My Improptu Meeting With Beth DeHamel Where We Discuss How Low My Credibility Is.

So, you'll never guess what happened to me today. Beth DeHamel, the Executive Finance Director of TriMet, aka the number two person in charge, actually attacked my credibility and integrity on the way out of the meeting.

It went down something like this. Note that I'm not going to use the exact phrases being said because I don't remember them all word for word, just very specific points of conversation. I'm not going to put words in anyone's mouth just to make me look good. Besides, the last thing I want to do is give her room to justify herself. And considering this happened in a public place (in fact, in front of and involving other people) there is certainly nothing wrong with me posting it here. Although knowing TriMet's policies, they'll certainly have an excuse to use.

Meeting is over, I'm glad it's done, I'm looking forward to getting out of there. Ms. DeHamel calmly walks over, I politely if not somewhat tersely say "Hello."

She asks if I've read the budget message.

I read through the short version of the budget, where it talks about what they're going to do in FY13 with a lovely little page or two about how wrong OPAL is and how smart TriMet is. But she says 'budget message', not 'budget' so I ask "Can you tell me what exactly that is?"

Immediately she jumps to the conclusion that I did not read the budget when I did, we all at OPAL did and we talked about it. She says that I was either wrong or lying about various things I said in my speech, and as if disappointed says that such lies hurts 'my credibility' and that I should let Jon or Jared speak about it so I don't lower their credibility. She says that she has spent hundreds of hours (that may just be a teensy bit of an overexaggeration, don't you think? 100 hours is five seasons of an average TV show, do you mean to tell me you've spent that much time in the span of seven months talking with Jon and Jared about the budget?) talking with them and that maybe they don't know anything after all. She offers to meet up with me on the ninth and 'talk about it' (as if she's just a stern teacher lecturing her student) and I tell her I'll think about it.

Then we both leave, I meet up with OPAL, we group up outside and talk to a guy who wants to be a member of OPAL. Then guess who buts in talking to Jared, our super smart legal guy? Beth DeHamel. I don't catch much of it this time (not my convo) so I just stand around backing him up like us OPAL members do. But it's about me. And then she mentions me. It goes on for a little longer, then eventually she leaves. Then we leave.

Now first off, let me just say that I am not offended. For one, this is just a beautiful, classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Like, if you are the lady in charge of the budgetary process of TriMet, I am not very impressed. There is nothing that neon-signs 'bullshit' than the fiscal processes of TriMet.

In fact, I'm more or less star-struck. Honored, even. The fact that the number two person in charge of TriMet would really pull me over- twice!- to tell me that my credibility was lowered by lies and that I lowered the credibility of OPAL (RIGHT IN FRONT OF OPAL, MAY I ADD) with those lies. Like, I was kind of giddy when I left the building; ask anyone from OPAL who was with me. I was dancing on benches and shit. I am really, really getting to these people. I'm annoying and offending them and hurting their feelings. Imagine that. Hurting TriMet's feelings.

Although, I'm not so sure TriMet should be proud of their Number Two executive. To go up to a bus rider and falsely tell them that they're full of shit when they're so clearly not, that's not a very nice way of representing your agency, is it? I can't go up to Neil McFarlane and tell him to go suck donkey dick or something of the sort when I'm wearing an OPAL T-shirt, because that would be really discrediting OPAL, who prefers to take a more pacifistic approach to TriMet. I'd say DeHamel was discrediting TriMet, but what is there to credit right now? In an agency where a bus driver gets fired off a false story and yet the general manager gets to screw over all his drivers and riders daily, I'd say DeHamel is a saint.

And honestly, what was there much to lie about? I simply did a synopsis on what the General Manager had done to his riders and drivers, straight out of the newspaper, and accused the board of not caring enough to stop him. I even finished with a nice little statement of people power and how they're the ones that truly care. Furthermore, this speech was worked on and approved by Jon Ostar, a chairperson and founder of OPAL. In fact, he helped me re-write my speech because what I did want to say was way too hateful and spiteful to give to TriMet on their behalf.

I kind of wish I had stuck with the original now. Not because I worry I really am lowering OPAL's credibility (which I don't and certainly don't want to, which is why I'm toning it down.) Because I'd love to see just how offended Miss DeHamel would be if I said this. LET ME CLARIFY, THIS IS NOT ON BEHALF OF OPAL. THIS IS ME AND ONLY ME. And I can see why they wouldn't want me blaring this to the board.

"Frankly, I believe you the board are all disgracing the organizations and places you are coming from. You are absolutely useless, because you are no longer any sort of unique presence in the room. Any backbone in the board has left with Lehrbach, and now you are simply here to shut down the public and submit to anything Macfarlane says, when if you were in our situation you’d certainly protest against it. The only time I ever hear any of you speak is if you take personal offense to anything we say." (Lolirony) "Let me tell you this, board members. I am very offended by the lack of care you take with us, the canned lies and responses you feed us and the wrongful actions you let Macfarlane get away with even though you are the only ones who stop him.
As far as I am concerned you condone and support every lie he tells, every wrongdoing he commits and every action he takes against his own people. You are against the public... "

I think several TriMet members would shit holes in their pants if I had told them this in my outside voice.

And you know what? I say that because I am fed up. I'm fed up with TriMet's management and their lack of transparency and accountability, and the fact that they really don't seem to care because they have the power. But what I'm really upset about was exactly what I talked to Ms. DeHamel about when I ended the conversation between us.

"I am really disappointed that the only time those of you with power at TriMet ever bother to speak with a rider is when you are personally offended."

And I'll say this. I'm pretty offended too, Ms. DeHamel.

Sunsets- a piece of MAX fiction

So! I decided that I was going to post a story I wrote that involved the use of public transportation. It takes place on the MAX in the Robertson Tunnel. It's pretty dark, but I'm proud of it. I wrote this piece dedicated to a friend of mine quite similar to the girl in this story. It's really a testament to the idea of belief and challenging what we know. Of course, I had to make it semi-depressing. *shrugs* Enjoy!

Sunsets

It’s nice to be home, I’d suppose. It really has been much too long, especially for someone who never truly planned to stay away, and never really has. Two months have passed since I boarded the plane. Maybe longer. I can’t quite say. Time seems irrelevant by now. I know I left in the spring and returned just as Portland begrudgingly accepted another state of weather besides rain. Summer’s here but I don’t feel particularly bright, nor should I really.

I decide to take the light rail home from the airport. I can’t bear to think of driving or taking a taxi, in all honesty. I can’t get the image out of my head, a burning SUV fallen off the beaten path, two bodies tangled amid the ruins. One of the bodies belonged to my older sister Lauren, the other her best friend. Somehow I know it’s all by chance of freak accidents, but I can’t convince myself to take the risk.

The first stretch has me as anxious as the whole trip has made me, with looming paranoia beating around the corners of my mind. It’s incredibly silly, but I suppose I can’t be blamed if I feared the plane from Indianapolis could crash at any moment, or if the taxi to the plane would be sidelined by a semi. Even now, I worry that an electric current from the wires sustaining the train will find its way to my seat and turn me into a charred corpse, and I admit shamelessly that I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to see another burn victim without collapsing into hysterics.

I’ve noticed that after someone dies, your opinion of them increases, and the same can be said for me. All the petty fights we’ve had, the miles of distance between us, the required phone calls all seem to disappear into the memories of us on our grandparents’ farm in Northern Idaho, of chasing goats, gathering eggs and throwing stones into the murky Clearwater River.

Memories that are so sweet still have the pain of fire in my mind, and so I drown them out with a stream of sounds from my Mp3 player, not caring exactly what I hear as long as it doesn’t play up on my emotions. With a smirk, I decide the best place to find emotionless music is on mainstream radio, and so it’s there I go, hoping I can dodge the latest attempt from Adele to play on my heartstrings.

Portland may not shine the brightest or smile the widest, but I find it to be a beautiful rose of a city, and I could never think of living anywhere else. Moving here and creating work in photography was a drastic change from a secure life on the farm, but one I’ll never regret. By the time the train crosses the bridge into downtown Portland, I find myself successfully numbed to the effects of the tragic visit to my sister’s side of the family. I convince myself that it really is good to be back, because it is. I love it here, and that will never change.

So deep into my thoughts I am that I don’t notice an entire classroom full of grade schoolers in the train until they’ve eagerly filled the entire car. Surprised, I remove an earphone, taking in a moment’s worth of excited chatter about the last day of school and getting to the zoo. I chuckle quietly before putting my earphone back in, examining the kid’s antics with amused interest. That’s when my eye catches a very unusual sight, especially for this time of year.

A small young woman with long neon red hair has taken a seat in the far corner of the train just before the operator’s cab, easily avoiding the children that have taken ownership of the center of the car. Indeed, she was quite the sight. Most notably, she was the only one on this fine summer day (a rare commodity in Portland) to be clothed in both a scarf, covering her neck and the right side of her mouth, and a thick snow jacket, which she seemed to be shrinking into as if she was feeling a startling chill. I’ve seen a few tourists every now and again arriving on sunny days prepared for famed Portland downpours, but from what I can tell, she is utilizing her coat to the best of its abilities.

Despite this, however, she seems to be content and comfortable. I can see even from here that what is shown of her thinned lips seems to be turned into a serene smile, which turns into a brief laugh when she finally realizes that I’ve been gawking at her from at least the Pioneer Square station three minutes back. Embarrassed, I turn away and try and focus on my music. I can still see from the corner of my eye the woman staring at me intently, and then the sight of her hand beckoning me over. Still flustered, I wait until we get to the King’s Hill station so I can move towards her under the guise of granting my seat to a young mother and her graciously quiet baby before parting the sea of children on my way to this very unusual red-haired woman.

“You seem very interested in something,” she states, her voice as smooth as a pebble in a river. I can see her smiling as she stares out the window. Nonchalantly pointing to a poster on the roof of the train, she asks “Am I to assume that you find one of these insipid poems near me intriguing, or am I the one capturing your interest?”

With a short chuckle, I reply weakly “I kind of like those poems.”

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.” With that, she turns toward me, regarding me with a kind smile. “Miriam. Honored to share your presence.”

“Jonathan Fitzgerald,” I introduce myself in kind, holding a hand out for a handshake. She just regards my hand with a short, puzzled look before reclaiming eye contact with me. I myself am puzzled at her reaction but I don’t address the subject. Instead, I try a different topic. “Where are you heading?”

“Mm, nowhere in particular, to be honest. I’m simply exploring the city for whatever it’s worth.”

A tourist. Turns out I had her pegged. “Well, I hope you find some enjoyment here. I think Portland is quite a nice place, for what it is.”

“Agreed,” Miriam confirms, before inquiring “Another visitor?” with a fleeting glance at my plain red suitcase.

“Oh?” I find myself off kilter as the red suitcase brings back the faintest memory of my horrible experience in Indiana. “Oh, no. Just got back from a visit, actually.”

To my relief, she doesn’t address my journey. “Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad that people who live in this town enjoy it so much. I enjoy people who enjoy their homeland.”

Her vocabulary impresses me, and I find the desire to listen to her speak more. “Well, thank you,” I reply in kind. The train screeches to a halt at a stoplight, reminding me of the fact that the ‘light’ in light rail certainly doesn’t account for light speed. Trying to continue the conversation, I ask “Well, where are you visiting from?” I observe her appearance again, with the winter jacket and the gloves and the pale skin. I’m thinking Russia, but she doesn’t seem to have an audible Russian accent. Maybe Canada or Alaska would be a better guess.

I would be incredibly wrong, as it turns out. “I’m from the sun,” she tells me.

“Huh?” As any average person would be, I’m surprised by her confession. Hardly a confession; playing her words back in my head I notice the evident conviction in her voice, as honest as one could be stating a simple fact.

Miriam gives a short laugh, clearly amused by my slack-jaw and puzzled eyes. “I take it I haven’t convinced you.”

Honestly, not really. This is Portland after all, a city that brags about its unusual citizens. If someone were to claim a solar nativity, they’d probably get enthusiastic thumbs up and possibly a ‘right on, sister!’ from a green haired guitar player who simply loves all the crazy little devils around this city. But I doubt anyone actually believes it. Some level of logic has to win at the end of the day.

Even if I haven’t said anything out loud, Miriam sighs, stating again “No, it looks like you will not be swayed so easily.”

“Honestly, you’re not the first person to make crazy claims around here,” I inform her, not knowing the weight of my words. At the word crazy, her smile turns into an offended frown, as if she’s wondering how I could possibly find such a simple fact so crazy. Quietly, she retaliates with “So narrow minded.”

“More like logical.” The train finally pulls into the next station, Goose Hollow, as I taste the bitter air between us with a grimace.

“Logical?” Miriam scoffs. “I highly doubt logic is of much use if what you think is logical and what I think is logical are by two completely laws of logic. Has that ever occurred to you? I should hope so; you seem like a very smart man.”

“Oh?” My indignation starts to boil over as I get more and more frustrated by this stranger (if it’s even her that I’m projecting my negative emotion towards). “I thought I was narrow minded.”

“The smartest people often are,” as she claims this I realize that she has grabbed my hand, squeezing my palm slightly within the grip of her fingers. I’m not sure what her intentions are, but I sit there silently until the train closes its doors and she lets me go. “Relax,” she orders me. Surprised, I try, letting my muscles lax within the seat. She seems satisfied enough and begins to face out the window, observant and eager.

“The tunnel’s the best part,” I find myself saying. “More than 700 feet below ground level and more than three miles long. Deepest tunnel in the world, as it turns out.”

“Intriguing,” she replies, although she doesn’t sound the part. Eventually, she sits forward in her seat once more, facing the cab of the train. Uncomfortably, I observe her as she drums her fingers listlessly on her leg before she finally snaps “I’d like you to tell me what is so illogical about my being from the sun.”

I’m blindsided by her command and the hint of anger in the voice that commands it. Feeling egged on, I immediately go through all the reasons that it should make no sense. “It’s astronomically hot there,” I declare. “Anyone who tried to live there would be set ablaze.”

“Unless the people who lived there can adapt to the heat,” she counters.  I notice her again with her winter jacket and chilled skin, realizing that she made a valid case if one could possibly be found. Miriam seems completely out of her element and frightfully cold, as if unadjusted to our temperatures.

“The sun is millions of miles away,” I try next, feeling my argument shake just a bit on the foundations. “There’d be no way you could get here.”

“No, there’d be no way for you to get here, as you have not mastered a form of transportation to safely make it to the sun,” she sighs. “Just because it’s the case for one side doesn’t make it so for both.”

I run a hand through my hair, frustrated. “You don’t seem like you’d be from the sun.”

She laughs as we finally make it into the tunnel. “Let me ask you this. Exactly what do you know about the people who live on the sun, other than the fact that they supposedly do not exist? I’ll tell you,” she interjects before I can respond. “Absolutely nothing. And it’s for a very simple reason; you do not wish to learn. You simply want to be right.”

I have no logical response to formulate as I see the scenery outside the windows change into pitch darkness occasionally broken by fluorescent lights. As it turns out, she has a solid case.

She softens her metallic gaze on me and offers a smile. “I’d be much warmer of a conversant if you were to stop denying my very existence.”

I can’t help but laugh. I’m still not convinced but I decide to roll with it. I try and find a way to change the conversation but the next question that pops up in my head is out my mouth before I know it.

“Why Earth?” I ask her. “Why would you decide to go here?” I raise my voice to make up for screeching of the train and add “I mean, it hardly seems that impressive to me. Charming at best.”

She shakes her head. “Honestly, I think that you’re undermining your planet. I’ll admit that you humans have done somewhat of a number on it, but as it stands, it’s in pretty decent shape. The cities are illustrious and the nature is consuming.”

“You like it here?”

“Quite. Earth is an interesting place, with interesting people. It’s quite different from the sun, admittedly, but that is where the adventure comes in.”

“Different? In what way?”

“The way people think that everything else is different from them. They think that because they’re five feet tall walking things that own this planet that on any other form of life they must be giant robed green monsters with stretchy heads or some other sort.” At the end of her statement, she is grinning ear to ear. It illuminates her face clearly; perhaps that’s just the lights speeding by in the tunnel.

“I’ll admit this, Miriam. Sci-fi is perhaps the weirdest thing on Earth.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

She’s still grinning when silence dominates the air again. The train pulls in to stop at the Zoo station, more than five hundred feet below the destination. Miriam observes the children outside her window as they eagerly pour out the doors like air out of a deflating balloon. Their excited cheers echo through the cavern as they run towards the elevators faster than the teachers can catch up with them. Soon enough everyone is out and the train is oddly quiet.

As the artificial voice of the train declares that the doors are closing, Miriam sighs “What it would be like to be a youth again. A simpler time that we can never get back, I suppose. I’d never be able to live in a world again where politics and discrimination were unheard of, where things were as simple as they should be, when there were so many things I did not know but did not care to learn, and where death just meant someone was going to visit the gods.”

I feel a sorrowful lump roll around in my gut as I reminisce my own simpler days along the Clearwater river, where my sister and I would play together and I’d never have to fathom that I’d watch her die a charred corpse along the interstate. I nearly bite holes through my lower lip trying not to cry but find the strength to nod.

“Life is weird,” she mumbles. I find it odd that the solar being would find anything weird, but at the same time it’s oddly comforting. “There are just so many things that don’t make sense no matter where you live.”

I find that, again, she’s right. “Agreed.”

She looks behind her to see an older couple sitting together below the steps, staring out the same side of the train as Miriam and I. I notice that they’re both male and yet it’s a legitimate romance; something confirmed as they exchange a brief kiss. They seem content and relaxed, carefree even.  I realize subconsciously that in most parts of our world such a kiss is thought to be an illegal or disgusting action.

I guess life really doesn’t make much sense.

I turn to Miriam, who has turned back towards the cab, her illuminating grin lighting up a blush along her cheeks. “America, the so-called land of independence. And yet, you’ll rarely ever see someone sitting alone and smiling about it. You certainly weren’t.”

“You’re right about a lot of things,” I say stupidly.

She giggles. “I try.”

I can’t help but think that every time silence takes place between us it’s because Miriam is figuring out the right thing to say. I wait patiently, drumming my fingers and taking the occasional glance at my travel companion. Eventually, she blurts out “I just don’t get how someone could kill another person for being different from him and love another person because she’s different from all the other girls.”

Her statement is jagged and confused, maybe even haunted. “Pardon?” I ask.

She clears her throat, acting as if she said the wrong thing. “What I mean is that I don’t get why everything has to be different. We’re not that different. You and I, we’re not that different.” Her voice is uncertain but her eyes observe me closely. But I’m not sure what to say.

She fills the empty space with her words again. “Just… humor me, Jonathan. What harm would it do for you to believe that maybe I am what I say I am? You may never see me again, and I can assure you that our solar rulers have no plan to zoom in on flying dinnerware and invade your planet. Personally, I’d find it to be interesting to have someone with such a different perspective, but... I just don’t get how this can’t be as simple as it sounds.”

I look into the tree-bark brown hue in her eyes. They remind me of my own. They remind me of Lauren’s. Especially of Lauren’s. It sends a chill up my spine to finally realize how similar their eyes are.

I decide I can at least humor her. Her lips are turned downwards, anxious, reluctant to say more. If she won’t, then I will.

“What’s life like on the sun?”

She contemplates her answer as the train wails through the tunnel, the screeching sounds of the metal on metal echoing through the chambers. “The same, yet different.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we’re certainly not twenty feet green people with an endless amount of tentacles,” she informs me with a crooked grin. “In fact, we’re a lot like you humans, only adapted to the heat of the sun.” She shivers, pulling her jacket even closer to her. “Not as much to temperatures like this.”

“That makes sense,” I admit. “So you’re humans, just like Earthlings?”

She laughs at that one, her frame shaking within the coat. “And here I was thinking that Earthling was a slang term we used on the sun. I was worried about dropping that one around you because you’d be offended.”

I shrug with a smile. “No, no. You’re fine.”

She sighs, relaxing again. “Good to hear. But to answer your question, we’re not exactly like Earth natives, or,” she snickers slightly, almost embarrassed to use the term, “Earthlings. Whichever you prefer. We have our own advantages, I suppose.”

“Oh really? Such as?”

“Well, aside from resistant to extreme heat, we have heightened perception skills, especially when it comes to reading emotions. If I wanted to, I could look into even the blankest of stares you have to offer and determine how you’re truly feeling.”

The idea makes me shudder, and again reminds me of Lauren and how she’s dead. I don’t want to let on, though, so I avert the attention from myself. “So, I’d imagine that it’d make for an honest environment where you come from?”

She snorts. “Hardly. We’ve just become better liars.”

I notice her eyes have closed and that the light that she seems to radiate has dulled. Before I can coax her into conversation, she continues on her own. “Unfortunately, I’ve found that we can still get away with hiding how we feel from our own kind if we’re careful enough. It’s much too easy to put on a convincing smile and say ‘I’m fine,’ and push our own troubles out of our mind until the next time we’re bitterly reminded of them.”

Her eyes haven’t moved open a smidge and by now she’s wearing a deep frown. “Are you okay?” I ask by instinct.

She cracks a small grin. “Just fine, Jonathan.”

I frown, knowing that I shouldn’t be convinced. I fumble around for her hand, and when I grab it I realize that her skin is as cold as she claims to be. It helps my own body cool down and fight the sweltering heat, or at least what I would define to be sweltering. She opens her eyes and brings herself to sit up straight, gently leaning her head against my shoulder. “Good, Jonathan. You’re catching on.”

“Experience,” I mumble.

That’s how we sit through the rest of the tunnel. My brain is burning with sorrow which eats a hole inside my stomach. Tears threaten to brim over but I’m able to fight them with some strength. I look over at my traveling companion, whose eyes are wide open but nearly without expression, searching and haunted. Her entire lower lip is under the pressure of her teeth, and I feel her grip tighten on my hand. When we break out of the tunnel, we’re greeted by powerful rays of sunlight, uninhibited by clouds or mist as they beam down on the train, soaking through the windows.

Another question crosses my mind. “Miriam, what do you think of when you see the sun from here?”

Her voice finally cracks. “I… I think that I’m not too far away from home.”

The honesty in her voice is enough to convince me of everything she said. Perhaps it’s just my grief, perhaps it’s hers, perhaps it’s the fact that our two grieving souls have found each other for just a moment and we’re willing to believe and feel anything that will make us feel better. Right now, though, I realize that whether she’s from the sun or from the Pearl District or even escaped from a psych ward, she’s not that different from me at all. I understand what she means now, why it wouldn’t mean much to believe where she’s from. It doesn’t make her as different from me as I’d have thought.

I realize that we’re still on the train when the artificial female voice announces that we’re approaching Sunset Transit Center. I hear Miriam laugh at the coincidence as she pulls herself up and off of my shoulder. “This… is my stop, actually,” she tells me.

“Mine too.” It’s a lie, but I find that I don’t want to leave her company just yet. She shakes her head, smiling. “I wonder if I’ll see you again.”

“That’d be nice,” I add honestly, a bit dazed by the magnitude of this fifteen minute train ride. Somehow, I have a feeling that it won’t happen. There’s little explanation to that feeling but it seems to be an unavoidable truth.

Miriam seems to agree, but she doesn’t let go of my hand as we get ready to leave the train. As the doors open, we stand in the station, reluctant to move, reluctant to depart. I look her in the eyes that are just like my dead sister’s, feeling the chill move through my body again. Finally, she speaks.

“I think this will pass,” she tells me, reassuring me, reassuring herself. Before I can ask her to elaborate, she continues. “Grief, death, tragedy. It’s hard, for both of us, to lose a sister... but… I think we’ll survive. Somehow.”

I’m astonished that Miriam knew, but as I realize that she claimed (and probably did) have the ability to read my expression, my resolve breaks and I gently embrace her. She doesn’t hesitate to return, holding onto my chest tightly as if she fears the consequences of letting go as much as I do. At that moment, she is incredibly real, every last detail in her haunting dark brown eyes and every last beautifully spoken word of her story.

I don’t feel the tears sting my eyes anymore, nor do I feel any across my shirt, but I’ve never felt this broken. It’s as if I’ve finally recognized that everything that happened to me, to Lauren, is true, and that something like it happened to Miriam too. I don’t know how either of us are going to let go, but we’re going to have to eventually. It’d be nice to be safe where we are, safe from sorrow and anxiety and nervousness and confusion, but we can’t block it out forever.

For now, though, we have our moment in the sun. 

Positives from Negatives- A Paper On Improving the Reconfiguring Route Plan

Hello, readers. As I've done before, I've made a paper on bus routing and service. TriMet has announced route reconfiguring ideas recently, which has potential to do well for the service but currently is presented in a way that would harm service when it could easily do more without spending much money at all. I'm not in support of much anything TriMet does, but I think there is potential for some good things to happen in the system, or at least better than presented. Also, I find it's easier to win in smaller steps than to demand everything at once (which I would absolutely love to do otherwise, and is what deserves to happen) otherwise TriMet will not listen. It's a very unlikable idea, but ultimately it will have to pass.

I'm posting this here in a rough draft because I could really use some feedback. All of the bus riders in the region, as well as the Jason McHuffs and Adri Cs of the map studying and fact checking specialty to give me a logical feedback to make sure my ideas are straight before I email it to TriMet management- hopefully not knocking on wood.

Thanks,
Cameron Johnson.

--------------------------------------------

Positives from Negatives

How to edit the ideas and suggestions of reconfiguring routes to work better for both parties.

Dear TriMet,

As I’ve done in the past, I’ve kept my study on the maps of the system, looking for possible ideas of service improvements. When you released your budget saving ideas, it’s safe to say that I disagreed with most, if not all of them. I was, however, intrigued by your idea of reconfiguring routes, and while I was initially opposed to the idea, I’ve realized that if some edits, adjustments and maybe new ideas were added to the list, then it could possibly be a good idea for the service in general.

From what I’ve seen, TriMet has utilized this idea under the guise that cutting service is the only way this idea would work. I believe that this is not always the case, especially in this situation. I am writing this paper in an effort to show you that there are indeed ways to pull off the route reconfiguring while continuing to provide proper, perhaps better service to the riders and saving around the same amount of money.

Notably through this paper you will find that I stay away from cutting service- for the most part. There’s a relatively large cut in the paper that you’ll probably find as soon as you see the proposal. Worry not, though, for the reason behind that cut is aimed more at safety precautions (and is actually something I’ve brought up in prior papers and still advocate for.)

I hope that you will take this paper seriously as you go forward in your cuts and that it will help you in your decisions.

Thanks,
Cameron Johnson.



Northwest Portland/Saint Johns

It’s pretty easy to see that the cuts in this area are perhaps the most drastic out of any of the other sections, notably because of the suggestion that service along the industrial area north of Montgomery Park and to Linnton and Sauvie Island would be reduced to the current frequency of the underutilized levels of line 16-Front Avenue/St. Johns- a harrowing frequency of 35-40 minutes, rush hour only. While for line 16 in its current state it is somewhat suitable, for a community like Linnton which relies solely on the current line 17 for bus service, it would turn the area into a pseudo-Boring, and we know how things worked out between Boring and TriMet.

The basic fact is that this kind of service is one that needs to have a somewhat reliable frequency, as well as the Sauvie Island Park and Ride. And the industrial business parks are definitely not to be forgotten- they’re among the busiest business areas in the city and there is no alternative for workers if line 16/17 were to stop providing midday, evening and weekend service. This kind of service is especially important for night shift workers, who commonly get to work on the 9pm hour trips and would depart work on the early morning, and at line 16’s current levels that ride will not be able to take place, displacing many workers.

16-Front Avenue/St. Helens Hybrid.

The most relatable line that this line 16/17 hybrid would be comparable to is line 30-Estacada. Like line 16/17, it serves a heavy industrial area, and then goes on to serve several otherwise isolated areas, all on a frequency of anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes, six days a week, all day from 5am to 8pm, which is just reliable enough to use in all times of the weekday. If we were to run line 16/17 on a somewhat improved frequency of that (given that it is a busy route, we could run it closer to the current frequencies of the St. Helens segment of line 17) then I would think that we much better off than the current proposal. This would also provide vastly improved service to the densely used and populated areas along Front Avenue between the city center and Nicolai.

Routing

Another issue I wanted to address was the way the proposed hybrid would be routed, to connect the Front Avenue segment and the Yeon/St. Helens segment across NW 26th Drive, a stop-less bridge just north of Nicolai and south of 29th Avenue. My concern with this is that by routing it this way, this breaks the connection of Montgomery Park from the rest of Northwest Portland and Saint Johns. Also lost would be the connections into inner NW provided by lines 15-NW 23rd Avenue and 77-Broadway/Halsey (which would be realigned along Everett/Glisan in place of line 17, an idea that I personally support.) These connections would not be possible again until downtown Portland, and only then if the current routing in downtown Portland is altered to be more accessible (more on that later.) Instead of using the 26th Drive connection, I propose that line 16 would use NW Nicolai instead, in order to provide a streamlined connection into Montgomery Park and maintain current service on NW 29th Avenue that would be lost with the 26th Drive format.

With this alignment, line 16 trips would turn left on Nicolai going outbound, and going inbound it would take the exit along NW Sherlock and 21st, just a block south. There is a small confluence of businesses just north of this area, which would no longer be directly served by the 16 but is still less than a quarter mile from the intersection. Providing stops at Nicolai just after Front going outbound and at Nicolai and Sherlock going inbound would help provide a nearby stop for those heading to that destination, and the sidewalk is in good shape currently around that area. Also, most will find an increase in service along that corridor (provided by prior line 17 levels) worth the tradeoff of a short walk.

About four new stops would be needed, and these would be taken from the discontinued sections along Front Avenue. Some stops along Nicolai would already be served by lines 15 and 77, and line 16 would just use those as well. Stops on Nicolai going outbound placed at 29th and 27th would be crucial to connect line 16 to nearby Montgomery Park. The option always stands to have line 16 duck into the stops on 27th and Wardway going outbound, but I imagine it would take an extra minute or two out of the schedule. Line 16 would then turn onto NW 29th to serve current line 17 stops for the rest of the route.

There are several pros to this route as opposed to the 26th Drive corridor, notably a connection to Montgomery Park, lines 15 and 17, and no loss on the current line 17 route. There would be less service on the Front Avenue segments, with more of it being out of reach than already would be, but that’s already hard to avoid and the new segment that would be cut off is within walking distance from potential stops on Nicolai.

With line 16 running at line 17’s frequencies, I’d also argue that it deserves better downtown service than the hard to access loop around SW Oak, which is out of reach of several downtown lines, including those on Salmon, Main/Madison and Jefferson/Columbia. I propose that other alternatives be considered for the line, which would save less money overall; however, I’d argue that the cost saved by moving line 77 from Lovejoy to replace line 17’s inner NW service would mitigate those costs with relative ease.

There are two alternatives that could easily be taken- interlining it with line 10 or running it with other lines along Jefferson and Columbia.

The former idea is as simple as it sounds. Buses would use Front until Davis going inbound, and would access Front via Everett. The route would use the transit mall along 5th and 6th, stopping with lines 4, 31, 32, 33 and 99 Northbound and Southbound. Then, buses would use the Main/Madison streets to pick up line 10’s route to Lents. The buses share approximately the same frequency, so interlining should be easy. On weekends, when line 10 doesn’t run, line 16 would simply U-turn around SW Clay from 5th back onto 6th. This route would be called 16 (or 10)-Harold/St. Helens Rd.

Otherwise, line 16 would fill in some extra service along Jefferson/Columbia, following Naito Parkway with new stops at Ash, Stark, Yamhill and Salmon before following the corridor to Goose Hollow, layovering with line 45 at 16th and Columbia since line 43 no longer will. This would provide the connection to the MAX lines, streetcar and other bus lines of downtown, even if connections are not necessarily direct (the line would be one to three blocks away from lines on Main/Madison and Washington/Salmon.)

The rivergate section wouldn’t need much adjusting- just two smaller details. The first would be that instead of making this a “shuttle”, a confusing enough term, to just give it a number- for this case, line 40-Rivergate.

Second, connections should be set up between line 40 and line 16, so that transfers between the two are smooth and easy. To do this, line 40 would stop at Lombard and Philadelphia and loop around Baltimore, Ivanhoe and Saint Louis, layovering at Jubitz so that the routes can share a stop. These small precautions will make the connection easier even with two separate routes.

I believe that with these suggestions and improvements to the cut in mind, you not only soften the cuts, but you also improve service in other areas, and provide streamlined service throughout the corridor.



North/Northeast Portland

The North/Northeast part of Portland is among the most transit dependent in the city- a confluence of five frequent service routes within a small radius as well as a MAX line, and plenty of lower income areas to serve. It’s that area that would face some very interesting and inconveniencing reroutes, mainly along lines 6, 8, 9 and 70. Seeing as this is a transit dependent neighborhood, such cuts need to be looked at in order to make sure we are not leaving transit riders high and dry.

Line 6-Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd

Line 6 provides a viable connection between the incredibly busy Martin Luther King Jr. Corridor and the Kenton/North Lombard neighborhoods, also of high activity. These two need a reliable connection, and the current plan would axe that immediate connection instantly- line 6 does not meet with lines 4 and MAX Yellow Line between Downtown and Lombard TC, and even then line 4 is several blocks away. These two are the only immediate connection to Kenton, and people who live along MLK around Prescott simply cannot go all the way downtown to catch the MAX or 4, and otherwise would need to ride 3 buses to get from there to Kenton Library, turning a ten minute trip to one of nearly an hour’s length. It’s something that can’t happen.
To counteract this, line 6 should not run along the Vancouver Way corridor as it is planned to do. But to avoid that, the current service would have to remain with line 8, and currently line 8 is planned to end at Dekum just before MLK. I propose that enough leeway be given to line 6 so it ends just at the Kenton station instead of being completely shortlined.

Simply put, line 6 would run its usual route to N Denver and Interstate. It would then veer right onto Interstate, heading south with a stop just to the side of the Kenton MAX Station. Afterward it would turn right and right again via Fenwick and then N McClellan, with a layover being set up just after the Disjecta Contemporary Arts Center, adjacent to a parking lot and a block away from the MAX Station and the center of the Kenton Neighborhood. Then, the route would continue back towards Portland and on its way again. This would ensure that the needed connection would be maintained, as it is a valuable connection between neighborhoods that should not be cut because it is near other routes. Oftentimes, it is because of the different areas that are connected that routes are lined along a similar busy segment, as is the case here.

Line 8-NE 15th Ave

With Line 6 concluding in Kenton, it would be presumed that line 8 would maintain its current route to Vancouver Way and Middlefield and then continue onto Jantzen Beach the same way line 6 is planned to at this time being. This is a good thing, because it would connect the residential areas along 15th avenue to the mall on Hayden Island- a very well established connection. As stated, line 4 of C-Tran will provide a transfer to MAX Yellow Line from Jantzen Beach and back again, and as long as C-Tran fares work on TriMet’s service and drivers avoid any problems in the past of avoiding Jantzen Beach service (although last I heard of that was year’s back, so that’s probably barely a problem) then that will do finely.

Line 9-Broadway, Line 73 NE 33rd Avenue

Connection to the Portland City Center is something that is often necessary for a route to work well. When line 73 was cut off from downtown Portland, it saw a drastic reduction in ridership, and therefore a drastic reduction of service is proposed, which will come with another loss of ridership. Soon enough the route will continue cannibalizing itself until it is removed from service. The same thing is happening to line 24-Fremont, and with line 9 being potentially routed into line 70, it is sure to receive backlash from those in NE Portland who desire downtown service from Broadway and Concordia.

However, there’s a big problem I have with line 9-Broadway. North of Broadway/24th, it is very unsafe. Along NE 24th Avenue, there are constant interruptions by roundabout planters at several intersections. Service along Regents Drive and 29th is not much better, but service along 27th avenue is incredibly unsafe for a bus this size to operate on. 27th Avenue is the size of an average residential street, but line 9 utilizes forty foot buses both ways down this section. One bus can barely squeeze down the road in almost every instance, and there is a very dangerous intersection at 27th and Killingsworth where the route must make a short turn west to get back on 27th, and this has caused several instances where the bus has trouble crossing, and must back up multiple times to fit through, causing many near misses with cars along the busy Killingsworth corridor as well as blocking traffic overall. As much as I hate to remove service, along this corridor it’s simply unsafe to run a large bus with regular service, especially when you risk two of them having to pass each other along this street, a near impossibility.

However, to make up for this cut, I propose that line 9 combines with line 73 at 21st and Broadway, and does not combine with line 70. Instead, line 9 would run on its current segment to downtown Portland via Broadway, and then turn left not on 24th, but 33rd Avenue, and then run on an improved frequency along 33rd Avenue to Sunderland. Service would run at current line 9 levels to at least 33rd and Dekum to make up for the loss of service on 27th Avenue (6 blocks away) and 24th Avenue (9 blocks away at most.)

Service along 33rd Avenue would be, as a result, more inviting than current levels, running at a higher frequency than before and connecting to downtown and SE Portland as it used to. Also to be considered is running line 24 at a slightly better frequency than before to aid those in the Regents/Alameda area displaced by line 9 moving to 33rd, and perhaps extending it down to Rose Quarter Transit Center, although it’s not at a high priority. As well as this, you should definitely consider improving service along 15th Avenue just slightly enough to make up for any migration to line 8.

It would be a tough cut but hopefully it will make the neighborhood a safer place and the promise of improved service will make things easier for those displaced, as well as bring life back to neglected segments of the service.

Line 70-12th Avenue

Taking the other adjustments into consideration, what would happen to line 70 is that essentially, nothing would happen to line 70 as it is today. It would still run along the same segments as before with the same frequency and connections as before.



In regards to service in the Beaverton Area, my questions were addressed at the Open House, and as such I have little to add in this paper. I was told that line 67 would have improved service along 158th and Bethany to make up for the loss on Jenkins and that line 48 would be brought back up to Sunday Service to match the current service along line 89 on Cornell. I suggested running line 67 to Willow Creek along Baseline by Elmonica and its residential areas to interline with line 88 to Beaverton, but was told that service would not be improved on the route if this were to take place.

However, it should not be ignored that service to Willow Creek from Merlo/158th Avenue is more than a mile shorter than service to Beaverton TC from the same station, and therefore service increases on line 67 should not be out of reach at all. I urge you to at least go forward with the current increase ideas and bring the option of line 67 along Baseline to the public for them to provide feedback on.


Line 12-Sandy/Barbur, 71 60th/122nd Avenue and 78-Beaverton/Lake Oswego

I should state that I readily agree and approve of the idea of providing outgoing lines from Parkrose and Tigard Transit Centers to keep line 12 from running late and from running two and a half hours on end, both of which combined takes a punishing toll on drivers of the route. The new line 12 would run trips only seventy minutes of length on average, and that’s much better than the current stage. (I myself had brought the point and idea up before, and it’s good to see it being fulfilled.)
There is the matter of connections from one to the other, which would no longer be one trip. As proposed with line 16/40, I propose the two new routes’ schedules align with line 12 so that transfers to Sherwood or Gresham are done with ease, with both routes arriving and departing at the same time with ample time to transfer.

As for the Sherwood segment, the obvious idea would be to run a new line along the segment. However, I can’t help but think a better idea would be to run a separate line from Tigard not to Sherwood, but along the current line 78 to Lake Oswego. This new line (line 42-Sylvania) would run at the same frequency as line 78 between Tigard and Lake Oswego. Meanwhile line 78 would run along Pacific Highway to Sherwood along the line 12’s current routing, at the frequency it currently runs along itself. A Beaverton/Sherwood alignment is one that would seem practical since there are several roads that run between Pacific Highway and Scholls Ferry or TV Highway but no immediate connection. However, this is definitely an idea you would want to run by the public because this is a large change and the public could want things to remain the same.

Otherwise, in Northeast Portland, instead of running line 71 at its current routing, it would be broken somewhat in half at Parkrose Transit Center. The 122nd Avenue section would run on its own, since it’s a high capacity corridor often brought down by late buses on the west end, and vice versa. The new route (21-122nd avenue) would be only 40-50 minutes long.

As for the 60th Avenue section, still line 71, it would pick up the East Sandy and 223rd Avenue segment every other trip, to keep at the segment’s current frequency. Every other line 71 trip would end at Parkrose TC, shortening the route to 50 to 60 minutes from Clackamas to Parkrose. Otherwise, line 71 would run along East Sandy and 223rd, connecting Clackamas and SE Portland to the outer NE/Gresham areas, a lot more useful than its current horseshoe loop. The full route, on its trips, would be 90-110 minutes total, but there is less of a chance for late buses due to less activity along the Sandy/223rd segment.

The idea is a good one, and it could help shorten one or two other routes in the process as well as establish newer, more efficient connections.

Afternote

As I hope I’ve shown, the reconfiguring routes could go a lot better if more thought and planning is put into it. It must be taken into account that even if routes reconfigure that does not mean that their presence is unimportant, and you can still improve service while saving money, and just because it can be classified as a cut does not mean that the public cannot still be served properly, something that seems to have fallen by the wayside in previous cuts.

Hopefully I’ve given you at the planning department something to think about.

Thank you,
Cameron Johnson

Activist Kid's Unauthorized Guide to the Bus Series of TriMet Part 1- Defunct Series and 1400s/1600s

Hey, all! Today TriMet announced that it was deploying 55 new buses for 2012 in the hopes of replacing the crumbling remnants of what we commonly call "The 1400/1600 and 1700-1900 series." That made me reminiscent and after blazing through a number of thoughts and memories (as well as... 4, 5 Twitter conversations with Adri) I decided to make a neato little guide to the bus models and types and what to expect from them. Complete with my own photography! (when I can find any. :P)

Defunct Models

Now I can't say much about these, because I don't remember much. I do remember them, though. I remember the big long articulated ones that didn't last very long, but very very vaguely. There's one of the ones with the rounded fronts- 900 series?- that I rode on the line 9 through Concordia. There's the older short ones that looked like tin cans- very retro. What I remember very well, though, were the 500/600 series that ran all over the place. Kind of like a cross between the 1400s and 1700s. They ran up till mid to late last decade- in fact, I remember the last one I ever saw was on a line 16 during 6th grade.

A note- assuming by what could be logic, the first buses from TriMet would be the 00s or 100s. If that's true, and the system started in the 60s, does it leave anyone else disconcerted that the 500s were around till 2006?
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1400 series-Gillig Phantoms

These are the oldest buses remaining on the fleet- somewhere around 20 years old, I believe. I'll always remember the sounds of their engines, always. If you've heard them, you know what I mean- kind of bleak and sorrowful but very strong as well. Weird how that works, but oddly enough I always find myself taking my headphones off and listening to the sounds of the buss.

Their readerboards are pretty hard to see, what with thin lines and faded colors, but still they work better than a good patch of the New Flyers. They also have those bus burps where they spit out a huge gray cloud when it takes off. Very unpleasant.

Inside they are usually entirely uncomfortable- a good portion of the seats are the gray and red hard plastic shell whatchamacallits. And the ones that have a 'cushion' on it (note the use of quotation marks) usually are just as bad or even worse. They're usually a half centimeter thick, almost as hard as the plastic and given just a thin glaze of felt as actual comfort. It's hard to enjoy sitting down on those buses.

Now if you're out looking for the 1400s, you'll have a challenge. They're rarely, if ever, used intentionally on bus lines anymore. They're primarily used as emergency backup for any route that needs a bus to fill in for one that's out of commission. If you're really looking for one, you'd probably find them in East County, along line 25-Glisan or 87-Airport Way/181st or something of the like. But rarely are they used willingly.

EXCEPT, if you happen to catch a City of Roses tour bus. Those have the leftover 1400s that TriMet used. Good luck trying to track one down though.

The 1600s (pretty much everything I mentioned above, but smaller), on the other hand, are the go-to bus for routes that need shorter buses (excluding Washington County, that doesn't seem to have much more than the 1700 series and some 2900s.) You'll find them in Council Crest, Gresham, Troutdale, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, Wilamette, they're all over the place. Primarily, though, around Clackamas and Gresham. Every line 28-Linwood, 29-Lake/Webster, 80/81-257th Ave and 152 Milwaukie is bound to have one. It's like TriMet law.

Overall, these are a piece of nostalgia by now and will be only that by the time 2012 is over. For better or worse, though, they'll be remembered.

Rebirth is Dead

^Note the irony in that title.

So yes, apparently the giant deer-baby statue above the future Park Place station in Milawukie has been 86'd. Really, I have only one response to that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sY1nEtjtZw&feature=channel_video_title PARTY!

Finally, TriMet has done something logical. That statue would have drained at least two bus lines' worth of money. But! That does leave the question on whether this money gets used for logical stuff or just more ugly sculptures. (Seriously, TriMet. If I had to say goodbye to my precious line 27 or 51 for those pieces, at least make then... not hideous.)

But that brings me to my next point- that thing was hideous. Not only hideous but freaking creepy. *shudders* It reminds me of one of those really creepy stuffed animals with the baby faces and the animal bodies. I cannot imagine walking past that towering over me- I'm pretty sure my inner child would be pretty terrified.

For better or... better, this thing is gone. Just a little bit of right in this city. Sorry to whichever artist had this in mind but... yeah, it was pretty ugly.

Wednesday's Speech

Hello, all. I thought I'd post the text/video form of my speech on Wednesday. If I happen to run into my interview with KGW, I'll post it at a later date. I did ad lib a bit at the meeting, but hey, what else can you expect from me? ;)

Also, as soon as my camera allows, my first piece of the bus rides I've never ridden before shall be up for lines 38 and 96.

Enjoy!

Cameron




I'm Cameron Johnson. I'm a transit leader with OPAL's Bus Riders Unite! and the Campaign for a Fair Transfer. And I'd like to say one word to you, and what that one word means to me.

Change.

Change is what we're spending more and more of each year on our bus fare. Extra spare change for each trip, maybe you believe that five cents is not that bad, but it adds up to a lot of money. For people like me who use the bus multiple times every day but can't afford a pass, that extra spare change becomes real money, money that we simply don't have.

From what I hear from TriMet staff, the fares are going to keep going up as gas prices go up. But what about when gas prices come back down? Will you then lower the fares? Because we could sure use some of that spare change back.

Real change that helps those of us that depend on transit is something that doesn't seem to happen often at TriMet. Aside from all the new shiny trains and streetcars, we have the same old bus lines, the same old fare system, the same crappy bus stops, and the same old buses that should have been scrapped years ago. Look at a bus map from 2000 and one from 2011. You'll see that two things have changed: we have four new rail lines, but we lost twenty bus lines. Line 27, Line 49, Line 153? They don't exist anymore, nor does there seem to be any effort to replace them or provide new bus-focused service, like Bus Rapid Transit.
One thing that OPAL and our Bus Riders Unite! leadership are hoping to change is the way TriMet engages with its riders. We need to know and trust that you are listening to us, that you hear us, that you truly understand our needs. You may hear our frustration or sense our anger, but unless you know what it's like to be solely dependent on the bus and get crunched by all these service cuts and fare increases, not able to get where you need to go on time, with nothing in return for our loyalty of ridership, you may not understand. We tell you, but do you hear us? It doesn't appear so.

Change is what needs to happen, right here, right now at TriMet. The path we are on is headed for a cliff - you obsess over expanding rail and chasing choice riders, leave bus riders in the lurch, and threaten either service or your employees' health by positioning your union operators against your riders. All the while, we are here telling you we are bleeding, and that we have a simple, no- or low-cost proposal to inject some value back into the system. That proposal is the Campaign for a Fair Transfer. The campaign is for Change.


Because at the moment, you have the power. The power to give low-income bus riders the ability to take care of basic needs and get back home without spending even more money for less service. The power to give disenfranchised transit riders the mental breathing room so we don't have to stress about making our connections. The power to put into place an equal and fair transfer policy that doesn't put bus drivers at risk of discipline for giving extended transfers and doesn't put riders at risk of being profiled. The power to provide more incentives for everyone to ride transit more, increase your revenue, and lead us on a path to a healthier environment.

Because if you don't use the power that you have to support your transit riders who need you the most, we'll look to other decision-makers for the types of change we need. Whether you know it or not, change is going to come. I can feel it in my bones.

Video Version Here

My Next Board Meeting Speech-Please Give Advice! My Guts Need It!

Well, I finished my board meeting speech, already, yes, I know. But as I wrote it, I realized I was being pretty hard-hitting. Part of me thinks TriMet needs it but I don't wanna kick TriMet in the balls or anything, just splash water on them to wake them up.

Anyway, here we go. I'd appreciate advice and your opinion to make sure I'm not booted out or anything.

Hello. I'm Cameron Johnson, 16 year old bus rider. However, this time I am not speaking just for OPAL Bus Riders Unite. I'm speaking for everyone who is even the slightest involved with TriMet. Because it's no longer JUST Riders or JUST Union members.

Recently a letter was released from McFarlane to the Union regarding the health debacle. Pretty much flat out it stated that if the workers didn't comply to the new healthcare, that TriMet would execute another $10,000,000 in service cuts. Now I'm sure that I'm not the only one who thinks this sounds like a devious threat.

Now this is just too sneaky to sound like a mistake. Think about it. It's near blackmail. If the Union were to still press on for their benefits, TriMet would open up the trapdoor on Bus Riders, and be able to say “If only your bus drivers had only complied to our terms, then you would not have suffered.” Then everyone's going to go up in arms against the drivers and the union.

But if riders go up in arms about this, the Union will see this as a force to concede and swallow the pill of crappy benefits, then the riders are spared, but the drivers are going to have the riders to blame for their suffering.

Or it could go neither way. The Union presses on, riders get cut, and then they still screw over the drivers in the end. Then everyone's fighting with everyone. What you are forcing in this Hobson's Choice will all but end in a riot.

Don't tell me for an INSTANT that you can't get 10 million anywhere else. You say you have to replace the oldest buses in the fleet. Well tough luck, that should have taken place before you even made a vote about it, a vote, I may add, wouldn't even have gone towards new buses in the first place, rather operation costs to fill in your prior mistakes. And how do we even know it was going to operation costs, and not the MAX? I'm sure those old people on the poster you flaunted for the measure are thrilled to hear that.

Also you need money for the MAX Line. Cause you know the billion you gave last month wasn't enough. I know I pick on the MAX line a lot, but there's no way you can honestly tell me to my face that a loss of $10,000,000 would make it impossible to build the MAX. At most your shelters would have to go without glittery tiles.

My point is, instead of fessing up and being responsible, you're starting to blind everyone who rides or drives in TriMet into fighting each other while hiding the fact that the only culprit here is you. All because you're too miserly to spend $10 million on your employees. You need to realize what these people are worth. They are your backbone. They are your profit. They are what keeps your resume solid or keeps your budget higher than ours. It's high time that you took a moment and tried to benefit them instead of screwing them all over in one fell sweep. You attract more flies with honey than vinegar. I've tried to give you plenty of honey, but we're desperate for something sweet.

Just please...consider.

New Name?

Yeah, I was just thinking, I am, in fact, a TriMet Ally.

But most of my stories are about TriMet Executives and their doings.

And I do NOT like TriMet Executives for the most part. -_- Which makes me look like I thrive off of planning the destruction of TriMet. Which I am TOTALLY NOT DOING! *kicks away battle plan sheet targeting 4012 SE 17th Ave* Hehe...

Anyway, methinks I need a new name. I was tossing around the name The Great Equalizer, to show I take the side of both TriMet and the public, and maybe something to show my humorous (or at least I hope so to God) styling of the blog, uhm... something, well, humorous!

So what ideas to you have? :D

Oh, and can you EVEN change the name of a blog? O_o

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeiz

Yep! What a way to start a morning! I woke up to a cinnamon roll topped with cream cheese and a cup of coffee that suddenly lost its flavor in comparison to the cinnamon roll and then, as per usual to a electronic nut as I am, checked my Facebook.

A Graphical representation of the expression of my face upon reading the big news in Transit this Morning

:D ... :o ... :/ ... -_- ... X( ... XO ... *insert throwing phone back onto the couch here*

If you want a video representation of my response, here you go.

Yeah, the TriMet measure didn't pass this morning. And you can bet I'm gonna blog about it. I mean, how can you expect me to hear this and not B*tch and moan about it, pardon my French?

Okay, I'm not gonna get into the fact that the bond measure became a bombed measure. I don't think cussing out most of the Clackamas County will make me look very good, and besides, they've got Mt. Talbert, and... and... and ...

What I want to focus on was this particular quote.

Although the bond measure failed, General Manager Neil McFarlane has said TriMet still needs to purchase new buses, but it would take several years and possibly slice further into operations funding.

Uhm...


Let's get this straight... because you didn't buy buses awhile back, and the bond measure failed, you're JUST NOW gonna buy buses, at the expense of bus service.

Let's all say it again...

Listen. If you guys hadn't delayed it for so long (Can't really blame McFarlane too much, more like the Board of Directors and Fred RailSen... Light Hansen... RailEd HanLightSenMaxMaxMax... okay... you get my point) then we wouldn't have had to rely solely on the measure in the first place. Now that it's failed, you still need new buses, and now us, the bus riders, are going to have to pay for that. What an oxymoron, emphasis on MORON. Thanks for your lapse of judgment guys. I look forward to waiting 30 minutes for my 14 from now on.

Oh, and one last reminder- Congratulations.

That is all.

Sneak Peek On My Rather... Abstract... Board Meeting Speech (Pre-Approval)

Hello, I am Cameron Johnson, 16 year old represneting OPAL Bus Riders Unite and to some extent the Mt. Scott Community Center Teen Volunteer Corps. And I brought with me some perturbing news.

Based off of blog commenters, something I observe very often, I have a feeling that the TriMet bond measure is going to be shot down, and not just shot down, but shot down by those with a vengeance.

I'm going to quote a blogger's comment who I will not name who said something that made me want to punch in a wall. He said, and I quote "Like to help you out TriMet, but you kind of lost your chance when you cut my bus line. Funny how it comes around, isn't it?"

Now while this absolutely disgusts me for two reasons, one being that vengeance is a stupid and useless thing, and two being that this guy's childish vengeance is part of what is costing me, someone unable to vote, new buses and bus stops, it shows a sign. It shows that you're changing the public's view of you into negative, and that is going to cost you.

Three things have been ticking riders off lately. The first is the service cuts and fare increasements, the second is the union situation which I know very little about, and third, the focus on light rail. And before you say "Oh this is only one commenter, how bad could it be?" Oh, it's bad. It's really bad. I read about 50 similar comments on ONE news article that read the same. There were 78 commenters. 50 is more than half of 78. If this is a sample, I'd recommend you fish out the white flag out of the basement.

People have been giving you reasons to stop service cuts because it impacts them. To be critical of you, you frankly haven't listened to those reasons. So I'm giving you a reason for yourselves to stop service cuts. People are your backbone, and when you hurt them, they're inclined to hurt you back. And thus begins a vicious cycle.

So how do you react? Some people, including me, fear that you will simply see this as a sign that bus service does not matter and when funding gets low, bus service will be first in line for the guillotine. I urge you, for all that is sane, do not do that. If you do that, you're no better than these vengeful commenters, and the vicious cycle will rage on until there is nothing left for either party. When you recover the body of the TriMet bond measure, learn from this loss. Learn that if you fire the first shot, you have started a war. If you are the first to make peace, you have not only ended the war, but unskewed the view of those on you. It's only beneficial to everyone.

Besides, I was never one to like war anyways, well, outside of video games. But that's another story...

Accident?

Among other things, the group recommended eliminating the term "accident" from its vocabulary, saying it implies that collisions are unpreventable.

So... what I'm hearing is that everytime a car crashes with a bus, even if it is an accident, someone is gonna get the blame, most likely the driver. Seriously. Is TriMet TRYING to fire drivers?

TriMet Picture of The Day-*insert name of picture here*

O_o This picture turned out big. Anyway, took this during a leisurely stroll down the Hawthorne Bridge, surprisingly recently, in August, right before you-know-what broke.

What I Really Hate About When Voters Say No About The TriMet Bond Measure

Yeah, as you can tell, the TriMet Bond Measure is gonna fall flat on its face. Mostly because the Oregonian, but another fact that really bugs the crap out of me has come into play.

TriMet has screwed bus riders over before, so some bus riders are taking revenge and saying No.

Uhm, I've got a really good question, hold onto your seat cause this is a really good- WHAT KIND OF SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?!

Seriously, take a second. Picture yourself as a kid. Your mom said she was going to get you the newest edition of Halo in a few days. (I'm don't even like Halo, but hey, I was short on examples.) She doesn't buy it for awhile, and you get frustrated and start saving up. When you get some money together, you go to buy it. To your surprise she covers most of the funds with what she has. Sure, you had to use some of your money and your mom was late on her promise, but, hey, she came through, and you've got Halo.

Now imagine if you told your mom "No, you don't cover it. I don't even want it anymore, and it's all your fault." when she went to help you pay for it. You'd have no halo and your mom would be pretty upset. She might even ground you for embarassing her.

Not take that in account to TriMet. If you vote no out of vengeance, you'll have nothing to show for it, you'll punish others because of your decision, and you'll be watching TriMet cutting bus service because of your no votes saying "Hey, they don't really care about Bus, let's cut it all!" So really, vengeance begets vengeance.

If you vote no, vote no because you think the measure is a bad idea. Because you can't afford it. Or vote yes. I wish I could. But I'm a teen. Therefore I don't count.

So, watch your reasoning behind your no vote.

Holy Crap, Forgot about the pics! Busy week!

Seriously, I don't mean to brag, but some of my pics would make great TriMet ads. :)

This thought scares me

Did you know that TriMet has a $54,000,000 shortfall for the Orange Line MAX? Even after all the cuts happened to the MAX (shocking, cuts to MAX) there's still a $54,000,000 shortfall?

Now that in itself is scary enough, but read this Article, Courtesy of PortlandAfoot.
Basically it's saying that $50,000,000 would be generated hopefully to restoring BUS service.

$54,000,000 and $50,000,000 are awfully close.

Anyone else worried that they'll take the $50,000,000 and put it towards the MAX and flip the bird to all the riders by cutting $4,000,000 more of bus service just to fill it?

I am.

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God, you know, It's really hard sometimes to be a TriMet ally. It's certainly hard to blog it. But I still am. Even if they do screw up big time a lot.

$6 million, 14 Buses, 1 catch

As you may have heard, Feds are granting TriMet $6 million dollars to buy 14 buses IF TriMet merely pays a bit more than a million to cover a fifth of the cost.

All I have to say is, if TriMet doesn't pay that million, I'm gonna be really, really ticked. They will never hear the end of it. So I suggest that you be sure to pay that million. You know, 1 200th of what you're paying for MAX.

Why I Would Vote For The TriMet Measure If I Could

1- TriMet said something about maybe improving bus service if this happens with half of the money. While I have to say this is a bit backhanded, I really think service needs to be restored and even improved.

2- Everyone benefits from new buses. People who ride them, people who see them (less eyesore) and definitely photographers. ;)

3-If we don't... how will TriMet punish us? From what Erik Halstead terrified me with some piece about TriMet using this to say "people don't need the bus" and cut almost all bus service. That literally gave me freaking nightmares after hearing that because I use the bus service to live. I'm such a darn nerd I dreamed I lived in a place where I couldn't get anywhere and all ym friendships went out the window.

Has it ever occured to TriMet that the people who need this bus won't be able to afford the tax, while those who don't can, but don't give a crap about poor people enough to pay it?

4- I can see why teens don't vote, cause frankly, the price doesn't affect me. I don't pay taxes, I'm 16.

That's my piece. Now, if you'll excuse me... I've gotta schedule therapy over my TriMet nightmares.












Only Joking.

TriMet Picture of The Day and Its Story-TIMING

It's all about timing. :) This bus was going rather fast for the mall, and that wasn't its stop as far as I remember. ...could be wrong.

One way we can help the seniors whether or not we vote on the measure for TriMet

TriMet Make Me Sad Face :(Why

Why, you ask?

I read the new rules, courtesy of Al M.

One of the rules was that you may no longer talk to operators.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

What the hale, TriMet? What the hale?

Here's my thinking.

All the good operators, all the ones people praise, is because they TALK to people. I never would have made that article about John Hively or have had my life changed by him if that rule was in effect a year ago. You know what this means?

If you can't talk to bus drivers, they can't be "good" bus drivers. You can't compliment them. In fact, people can and will now jump them for the things they used to praise them. Thereby demonizing drivers far more. :/

And another thing- I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever seen a driver drive bad because he was talking. What a total misconception on TriMet's part.

This rule is nothing but horrible, and it must be taken down. Who's with me?