Job Title:
Executive Director, Operations
Job Type:
Non-Union Regular Full-Time
Location:
4012 SE 17th Avenue, Portland, Oregon
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Description Benefits Supplemental Questions
TriMet is a municipal corporation providing public transportation for much of the three counties in the Portland, Oregon metro region. TriMet operates a multi-modal transportation system that provides more than 100 million boarding rides per year. This extraordinary organization has earned international recognition for building a world-class transit system in a large metropolitan area where livability and preservation of the quality of life are taken very seriously.
We are seeking candidates for the Executive Director, Operations (EDO) position. The EDP is accountable to the General Manager for all TriMet operations, managed by nine direct reports. Operations is the largest division in the agency with approximately 2,100 employees, a general fund budget of $260 million, annual capital expenditures of more than $150 million, and assets that include 654 buses, 254 lift buses and 127 rail cars.
TriMet’s reputation is built on high-performance customer service. The EDO’s leadership and management are instrumental in delivering effective, economical and safe service on a consistent basis by ensuring that the district has outstanding service planning, appropriate and well maintained vehicles, reliable schedules and most of all, well-trained and customer-oriented employees. The EDO’s key responsibilities include service planning, maintenance, safety and security, transportation operations, scheduling, labor relations and workforce development.
Candidates should offer bachelor’s degrees and extensive management experience in large, complex transportation organizations (i.e., diverse, geographically-spread, multi-modal, multiple technology organizations). Both public transit and private transportation company backgrounds will be considered. We are seeking strength of leadership with specific experience managing large and diverse workforces, unionized employee groups, and customer service intensive organizations. Ability to address both strategic and tactical issues is essential.
If you qualify, please submit your complete resume to our executive search consultants via e-mail at rog@pringleco.com. Our search firm is The Pringle Company, P.O. Box 25392, Portland, OR, 97298. Our search leader is Roger Pringle, 503/221-0048 (office), 503/789-9401 (cell).
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© 2008 TriMet • Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon • Portland, Oregon
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
APPEALS COURT REVERSES EXCLUSION
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OREGON
Washington County Circuit Court
D080840M
A139130
Submitted on October 28, 2009.
Before Haselton, Presiding Judge, and Armstrong, Judge, and Carson, Senior Judge.
In reviewing the denial of an MJOA, we view the evidence and reasonably related inferences in the light most favorable to the state. See State v. Hall, 327 Or 568, 570, 966 P2d 208 (1998). Consistently with that standard, the material facts are as follows: On January 27, 2008, Hillsboro police officer Bunday issued a TriMet Notice of Exclusion to defendant for riding on a MAX train without having paid the fare. As pertinent here, the notice stated that defendant was "excluded from and prohibited from entering or remaining upon, the TriMet system, as described in the attached Exhibit D" for a period of 60 days.(1) As described in detail below, Exhibit D to the notice specified that the exclusion applied to, inter alia, "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms."
On February 16, 2008, during the period of exclusion, Hillsboro police officer Morse saw defendant walking on the westbound MAX train platform at the Hillsboro Transit Center. The transit center is a complex that includes not only platforms for eastbound and westbound MAX trains but also bus shelters and bicycle racks, as well as two buildings that are immediately adjacent to the westbound train platform. One of those buildings houses a Hillsboro police substation, and, in the walkway between the two buildings, there are public pay telephones.
Unlike at some other TriMet locations, where access to platforms is restricted to persons possessing proof of fare, the MAX train platforms at the Hillsboro Transit Center are open to members of the public without proof of fare. Consequently, members of the public without a MAX ticket and who have no intention of riding the MAX train can use the westbound platform--the location where defendant was walking--to gain access to the adjacent pay telephones and police substation. Similarly, members of the public can, without proof of fare, enter the platform area to park their bicycles at the adjacent bicycle racks.
Morse recognized defendant from a previous encounter and knew that he was subject to a currently effective TriMet exclusion order. Accordingly, he arrested defendant, and defendant was charged by complaint with one count of interfering with public transportation, ORS 166.116. That statute provides, in part:
"(1) A person commits the crime of interfering with public transportation if the person:
"(a) Intentionally or knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in or on a public transit vehicle or public transit station;
"* * * * *
"(3) As used in this section:
"(a) 'Enter or remain unlawfully' has the meaning given that term in ORS 164.205."
ORS 164.205(3), in turn, defines the term "enter or remain unlawfully":
"'Enter or remain unlawfully' means:
"(a) To enter or remain in or upon premises when the premises, at the time of such entry or remaining, are not open to the public or when the entrant is not otherwise licensed or privileged to do so[.]"
Defendant waived trial by jury, and, after the state presented its evidence, he moved for a judgment of acquittal. Defendant argued that, given the terms of the exclusion notice--and particularly the description of the scope of exclusion in Exhibit D--his presence on the platform did not violate the exclusion and, thus, was not "unlawful" for purposes of ORS 166.116(1)(a). Defendant contended, particularly, that the platform where he had been arrested was not a "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platform[ ]" as defined in Exhibit D, because that area was not used solely for purposes of transit but, instead, could be used by members of the public who are not TriMet riders for a variety of purposes not related to mass transit, including making telephone calls at the pay telephones, contacting the police at the adjacent substation, and parking bicycles. The trial court denied that motion without comment. When defendant renewed his MJOA at the close of all evidence, the court again denied the motion, observing that
"[p]eople that are excluded are excluded from transit dedicated light rail platforms in general. This was a transit dedicated light rail platform."
On appeal, defendant assigns error to the denial of the MJOA and reprises his arguments before the trial court. We begin with the operative language of the exclusion notice, including Exhibit D. As noted, the face of the notice, under the heading "Effect of this Notice," provides, "Unless your exclusion is modified or set aside * * * you will be excluded from and prohibited from entering or remaining upon, the TriMet system, as described in the attached Exhibit D." Exhibit D provides, in part:
"Notwithstanding any definition of the geographic boundaries of the District Transit System contained within [ORS] 267.010, resolutions affecting TriMet's boundaries, contract provisions, the TriMet Code, any formal legal designation of certain property as owned or controlled by TriMet, or elsewhere, the geographic boundaries of the District Transit System, for the purpose of enforcing TriMet regulations through exclusions, or enforcing exclusions through arrest or criminal citation, shall be construed as limited to the areas that are readily discernable as TriMet property, as defined herein. No person shall be issued a Notice of Exclusion for conduct that occurred outside of the boundaries defined herein. In addition, the 'part of the District Transit System [from] which said person is excluded' shall be limited to the following:
"1. TriMet Vehicles. * * *
"2. TriMet Parking Facilities. * * *
"3. Partially or Fully Enclosed Bus Shelters. * * *
"4. Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms. Transit Dedicated Platforms include those platforms that are used solely for the purpose of transit and have no shared use with the public or public walkways, through-ways, or sidewalks, and includes adjoining stairways, ramps and elevators.
"5. Trackways * * *."
(Emphasis added.)
At first blush, the use of the term "'part of the District Transit System [from] which said person is excluded'" seems inscrutable because there is no explicit referent in the text of the notice or the balance of Exhibit D. However, contextually, it is patent that that language corresponds to, and is derived from, TriMet Code section 28.18B., which provides:
"A person excluded under TMC Section 28.18 may not during the period of exclusion, enter or remain upon any part of the District Transit System from which said person is excluded. An excluded person who enters or remains upon any part of the District Transit System from which the person has been excluded may be charged with the crime of Interfering with Public Transportation (ORS 166.116) or the crime of Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree (ORS 164.245)."
(Emphasis added.)
Given that context, Exhibit D, by its terms, limits the scope of the exclusion to five precisely defined types of locations that do not collectively comprise the totality of TriMet's property. That is, a person who is subject to the exclusion would not violate that exclusion--and, derivatively, ORS 166.116(1)(a)--merely by entering upon TriMet property; rather, the state, to establish a violation, must demonstrate that a defendant intentionally or knowingly entered one of the five specifically defined types of locations. Consequently, in the circumstances of this case, the inquiry reduces to whether the westbound MAX train platform at the Hillsboro Transit Center was a "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platform[ ]" as defined in Exhibit D.
Defendant contends that the uncontroverted evidence established that the platform could be, and was, used by members of the public, including those who are not TriMet passengers, for a variety of purposes that are not related to mass transit, including to make pay telephone calls, to park and lock their bicycles at the bicycle rack on the platform, and to gain access to contact police at the adjacent police substation. Defendant reasons and asserts, consequently, that the westbound platform was not a "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platform[ ]" because it was not "used solely for the purpose of transit" and that it did have a "shared use with the public or public walkways [and] through-ways."
We do not understand the state to dispute defendant's characterization of the nature and multiplicity of the platform's shared public uses. Rather, the state contends that defendant's understanding of the scope and content of "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms" is erroneously restrictive. Specifically, the state stresses that the operative provision begins, "Transit Dedicated Platforms include * * *." (Emphasis in state's brief.) The state then highlights the distinction, in its view, between "means" (as a term of exclusive definition) and "includes" (as a term of nonexclusive description). That is, the state posits that "includes" in this context functionally connotes "including, but not limited to." Thus, in the state's view,
"platforms that are solely dedicated for transit purposes and have no shared public use are only a part of a larger category, i.e., all transit dedicated light rail platforms. In other words, transit dedicated light rail platforms are not limited to those that are solely dedicated for transit purposes and have no shared public use."
As further contextual support for that construction, the state points to other provisions of Exhibit D that either begin with "include" but subsequently qualify that description with limiting "but not including" language or explicitly employ terms of exclusion.(2)
The state's efforts are unavailing as contradicting the plain language of the pertinent provision of Exhibit D. Again, that provision reads:
"4. Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms. Transit Dedicated Platforms include those platforms that are used solely for the purpose of transit and have no shared use with the public or public walkways, through-ways, or sidewalks, and includes adjoining stairways, ramps and elevators."
The operative term in that provision is "[d]edicated." "Dedicate" means, as pertinent in common use, "to set apart or devote formally or seriously to a definite use, end, or service." Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 589 (unabridged ed 2002).
Consistently with that understanding, "include" in the definition connotes "means"--that is, "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms" means platforms that are used solely for transit purposes and does not include those platforms for which there is a shared public use. Conversely, to construe "includes" as the state urges--viz., that "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms" includes all platforms used in part for transit purposes, regardless of the nature and degree of the shared public use for nontransit purposes, ignores or obviates the sense and significance of "dedicated."
Further, under the state's reading, the wording "that are used solely for the purpose of transit and have no shared use with the public" would be gratuitous, as self-evident. That is, if the universe of "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms" includes all platforms with any transit-related purpose, however slight, then, of course, that universe includes "those platforms that are used solely for the purpose of transit." Logically, linguistically, and functionally, it is counterintuitive to define an (allegedly) broadly inclusive class solely by reference to its most indisputably obvious member. Accord Kelly v. Hochberg, 231 Or App 155, 160, 217 P3d 699 (2009) (addressing construction of "recreational purposes" definitional statutes, which stated that the term "includes, but is not limited to" a variety of listed uses); Friends of Yamhill County v. Yamhill County, 229 Or App 188, 193, 211 P3d 297 (2009) (noting that, under principle of ejusdem generis, a court, in construing statutory definition that begins with "includes" followed by "an open-ended statutory list," "is limited by the common characteristics of those things already in the list").
We thus agree with defendant that "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platforms" for purposes of Exhibit D means those used "solely" for transit purposes and does not encompass those with a "shared use with the public." We further agree with defendant that, even viewed most favorably to the state, the evidence in this case did not establish that the westbound MAX train platform at the Hillsboro Transit Center was a "Transit Dedicated Light Rail Platform" as so defined. Consequently, defendant's presence at that location did not violate the exclusion order, and there is no evidence that defendant had otherwise "enter[ed] or remain[ed] unlawfully" in that location. ORS 166.116(1)(a). Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying the MJOA.
Reversed.
1. The notice specified that, unless defendant timely requested a hearing, the exclusion would take effect 10 business days after receipt of the notice. Defendant requested a hearing, staying the exclusion, but his challenge was unsuccessful. Accordingly, the exclusion became effective on February 14 for the period through April 12, 2008.
Return to previous location.
2. The state refers, for example, to the provisions of Exhibit D pertaining to "TriMet Parking Facilities" and "Trackways":
"2. TriMet Parking Facilities. TriMet parking facilities shall include all parking lots reserved for transit purposes, including park and ride facilities, and including all driving pathways to and within a parking lot, but not including adjacent sidewalks or walkways.
"* * * * *
"5. Trackways: All trackway areas where pedestrian traffic is prohibited, but excluding all areas of trackway in downtown Portland where tracks lay upon city streets, and excluding areas of trackway located at signalized or signed intersections designated for pedestrian or vehicular crossing."
(Emphasis added.)
Return to previous location.
 |  |
Monday, January 4, 2010
Dan Christensen on "Unfareless Square"
http://danbusdriverman.blogspot.com/2010/01/say-good-bye-to-my-little-friend.html
Say Good BYe TO My Little Friend
The long delayed death of Fareless Square.
For those of you not familiar with the fareless square in Portland Oregon. Its first important to go way way way back to the primitive days of 1975. On TV we were getting down to Kojac, the streets of San Francisco, All in the family and Sanford and son. In the theaters Jaws was the big deal on the radio the earth shattering Captain and Tennille was singing "Love will keep us together" and if that wasn’t enough for you Glen Campbell was also hitting you with a little “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
It was a crazy time, the hippies were dead, the Beatles were gone, Vietnam was over, Nixon had flown the coup and Disco was raising its ugly head. In this Post hippie era Portland seemed to be making even worse decisions then usual. Five years earlier Portland created a flag something we had lived without for over a hundred and fifty years and when this hideous idea came to fruition. This travesty some how managed to evoke the strange pot smoking earth kissing philosophy of the Northwest and yet still look vaguely fascist. Here you judge.
Bad ideas were as common as Birkenstocks and crappy long hair back then. One of these “Utopian concept vs Reality” ideas was this, making the transit area in downtown Portland a Fareless Square. To be sure they had plenty of justification and all of them seemed like they could be true. “It fights pollution” was a major one, remember cars in 1975 were as big as a dump truck and would cause shifts in the tides of the ocean when you drove them.
Mainly this idea was a copy of what other cities were doing and a symbol of the sort of central thinking that dominated that time. Trimets job back then was serving a tri-county area and by service I mean bringing them all into downtown Portland. Thus Trimets little symbol that originally showed everything directed downtown.
You will notice the modern badge of Trimet is lacking the arrows showing a more holistic image of “connection & Love” The new image is saying, “Quick hug someone!”
“But now the time has come to face that finale curtain” -- Frank Sinatra
So it has been decided that it’s time to kill Fareless square for the buses. The powers that be are creating instead a rail free zone. This will mean the MAX trains and Portland Street Cars that crosses down town will be free in the central area but buses you have to pay for.
The idea of ending Fareless square has elicited howls of complaints from the type of people and organizations that everyone in Portland usually ignore. Homeless advocates (that name scares me) and the self appointed, self-important “Riders Union.” Riders unions has inspired me to make an “Air Breathers Unions” in Portland more on that latter. So we have the inevitable protest because hey this is Portland and we hate change.
So I thought I would hit you with a Bus driver’s point of view. That would be a point of view you don’t see in the news, or hear from Trimet and because it doesn’t rhyme well, you will never hear chanted at a protest by the Riders Union. Here are what I hear bus drivers saying.
Unfareless Square.
This argument is based on what I call “Unfareness”
It’s safe to say that if we didn’t have every company in a three county area paying employee taxes we would not have Trimet as we know it. This pays half our budget and that demands a little bit of respect in my book.
It is expensive to run Fareless and current estimates are about $800,000 in lost revenue per year. This is no small sum when you add it all up since 1975. Slap on a little interest on it and you have an entire large section of light rail there. How about a fleet of new buses to replace the crappy old beast we have running.
Old buses hurt drivers. It also cost lots of money to pay for back injuries and time off of work. I have seen this and have experienced it first hand. I didn’t miss work but I was in enough pain to never want to drive a model 1600 again.
The cost of Fareless is not just the loss of revenue it’s what could we have done with that revenue to make our system better.
King Portland
King Portland is the idea that Portland is the center of the universe and that all things must flow to it. This idea was a dominate one back in the 70’s and it was not until the late 90’s that it started to fade as the surrounding areas grew and Portland stayed more or less the same. In the old days Portland was the big dog but now the pack of other cities not only outnumber us but are pretty big them selves.
So the question is why don’t they get fearless squares are well? What about Gresham, Beaverton and all the others who could “enhance their transit experience” by having free central cores? Any argument you can make about Portland having a fareless square, every one of these major cities can also make for their cut of the free pie.
The truth is that Portland is no more due a free central area then anyone else. Maybe back in the day when Portland dwarfed those little bergs but not anymore. Portland is no longer King. Portland is like a prince or maybe a Baron.
Trouble Square
Ask any driver that does a late night run and they are giving one another high fives over the loss of fareless. This may not make sense to those who have appointed them selves as watchdogs of transit but here is a clue “Fareless Square Causes Trouble” That is why drivers hate it, that is why everyone is happy its going away.
I could fill a book with experiences of the fareless kind the problem is no one would believe me. They would think I was on some sort of vendetta but in truth Fareless can be a huge problem. Not all the time mind you but just talk to drivers and you will find out the truth.
This is what kills me. Self appointed watchdog groups who say things like “What goes wrong in fareless square, tell me?” I say, “Wait you are the experts? You are the watchdogs you don’t know? How good a job are you doing if you have no idea about what is going on?” That would be like the FAA being manned by people who knew nothing about how planes are made or flown.
The Rail Free Zone
The rail free zone is just an interim step until everyone is paying for his or her ride. There is no shame in that. Everyone pays a bit and rides that is what makes it work. If you don’t pay, you shouldn’t ride. Sooner or latter the inherit unfairness or of the situation will add pressure to do away the rail free zone maybe not now but soon and for the rest our lives.
Someday it will all be fare until then you all Roll Easy My Friends.
Say Good BYe TO My Little Friend
The long delayed death of Fareless Square.
For those of you not familiar with the fareless square in Portland Oregon. Its first important to go way way way back to the primitive days of 1975. On TV we were getting down to Kojac, the streets of San Francisco, All in the family and Sanford and son. In the theaters Jaws was the big deal on the radio the earth shattering Captain and Tennille was singing "Love will keep us together" and if that wasn’t enough for you Glen Campbell was also hitting you with a little “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
It was a crazy time, the hippies were dead, the Beatles were gone, Vietnam was over, Nixon had flown the coup and Disco was raising its ugly head. In this Post hippie era Portland seemed to be making even worse decisions then usual. Five years earlier Portland created a flag something we had lived without for over a hundred and fifty years and when this hideous idea came to fruition. This travesty some how managed to evoke the strange pot smoking earth kissing philosophy of the Northwest and yet still look vaguely fascist. Here you judge.
Bad ideas were as common as Birkenstocks and crappy long hair back then. One of these “Utopian concept vs Reality” ideas was this, making the transit area in downtown Portland a Fareless Square. To be sure they had plenty of justification and all of them seemed like they could be true. “It fights pollution” was a major one, remember cars in 1975 were as big as a dump truck and would cause shifts in the tides of the ocean when you drove them.
Mainly this idea was a copy of what other cities were doing and a symbol of the sort of central thinking that dominated that time. Trimets job back then was serving a tri-county area and by service I mean bringing them all into downtown Portland. Thus Trimets little symbol that originally showed everything directed downtown.
You will notice the modern badge of Trimet is lacking the arrows showing a more holistic image of “connection & Love” The new image is saying, “Quick hug someone!”
“But now the time has come to face that finale curtain” -- Frank Sinatra
So it has been decided that it’s time to kill Fareless square for the buses. The powers that be are creating instead a rail free zone. This will mean the MAX trains and Portland Street Cars that crosses down town will be free in the central area but buses you have to pay for.
The idea of ending Fareless square has elicited howls of complaints from the type of people and organizations that everyone in Portland usually ignore. Homeless advocates (that name scares me) and the self appointed, self-important “Riders Union.” Riders unions has inspired me to make an “Air Breathers Unions” in Portland more on that latter. So we have the inevitable protest because hey this is Portland and we hate change.
So I thought I would hit you with a Bus driver’s point of view. That would be a point of view you don’t see in the news, or hear from Trimet and because it doesn’t rhyme well, you will never hear chanted at a protest by the Riders Union. Here are what I hear bus drivers saying.
Unfareless Square.
This argument is based on what I call “Unfareness”
It’s safe to say that if we didn’t have every company in a three county area paying employee taxes we would not have Trimet as we know it. This pays half our budget and that demands a little bit of respect in my book.
It is expensive to run Fareless and current estimates are about $800,000 in lost revenue per year. This is no small sum when you add it all up since 1975. Slap on a little interest on it and you have an entire large section of light rail there. How about a fleet of new buses to replace the crappy old beast we have running.
Old buses hurt drivers. It also cost lots of money to pay for back injuries and time off of work. I have seen this and have experienced it first hand. I didn’t miss work but I was in enough pain to never want to drive a model 1600 again.
The cost of Fareless is not just the loss of revenue it’s what could we have done with that revenue to make our system better.
King Portland
King Portland is the idea that Portland is the center of the universe and that all things must flow to it. This idea was a dominate one back in the 70’s and it was not until the late 90’s that it started to fade as the surrounding areas grew and Portland stayed more or less the same. In the old days Portland was the big dog but now the pack of other cities not only outnumber us but are pretty big them selves.
So the question is why don’t they get fearless squares are well? What about Gresham, Beaverton and all the others who could “enhance their transit experience” by having free central cores? Any argument you can make about Portland having a fareless square, every one of these major cities can also make for their cut of the free pie.
The truth is that Portland is no more due a free central area then anyone else. Maybe back in the day when Portland dwarfed those little bergs but not anymore. Portland is no longer King. Portland is like a prince or maybe a Baron.
Trouble Square
Ask any driver that does a late night run and they are giving one another high fives over the loss of fareless. This may not make sense to those who have appointed them selves as watchdogs of transit but here is a clue “Fareless Square Causes Trouble” That is why drivers hate it, that is why everyone is happy its going away.
I could fill a book with experiences of the fareless kind the problem is no one would believe me. They would think I was on some sort of vendetta but in truth Fareless can be a huge problem. Not all the time mind you but just talk to drivers and you will find out the truth.
This is what kills me. Self appointed watchdog groups who say things like “What goes wrong in fareless square, tell me?” I say, “Wait you are the experts? You are the watchdogs you don’t know? How good a job are you doing if you have no idea about what is going on?” That would be like the FAA being manned by people who knew nothing about how planes are made or flown.
The Rail Free Zone
The rail free zone is just an interim step until everyone is paying for his or her ride. There is no shame in that. Everyone pays a bit and rides that is what makes it work. If you don’t pay, you shouldn’t ride. Sooner or latter the inherit unfairness or of the situation will add pressure to do away the rail free zone maybe not now but soon and for the rest our lives.
Someday it will all be fare until then you all Roll Easy My Friends.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
A CONVERSATION WITH FRED-NOVEMBER 2006
The Pearl District resident and general manager of TriMet takes the No. 17 bus to and from the Portland-area public transit agency's eastside headquarters every day.
"I have these patterns of what I read in the morning and at night when I'm going home," Hansen said. "I'm one of the lucky ones because ... I can take the (bus) without changing downtown."
But the TriMet general manager isn't just along for the ride. Hansen guided the outfit through a three-year recession that left all of Portland's agencies struggling just to provide basic services.
His policies of focused investment and streamlining for efficiencies axed nearly $20 million per year in operating expenses, helping to keep the agency afloat.
Now, Hansen says, the agency is nearly back to its pre-recession revenue, and it has three major rail projects under way that will greatly expand its services. The Washington County Commuter Rail project began in October and will connect Wilsonville to Tigard and Beaverton. The downtown Transit Mall light-rail project will bring MAX service on Fifth and Sixth avenues from Union Station to Portland State University. And the Interstate 205 MAX line will link the Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town Center.
DJC: What were the highlights of 2006 for TriMet?
Fred Hansen: A whole series of things.
DJC: As general manager you introduced the idea of focused investment to TriMet. Where does that idea come from?
Hansen: I'm a believer that you have to be able to touch and feel things for it to be a difference. I'm a regular rider and I know those things.
What we did (in the past) was we spread whatever investments we had over a wide distance and nobody could tell any real difference. Now we're able to promote them. Here's a bus that's going to be coming at least every 15 minutes seven days a week. And as a rider that makes a real difference.
DJC: Where is TriMet sitting financially?
Hansen: We've had, as most every business in the greater Portland region in the three-and-a-half-year period between 2000 and 2003, we really saw essentially flat revenues, and that was a direct reflection of the fact that this region had lost a little over 30,000 jobs and most of our revenue is based on the payroll tax.
But what we did during that period is we launched an effort that we call the productivity improvement program, and what it was really aimed at ... was how do we get more resource out of our existing base and put it into more service. Do things smarter, do it cheaper. And as it ended up ... we've been able to save on, an annualized basis, a little over $20 million and still deliver the same service.
And we've done it in a thousand different things. Literally our frontline workers came up with virtually all these ideas. And it's everything from how do you tighten up the front-end alignment of buses so we get less tire drag because there's play in the wheel, and that means we need to use less diesel fuel. And so we've increased our fuel efficiency. And putting nitrogen, not air, into the tires because nitrogen's a bit heavier, it doesn't leak as easily, and therefore we're able to maintain tire pressure a little bit more consistently. We're a big business. ... We run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When the vehicles aren't out they're in being maintained, so in many ways we're a very big pick-up and delivery service that runs all the time. So we applied business practices to all those things.
DJC: What are you looking forward to in 2007, both in projects and financially?
I-205 is a lot longer alignment but, because it's in a dedicated right-of-way, we're not going to be going through as much activity like the mall. ... It's a bit easier setting because when they built I-205 Multnomah County required that there be a transit way set aside along and in the middle of 205, and we're going to use that and that makes it a lot easier.
DJC: And that downtown mall project also has requirements for minority and women participation?
Hansen: Absolutely.
We set the bar higher than anybody has ever set it before on Interstate MAX. We set a goal of having 16 percent participation in our contracting; we reached 19 percent.
A lot of people use those numbers, (but) what to us is very important is we used locally owned minority and women businesses and we put about $8.6 million on Interstate MAX into businesses that were located in that area.
And it wasn't the big businesses. This is the one- or two-dump- truck operators or the small engineering firm that's trying to get going.
DJC: I know the Portland Development Commission is looking at setting goals for minority and women participation. Is there a difference between how such a program would be implemented in an agency that oversees building construction versus transportation?
Hansen: Obviously there are differences, but the ability to break down contracts is very similar in both settings. ... So the ability to do that is there, but it takes effort and real commitment. And very frankly, we got quality work, a very low changeover level, no litigation that came out of Interstate MAX, and those are the things you can actually deliver for the community, the project and the overall budget.
DJC: All of the agencies involved in transportation in the region are feeling the budget crunch of huge looming projects, such as the Columbia River Crossing. Yet it sounds like you're saying that TriMet is doing well. Do you not feel the squeeze?
Hansen: Let me not leave you with the impression that we feel like we're doing well. We've had a very tough three years - flat revenues with normal inflation or expenses, about $10 million more a year just to stay in place. And that $20 million total essentially offset the additional (annual) costs just to stay in place. So we felt the exact same pressures. ... We're suffering much the same thing every other business and government has suffered.
We've just been able to leverage our investments in a way that's been very critical. The mall I-205 project, 60 percent of that is being funded by the federal government. And that means every time that goes into the local economy we get that extra benefit. ... What we're able to do is really build off of that and make things work.
Bridging the authority gap
DJC: Have you heard Ted Wheeler's proposal about a regional bridge authority?
Fred Hansen: I smile only because I think I was one of the sources of that idea. Obviously, you have to figure out how to make it happen but I think if you look right now the mixture of bridge ownerships are really kind of screwy. You have ODOT owning the big ones, Ross Island and the interstates, you've got (Union Pacific) owning the Steel Bridge and Multnomah County essentially with the rest of the bridges.
And they're not the highest focus certainly within Multnomah County, so you end up getting to this crisis where something's got to happen, and that's not the way we ought to be maintaining things. So, in the long run, something like an authority makes sense.
DJC: Do you think (Wheeler) is the natural champion of that?
Hansen: He certainly has the most bridges.
I was just talking with Sam Adams two days ago and we were talking a little about the bridge authority as well, and he sees it doesn't make sense that what are essentially city streets but have to cross a river are now in another jurisdiction.
How do we think smarter about this? I don't think it's going to come quickly because you need to have a revenue source that goes with that. ... You've got to have a way that is dedicated dollars so those bridges are maintained. But I think in the long run it does make sense, given how critical river crossings are to Portland.
Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Nov 17, 2006 by Libby Tucker
"I have these patterns of what I read in the morning and at night when I'm going home," Hansen said. "I'm one of the lucky ones because ... I can take the (bus) without changing downtown."
But the TriMet general manager isn't just along for the ride. Hansen guided the outfit through a three-year recession that left all of Portland's agencies struggling just to provide basic services.
His policies of focused investment and streamlining for efficiencies axed nearly $20 million per year in operating expenses, helping to keep the agency afloat.
Now, Hansen says, the agency is nearly back to its pre-recession revenue, and it has three major rail projects under way that will greatly expand its services. The Washington County Commuter Rail project began in October and will connect Wilsonville to Tigard and Beaverton. The downtown Transit Mall light-rail project will bring MAX service on Fifth and Sixth avenues from Union Station to Portland State University. And the Interstate 205 MAX line will link the Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town Center.
DJC: What were the highlights of 2006 for TriMet?
Fred Hansen: A whole series of things.
DJC: As general manager you introduced the idea of focused investment to TriMet. Where does that idea come from?
Hansen: I'm a believer that you have to be able to touch and feel things for it to be a difference. I'm a regular rider and I know those things.
What we did (in the past) was we spread whatever investments we had over a wide distance and nobody could tell any real difference. Now we're able to promote them. Here's a bus that's going to be coming at least every 15 minutes seven days a week. And as a rider that makes a real difference.
DJC: Where is TriMet sitting financially?
Hansen: We've had, as most every business in the greater Portland region in the three-and-a-half-year period between 2000 and 2003, we really saw essentially flat revenues, and that was a direct reflection of the fact that this region had lost a little over 30,000 jobs and most of our revenue is based on the payroll tax.
But what we did during that period is we launched an effort that we call the productivity improvement program, and what it was really aimed at ... was how do we get more resource out of our existing base and put it into more service. Do things smarter, do it cheaper. And as it ended up ... we've been able to save on, an annualized basis, a little over $20 million and still deliver the same service.
And we've done it in a thousand different things. Literally our frontline workers came up with virtually all these ideas. And it's everything from how do you tighten up the front-end alignment of buses so we get less tire drag because there's play in the wheel, and that means we need to use less diesel fuel. And so we've increased our fuel efficiency. And putting nitrogen, not air, into the tires because nitrogen's a bit heavier, it doesn't leak as easily, and therefore we're able to maintain tire pressure a little bit more consistently. We're a big business. ... We run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When the vehicles aren't out they're in being maintained, so in many ways we're a very big pick-up and delivery service that runs all the time. So we applied business practices to all those things.
DJC: What are you looking forward to in 2007, both in projects and financially?
I-205 is a lot longer alignment but, because it's in a dedicated right-of-way, we're not going to be going through as much activity like the mall. ... It's a bit easier setting because when they built I-205 Multnomah County required that there be a transit way set aside along and in the middle of 205, and we're going to use that and that makes it a lot easier.
DJC: And that downtown mall project also has requirements for minority and women participation?
Hansen: Absolutely.
We set the bar higher than anybody has ever set it before on Interstate MAX. We set a goal of having 16 percent participation in our contracting; we reached 19 percent.
A lot of people use those numbers, (but) what to us is very important is we used locally owned minority and women businesses and we put about $8.6 million on Interstate MAX into businesses that were located in that area.
And it wasn't the big businesses. This is the one- or two-dump- truck operators or the small engineering firm that's trying to get going.
DJC: I know the Portland Development Commission is looking at setting goals for minority and women participation. Is there a difference between how such a program would be implemented in an agency that oversees building construction versus transportation?
Hansen: Obviously there are differences, but the ability to break down contracts is very similar in both settings. ... So the ability to do that is there, but it takes effort and real commitment. And very frankly, we got quality work, a very low changeover level, no litigation that came out of Interstate MAX, and those are the things you can actually deliver for the community, the project and the overall budget.
DJC: All of the agencies involved in transportation in the region are feeling the budget crunch of huge looming projects, such as the Columbia River Crossing. Yet it sounds like you're saying that TriMet is doing well. Do you not feel the squeeze?
Hansen: Let me not leave you with the impression that we feel like we're doing well. We've had a very tough three years - flat revenues with normal inflation or expenses, about $10 million more a year just to stay in place. And that $20 million total essentially offset the additional (annual) costs just to stay in place. So we felt the exact same pressures. ... We're suffering much the same thing every other business and government has suffered.
We've just been able to leverage our investments in a way that's been very critical. The mall I-205 project, 60 percent of that is being funded by the federal government. And that means every time that goes into the local economy we get that extra benefit. ... What we're able to do is really build off of that and make things work.
Bridging the authority gap
DJC: Have you heard Ted Wheeler's proposal about a regional bridge authority?
Fred Hansen: I smile only because I think I was one of the sources of that idea. Obviously, you have to figure out how to make it happen but I think if you look right now the mixture of bridge ownerships are really kind of screwy. You have ODOT owning the big ones, Ross Island and the interstates, you've got (Union Pacific) owning the Steel Bridge and Multnomah County essentially with the rest of the bridges.
And they're not the highest focus certainly within Multnomah County, so you end up getting to this crisis where something's got to happen, and that's not the way we ought to be maintaining things. So, in the long run, something like an authority makes sense.
DJC: Do you think (Wheeler) is the natural champion of that?
Hansen: He certainly has the most bridges.
I was just talking with Sam Adams two days ago and we were talking a little about the bridge authority as well, and he sees it doesn't make sense that what are essentially city streets but have to cross a river are now in another jurisdiction.
How do we think smarter about this? I don't think it's going to come quickly because you need to have a revenue source that goes with that. ... You've got to have a way that is dedicated dollars so those bridges are maintained. But I think in the long run it does make sense, given how critical river crossings are to Portland.
Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR), Nov 17, 2006 by Libby Tucker
Monday, December 14, 2009
MICHAEL OLIVER TELLS ME ABOUT THE LIBELOUS WEB SITE
The following conversation is based on an actual conversation that occurred between myself and Michael Oliver.
MO: I appreciate you calling me.
Al ; Of course, you’ve seen that site I take it
.
Mo; The aids thing? The state dept. called me last week, the state dept police, and they asked me if I had put up a site, and I said no, and they told me how to get to it.
I figured out what was going on, it was Jim Stenger, he’s out of the country. He’s been doing stuff to various people. So I looked at it and I thought you know, what was I gonna do. There’s not much I can do. The state dept says that the FBI is on the case.
There is a warrant out for the guys arrest. He has violated some terrorism acts. They are looking for him. What bothered me I was told, this afternoon over at BTC, that you had added a link at your web site!
MO: No I do not Al, I drive a train, that’s about all I can do.
MO: What he has done to the union is create an alternate union web page for the union.
MO: Yea, I don’t quite know where this is going.
Al: Well if the FBI is on it you got the right people.
MO: I’ve got nothing to do with that.
MO: It’s pretty extensive. Other things that he has done are order $300 worth of Pizza and have it sent to
MO: Yea, I know him well. I saved his job on more than one occasion. I was his union rep.
MO: He’s going after everybody. I never had strong words with him, ever! And now he is going after me!
MO: He drinks, he gets fucked up, and he does shit. He doesn’t even remember what he does. The guy that was at
MO; Yea, I would appreciate that, thanks, I’m sorry.
MO: He took my picture right off the union website!
MO: Thanks again.
Monday, December 7, 2009
BUS DRIVERS DISCUSS THE MAX INCIDENT AND THE MAX DRIVERS
(THIS IS A RE-CREATION OF AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN 3 TRIMET BUS OPERATORS, ALL OF WHOM HAVE BEEN WORKING AT TRIMET 10 YEARS OR MORE)
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The max incident is still a topic of conversation between drivers during layovers.
This is a re-creation of a conversation that occurred between three drivers, we will call them “Driver A, K, S”. The conversation started talking about the max child incident and them moved to max operators in general.
Driver S: “I’ve heard things about that operator, and I know that guy too! I’ll tell ya what he did one time, there were some kids causing trouble in the back, like they always do, he points to the leader of the group and says ‘hey, come here for a sec’, he was going pretty fast down the road, so the kid gets up and starts coming up to talk to him, and he slams the break on, and the kid comes flying up right to the window!
Driver A: “How do you know this?”
Driver S: “Cause he told me himself! This was back in the days that nobody cared much about this stuff, like 15 years ago”
Driver A: “Well back then you could get away with almost everything, you can’t do that now! There’s camera’s in the bus and shit! You’d be fired immediately!
Driver K decides to enter the conversation: “He sounds like the max driver I got really mad at once. I was like 10 feet from the door, it was daylight, he slammed the doors shut on me”
Driver A: “in your face?”
Driver K: “A little boy, 9 or 10 years old, held one of the doors pen for me. The other doors all slammed shut but this little kid kept the door open! So I get on the train and the max driver comes on the pa: “don’t hold the door open for anyone!” I went over to the call box and said to that guy: “Listen, you knew exactly who I was; you saw my uniform that was very rude to do that!
Driver A+S both start laughing hysterically.
Driver A: “I’m sure she did exactly what she says she did knowing driver K!”
Driver K: “boy was I mad, I was really mad!”
Driver S gets going: “You know what I hate about those Max drivers, when the bus comes up to an intersection with the Max, and they’re sitting there right, just before you get to the intersection they’ll call the light! And then they won’t pull out right away! They’ll sit there for two minutes anyway! Basically they coulda let your ass get through that intersection
Driver A: Yea, they’re fucking with us man! But leaving a uniformed Trimet employee behind that they see running for the train, that’s unreal! I wonder if it was that Cooper guy?
Driver S: “Sounds like him.” Did you see who it was “K”?
“K”: “No he just came on the PA, I was in the last car”
“A”: “The xx bus would pull into the stop late at night and the max would be there but the mother fuckers would just pull right out! They can see the folks running for the train, the close the fucking doors and away they go. Unfucking real! It’s fucking pouring rain and cold out and they know there is no other train for at least 20 minutes but they just don’t fucking care!”
“S”: “they have tricks too, they can get the doors closed even faster, they bypass the “doors are closing” announcement until its too late. The doors are already closed and then the announcement says ‘doors are closing’. The train is moving and there goes the announcement ‘the doors are closing’!
All three drivers are laughing hysterically about all this!
“S”: “Some of the kids like to go from door to door or train to train at every stop, they can see them doing it and the next time they do it the doors are closed before they know what happened to them! They can’t get back on the train! I’ll tell ya what I hate though, as a bus driver, when someone is pretending to look for the change when they are actually holding the bus waiting for someone else to show up! Or when the guy is looking for his transfer while his girlfriend is trying to catch up! ‘Just get on the bus, I’m gonna wait for her for crying out loud!’
Sunday, December 6, 2009
THEY LOVE ME IN HAWAII!
A Trimet driver got back from Hawaii a couple of weeks back and was riding the buses. Being the kind of person she is she got into a friendly conversation with the bus driver.The driver asked where she drives buses?She answered, "Portland's Trimet".The Hawaiian driver said, "oh Trimet, I know Trimet, isn't there a blog that is published about that agency? I and others I know visit that blog all the time."She was shocked. Today she asked me about my blog. Apparently she had not heard of it before.
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