Transit Sleuth

Transit Police BS

2008-07-01T05:05:58Z

Based on experience and the experience of many others, do we really want police everywhere all the time? Especially when they don't enforce actual laws but instead harass and irritate the populace instead? Today I did my normal commute, which these days consist of a bicycle ride and sometimes I'll catch a bus. Just to give some context, I ride a 20" bmx/freestyle bike. For those of you that don't know, it is a trick bike. Most people in this country think of this type of bike...(read more)

Beaverton Police and Transit

2008-06-29T08:24:49Z

Ok, so maybe I'm just a person who likes people to respect each other. Maybe I'm jumping the issue to think that police officers should be examples of respect and not those that need examples of respect. Ok, so maybe I'm expecting too much of our officers? Maybe I'm a little jaded since I've had to protect myself, defend others, and generally do things that police are supposed to and I have always been left hanging. Don't get me wrong, I love that the police exist, I just don't...(read more)

Snuck Under My Nose

2008-06-28T16:56:44Z

So all these vehicles for TriMet are arriving without me being able to find out ahead of time the exact locations and stuff. It seems I've fallen out of the loop. Oh well, that happens sometimes. This last week the new S/70 cars arrived. The most impressive thing about these new light rail vehicles to me, is that that carry more people but weigh less. So technically they should be more efficient in utilizing energy. I spoke with some electricians and engineers a while back...(read more)

WES Side Arrivals

2008-06-23T06:42:41Z

I noticed the Oregonian as well as other sources have made mention of the arrival of the Colorado Car and DMU in Wilsonville. Mentioned by the Tribune and The Times (publications of the same parent, same articles) that the vehicles had arrived. I'm really wondering, it mentions they carry 70 persons, at least he DMU does. So will we have standing room only? I know there will be people riding, but it is still up in the air how many people will be riding. There is some serious potential...(read more)

Vastly Superior To Portland's Streetcar

2008-06-22T21:46:50Z

...but nobody rides it. Just a few shots from back when I lived in Jacksonville, FL. In their defense they built this system which connects various parts of downtown, just like the Portland Streetcar. However nobody lives downtown there. It is a standard dead American downtown. The "People Mover" though is very efficient. Frequencies of about 3-4 minutes between vehicles. It is also vastly more economically efficient costing only about a few hundred thousand a...(read more)

Pictures of Transit Thoughts

2008-06-22T01:23:42Z

I made a new category on the blog for pictures, that have transit thoughts attached. I'm dubbing it "Transit Porn n Pickles". Ok, not really, I'll call it "Transit Pics & Conjured Thoughts". If anyone has a better idea, leave a comment or five. ...and now for the pictures n' thoughts. The theme is around right of ways into Portland. The line that connected Portland for decades and provided the life blood of the city. This line, built by private money, operated and maintained...(read more)

Some Candy From Another Saturday for Saturday

2008-06-21T20:48:01Z

Streetcar Rolling Down 10th through the Pearl. A street corner in the Pearl. Greatest Coffee in America... ...brought to you by South American Farmers. Another Pearl Building... Another Pearlite Buiding ...and another... ...and this building is actually near the train station on Naito. It has a twin building right beside it, and I believe is one of four buildings. They seem to be building them in pairs though. The Red Line heading into Old Town China Town from...(read more)

Urban Commute Time

2008-06-20T16:24:39Z

Home to Office… Driving: 32-40 minutes Transit: 48-52 minutes Walking: 1hr 24 minutes Bicycling: 28 minutes Simple fact, it's pretty damn stupid to try to drive in an urban environment. It takes about 1-3 minutes to park a bike, and about 3-15 minutes to park a car too. There really isn't much comparison in an urban environment, simply, cars are slow. Since I've recorded various modes, when available, for every commute I've ever had I'll have a blog entry on that in the near future. ...(read more)

The Daily Grind

2008-06-14T03:10:32Z

I've been utilizing a ton of transit lately, but unfortunately haven't written a lick about any of my recent experiences. It really kind of bums me out when I'm just too wrapped to write things up. Of all the cool things I have to say I'm impressed by the on time and quickness of the #35 line from Portland to Oregon City. I've not ridden past Nebraska & Macadam, but the bus gets me there quick. The drivers have been top notch so far too, so hats off to you TriMet Drivers running...(read more)

Will The Streetcar Improve It?

2008-06-08T01:58:09Z

So I've got a new office location I'm commuting to these days. It is an interesting commute, which takes me through the city center and down Macadam. Eventually I suppose this route will be much easier with the Streetcar. Maybe. It will also be - if they ever get it going - the first streetcar route that will be move at a relatively high speed (10-20mph average maybe?). The only crux is, what are they going to do for the streetcars to reach over 30mph or will they? The streetcars...(read more)

Fare Increase to Cover Full Cost of Operations!

2008-05-29T05:03:19Z

Ok, not really. As anyone in the know around the transportation industry knows, nothing fully pays directly for itself, even the famed auto mode. So fare increases are coming that will cover a bit more of the multi-million dollar overruns TriMet has had to deal with. But I digress, it appears that the $4.00 gas wasn't budgeted for by TriMet, not that I would have expected them to. Instead they had budgeted $2.31 and now need to trigger a fare increase again. They're actually...(read more)

The Official Steel Bridge Closure

2008-05-28T21:41:04Z

June 1–August 30: TriMet buses will not use Steel Bridge; detours in place June 10–August 24: Bridge closed to all vehicles August 2–24: TriMet MAX will not cross Steel Bridge; shuttle buses provided I'm still curious, if anyone knows, what exactly are the details of what will be done during this time. I know the light rail will be attached to the existing line, and I've heard the rail gaps are supposed to be closed where there is currently some rather large 2-4 inch gaps, but what else is going...(read more)

Red Line Ridership, and Calculations for Total Throughput on the Banfield Corridor

2008-05-26T17:50:10Z

This Sunday I took a trip out to the Best Buy by the airport. It was a little later in the afternoon when I boarded the Red Line to the airport. The interesting thing that I noticed was that the number of patrons riding the Red Line, on a lazy Sunday afternoon overcast with dreary weather, was rather numerous. With the new shopping available the number of riders getting on and off in the once empty stations between the Parkrose Sumner Station and the Airport Station increasing the...(read more)

Feds Crawl to Incompetence as Union Pacific Silently Creates Grandeur

2008-05-23T16:58:06Z

Light Rail Construction Impresses, Funding Depresses I've been watching the the downtown Portland Mall Light Rail Construction with curiosity. Impressiveness often comes to mind at the number of things that have been planned for, accommodated and altered slightly. Overall the project, as light rail construction often goes, is succeeding according to the plan. But let me take a step back again and just make some other observations from a high level. Between the almost 2 miles of...(read more)

Amtrak Adds Some Roll-Up Reports to Scheduling

2008-05-18T15:29:29Z

I was navigating around Amtrak's web site today and found a new little feature in relation to on time performance. A roll up report based on the host networks on-time performance and interruptions. Here's a quick screen shot, to find out more go check out Amtrak's site. The little icon and "On-time performance..." is what will get you info on the various routes historical on time performance. The way you get here from the main page is by selecting the train number and destination...(read more)