Sunday, November 11, 2007

anaother event fiasco by daycode

This is so, SO true. Every time I talk to folks -
drivers and passengers both - everyone wants more
buses that serve the perimeters and that DON'T go
downtown.

Since we're hell-bent on putting in all this
light-rail and streetcar loveliness to assist downtown
commuters, when are we going to develop SENSIBLE bus
lines to take care of the people who need us and who
*don't* need to go downtown?

Jeff, you're right. The MAX is already there to take
people downtown from transit centers. Turning the
Fessenden around at RQTC would have made perfect sense
on a day when 9000 people were running around the
city. I

mpromptu shuttle runs happen all the time when MAX
breaks down. So why not adapt the "shuttle" mentality
full-time to helping out passengers who are currently
getting the shaft with repetitive bus bunching?
Breaking up bus lines into smaller runs only makes
sense for keeping better schedules.

It would also help in minimizing the problems we
encounter because of different driving styles among
operators. Let's face it, *this* factor isn't going
away. You've got one driver who's intent on keeping
the schedule, and another who's intent on driving the
bus with utmost care and high-level passenger service
and NO regard for schedules. So the "nice" drivers
often turn the "schedule" drivers into the surly types
who actually want to move people along and don't want
to chit-chat and really don't like running late. And
it's not only because of lost breaks.... there's an
ethic involved here too. (And don't get me going on
ADA stops. That's ethics run amuck on the *other* end
of the stick....)


> OK I'm really tired now! I think I might fill out a
> yellow card.

This really frosts me.... We have the BDS system, we
have people like you spelling things out on this list,
we have people wanting to talk to one another so we
can collaborate on some better ideas. Yellow cards are
an out-of-date protocol. No doubt someone has to type
the info off the yellow cards into a computer anyway.

I want TriMet to devise an online system for taking
suggestions. If we're not going to get rid of yellow
cards, fine - but don't make them the only way for
folks to communicate (and be *heard*) when they want
to improve runs.

Daycode
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