's definitely food for the capital projects monster. Oh well, "your" government at work

 Public transportation in Portland is similar to public transportation in the rest of the country. Unreliable, unpredictable, unclean and generally a roulette wheel   Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  

This  $2.4 billion is to " avoid future gridlock "

Uh, we already have grid lock, this is not going to help

http://koin.com/2017/02/21/trimet-4-projects-needed-to-avoid-future-gridlock/

Bus driver blows the whistle on Trimet management - dispatch makes a threat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21IrCn16t2w

This job is dangerous

The Deacon in Blue

Response to Dan Christensen about Free public transportation

Mcfarlane's puppet

#trimet pic.twitter.com/uvfUY12gg2

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) February 17, 2017

Trimet attempting to bully ATU757 into submission

 All I can say is thank God I don't have to work there anymore

http://www.atu757.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/doc00156420170216174204.pdf

Guest post-"fumes are killing us"

You may want to keep track of the number of death of the drivers in 

Trimet , including Lift drivers.  and compare to the national 

average.

Neil Mcfarlane gets richer and richer despite Trimet's poor performance

In 2014 there was a small scandal about Mcfarlanes consistent pay raises while he was gutting services, raising fares, and reneging on Trimet union retirees promised retirement health insurance.

His reported salary at that time was $229,000.

In 2015 his reported salary was was $268,000, a $40,000 increase from his 2014 salary. 

We know that he was granted yet another salary increase in January 2016, making his obscene salary in the neighborhood of $300,000/yr.

He also has $170,000 in "unused vacation" (another scam used commonly by the executive class) which he will be paid in cash the day he decides to abdicate the throne.

All of this while he has abrogated promises to his union retirees, service quality and reliability is the worst ever, and the fare structure is amongst the highest in the country.

The point of this post is to illustrate how the executive class of Trimet, basically parasites, make obscene profits for themselves while the riding public suffers horrible service quality. 

The executive technocrats of the American public transportation industrial complex live and retire in luxury while the public continually suffers with very marginal services.

Next time these technocrats come to you looking for you to open your wallet to them, be afraid, be very afraid. Giving them more money is the equivalent of throwing your money down the sewer

Rest in Peace Tamara Murphy

I used to hang out with "Tamms" at the Beaverton Transit center for many signups while she was a regular 20 driver.

 Its very unsettling the number of former driver associates that have passed lately.

Tamara Murphy former #Trimet driver who I used to hang out with when she drove the 20 at Beaverton TC pic.twitter.com/jpiYW0uFdG

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) February 16, 2017

Lyn Lerbach dead

Lynn R. Lehrbach, 1937-2017 | nwLaborPress

Last #Trimet sock puppet that actually thought for himself https://t.co/BTeAwPYoUC

— AL M (@AlYourPalster) February 16, 2017

LYN LERBACH PLEADS FOR THE DISABLED
LYN LERBACH SAYS HE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIS BEING REPLACED
Trimet management leaves ATU 757 ouf of the safety structure says trimet director Lerbach
LYN LERBACH-THE VOICE OF REASON ON THE TRIMET BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Wait! Michale Levine not done ranting-LYn Lerbach jumps in!
Lyn Lerbach questions the Milwaukie light rail project funding!
LYN LERBACH QUESTIONS RELIABILITY&HOW IS TRIMET FINANCIALLY NOW?
LYNN LEHRBACH SAYS "SHOW ME THE MONEY"
Lyn Lerbach asks the "committee" about suspending the wes
Lyn Lerbach exposes the "citizens" committe stupidity
LYNN LERBACH STANDS UP TO TYRANNY
LYNN LEHRBACH SOOTHES DARLA STURDY AND ALWAYS MAKES SENSE

LYN LERBACH IS THE ONLY TRIMET DIRECTOR THAT HAS A CLUE HD

 

Trimet director Lynn Lehrbach makes passionate defense of fareless square