7:37am on Blue Line MAX this morning

Posted by Christian in Public Transportation Stories on Jun 30th, 2008 | 10 comments

Here’s a personal story from me (remember – if you ever have any comments or want to share a story, feel free to use the form on the “Care to Share” page):

TriMet-eIt was 7:37am.  We were stopping at the 82nd Ave Transit Center on a blue line MAX heading towards downtown.  The operator came on the intercom asking all of us to get our fare ready to show to fare inspectors.

Panic.

As we pulled up, I could see the fare inspectors waiting there.  People around me were asking, “Are they going to come on?!” and saying things like, “I never buy fare because they never check!”  Luckily for them, the inspectors only checked those getting off the trains.

So we pulled away.  And everyone around me seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

This should not be the way it is.  I’m a very non-confrontational guy… but I wanted to ask the lady right next to me – one of the individuals out of the many asking if they were boarding with a panicked look on her face -  why she feels that she doesn’t have to buy a ticket to ride.  What gives you the right to ride for free while others like me pay for every trip?  Does she know that this $0.25 increase in September is happening?  Why should she care about that; she doesn’t even pay.

This reminded me a little of the Wall-e movie I watched on Saturday.  The movie, as you all already know, is really a subtle jab at how lazy, uncaring & selfish the people of the world are.  Wall-e is cleaning up the Earth because all of the Earthlings didn’t care; they threw garbage where they pleased, they didn’t care about anything (or anyone) but themselves.

As I walked out of the theater, I was walking out in aisles full of trash people left on the ground.  I mean, mounds of popcorn, popcorn boxes, drinks, candy boxes, everything.  Did these people just miss the whole entire point of the movie?!  Needless to say, my fiancee picked up some trash as we were exiting the movie theater (I’m glad she got the point of the movie!).

I sincerely ask all of you reading this blog post – please pay your proper fare.  You may be ‘saving a few bucks’, but the effects of you not purchasing fare can be felt by others.  Maybe, just maybe, if everyone purchased fare, we might be having a $0.05 fare increase in September, not a $0.25 increase…

TriMet giving tickets to non-hung bikes on Max?

Posted by brewcaster in Public Transportation Stories on Jun 26th, 2008 | 27 comments

My wife works in Beaverton, she normally uses a two bike system so she doesn’t have to hassle with bringing a bike on the Max. But unfortunately yesterday this wasn’t the case.

Blue line 185th Stop:
She was about to board, when she saw that Trimet ticket checkers were not letting cyclists board unless there was an empty hanger for their bike. Train after train they were kicking people off from previous stops, a group of 20-30 cyclists standing confused gathered. One was quoted “I guess I will ride to Portland…” My wife said one cyclist challenged them verbally and was given another ticket. His defense was that he was not blocking any one from moving in the cabin, and as he (and I) understood Trimet’s rules, this was allowed. No tolerance, bike on hanger or bike off train.

Here is my wife’s comment about the situation, taken from BikePortland comments:

“On Wednesday, I experienced/witnessed the incident at the Willowcreek/185th Station. To clarify, I entered a train which all hangers were being used and parked my bike next to one of the bikes hanging. I was not blocking the aisle in any way. The inspector told me to exit the train because I was blocking the aisle. As I exited, I realized that at least three bikes were also asked to exit. This particular train was not standing room only and there was actually more room then usual at this time. I patiently waited for the next train in which at least five more bikes were asked to exit. This continued for at least two more trains. Several of the bikers decided to ride back to Portland. I also noticed at least two inspectors writing something on their pads to bikers. Whether this was a ticket, a warning, or whatever I’m not sure. Many of the inspectors I witnessed were rude to many of the bikers and could have conducted this situation in a far more pleasant manner. I will also point out that for the past month I have stopped bringing my bike on the max and instead riding two bikes specifically to take up less space. One bike I ride into downtown which I park and then the other bike I leave at the max station at Willowcreek and then ride to work. There is simply not enough room for the bikes and I no longer wanted to inconvenience anyone. This particular day, I did not have my bike lock for the bike I park downtown and had to carry my bike onto the max.”

Great work Trimet. You have ignored bike capacity issues, and now you are trying to force them off the train. Bravo.

*Update – Jonathan Maus from BikePortland.org pointed out that this is not a new issue:

http://bikeportland.org/2007/04/20/trimets-bike-policy-differs-from-actual-enforcement/

What makes me even more upset, is this line:

“we have clarified this point with our inspectors and expect no further issues in this regard.”

Here we are a little over a year later, same issue my friend.

**UPDATE2 -

BikePortland has contacted TriMet and has received a response, read here:
http://bikeportland.org/2008/06/27/trimet-security-still-saying-no-hook-no-ride/

 ***Update 3 -

BikePortland has another follow up based on another response from TriMet.

-Brewcaster

The ‘inbetweener’ seater

Posted by Christian in Riding Etiquette on Jun 26th, 2008 | 7 comments

We’ve all seen it before, either on the bus or MAX: the ‘inbetweener’

sitting inbetween two seats

Couple of thoughts ran through my mind when I saw this:

  • Why does this person think they should be able to occupy two seats?
  • If you’re riding public transportation, you really shouldn’t be afraid of accidentally touching other people

Unfortunately, the ‘inbetweener’ happens on a daily basis. What can be done to combat this practice? Unfortunately, not much…

Edit – several comments have been made pointing out that this instance of an inbetweener seater is actually warranted.  Perhaps this image was a bad example.  On this particular instance, the MAX was pretty packed with everyone crowding near the door.  I fortunately had made it through there and positioned myself in the middle of the train.

The point I’m trying to make is – in MANY circumstances, this is a little problem.  This instance, however, as you all have pointed out, was probably an OK time to go about taking up two seats due to the passengers sitting next to the individual.

Thanks to those commenting; love the added perspective.

Keep your (dog) feet off the seat

Posted by Christian in Riding Etiquette on Jun 25th, 2008 | 4 comments

I’ve already hit on how some people feel the need to put their feet on the seat on both the MAX & bus.  Well, this ‘riding etiquette rule’ now does not only apply to humans:

(Doggie) feet on the seat

There are a couple of things wrong here:

  1. Only guide dogs / service animals are allowed on the MAX or bus out of their kennel (the only exception being the Doggie Dash Day)
  2. Your dog / cat / other pet needs to be kenneled when taking the TriMet MAX or bus
  3. The dog’s feet shouldn’t be on the seat

I saw another person  get on the MAX last night with a non-service dog.  I mean, let’s read the rules people…

10 tips when riding TriMet

Posted by Christian in Public Transportation Culture on Jun 24th, 2008 | 1 comment

Read this very entertaining post over at Portland Octopus that gives ten tips about how to ride public transportation in Portland. I found tip #9 to be particularly noteworthy:

“9. Your purse/backpack/grocery bag is not a person and therefore is not entitled to sit next to you. Ways to tell if you’re sitting next to a person or inanimate object: Does it have legs and arms, a head or feet? (Person.) Is there a Jansport label sewn on it? (Not a person.) Is it talking? (Person.) Are you sure? (See No. 10.)”

Nice list!

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