40 new hot and sexy buses join the fleet

40 new buses are joining TriMet’s bus fleet.  They’re replacing buses that are almost 20 years old.  While the exterior of these new buses might not show much change, the interior and under the hood are defintely hot and sexy.

Did I just call a bus “sexy?”

I guess it’s the transit geek in me.

In any case, these puppies are more aerodynamic than the older models (cue “Really with Seth & Amy from SNL“).  They also sport some fancy-shmancy NASCAR-inspired (hey!  I’m just using part of what TriMet wrote!) electric cooling system which boosts fuel economy by almost 4% (really).

However:

It looks like upgrades to the… modern-looking interior… weren’t in the work-up plans (really).

You can read more about the 40 new buses on TriMet’s site.

Ban smoking at all TriMet bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers

I have an idea for TriMet that will not only make more Portland public transportation riders happy but also might be another possible source of some extra income in the form of ticketing offenders:

Let’s ban smoking in and around all TriMet bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers.

First – the culprits

I’ve seen both public transportation riders and TriMet employees smoking at bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers. We’re talking about employees of the company that have “No Smoking” signs disregarding this sign. I’m a big fan of leading by example… and employees that are doing this are only encouraging this blatant disregard for a rule (photo from rynosoft’s Flickr).

Second – TriMet’s stance on smoking

On TriMet’s Respect the Ride page, they have a small section towards the end of the page about smoking. It says:

“Smoking is prohibited on buses and trains, and where posted at bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers. If you smoke, be considerate of your fellow riders by moving away from the shelter or station.”

There isn’t a problem about smoking on buses or trains… but I’m a bit confused by the “… and where posted at…” language TriMet uses. What exactly does that mean? I’ve seen a “No Smoking” sign posted with someone smoking right in front of it (which might be more of an issue with the last bit of TriMet’s quoted section). But where does the no smoking area end? Does the no smoking sign mean within 20 feet, immediately in front or around the whole bus or MAX stop?

A secondary issue – dodging spit

I remember when I went to Washington State University… I had a couple of morning classes. And when walking to class, I would have to focus on the ground in front of me to try to not step into someone’s spit. This is the same kind of situation that I have to do when I approach a bus or MAX stop. I know it’s certainly not against any sort of rule or anything… but it’s just gross and disgusting. And while individuals do like to spit when not smoking, smoking seems to up the frequency of spit from people.

The Solution

TriMet needs to ban smoking in and around all bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers. They need to enforce this whether its their own employees smoking or a public transportation rider. They need to ticket those who are doing it (TriMet employee or non-TriMet employee). They need to post signs that clearly state that no smoking is allowed anywhere where riders are waiting for their MAX train, bus, streetcar or WES train.

The Upside

If TriMet were to clarify their stance on smoking around TriMet areas through specific no smoking signs and ticket both TriMet employees and non-TriMet employees, the everyday rider would appreciate TriMet more. I think the notion of riding public transportation being “groddy” and “dirty” would probably be lifted from a lot of folks. Not only would the public seemingly have a better opinion of TriMet, but ticketing revenue would help TriMet’s budget at least in the short term. It probably wouldn’t be very significant, but after posting clearly-written signs as well as giving smokers a grace period to read and understand that they can’t smoke at TriMet areas anymore, I’m sure issued tickets would be a large volume until smokers understood that TriMet will no longer tolerate smoking on their platform and at their transit centers.

To Summarize

TriMet needs to take a harder stance on smoking at all bus shelters, MAX stations and transit centers. They need to update their rules to indicate that no smoking will be allowed at all TriMet areas. They need to have clearly-marked and specific signs letting individuals know that this is the case. They need to not only enforce this for the public but need to internally enforce this as well. Tickets issued to offending individuals can be another source of revenue for TriMet.

Please leave a comment below with your thoughts.

February 2009 TriMet ridership

There were 7.8 million trips taken on Portland public transportation vehicles / trains in February 2009. Ridership figures below are compared to February 2008, except for WES.

Bus, MAX & WES – Combined

• Weekly trips were up 1 percent, climbing to 1.9 million trips
• Weekday trips increased .5 percent to 320,250 trips
• Weekend trips were up 3.2 percent to 340,300 trips
• Rush hour trips were up 1.2 percent to 105,150 trips

Bus

• Weekly bus trips increased 2 percent to 1.3 million trips
• Weekday bus trips increased 1.4 percent to 217,600 trips
• Weekend bus trips were up 5.3 percent to 212,900 trips
• Rush hour bus trips were down 1 percent to 72,300 trips

MAX

• Weekly MAX trips declined 2 percent to 634,400 trips
• Weekday MAX trips were down 2.5 percent to 101,400 trips
• Weekend trips were flat with 127,400 trips
• Rush hour trips were up 2.3 percent to 31,600 trips

WES

• Weekly WES trips totaled 6,250
• Weekday/rush hour trips averaged 1,250 boardings. WES service is both weekdays and rush hour only.

My Thoughts: This isn’t too surprising.  Last year, gas prices were around $3.00 to $3.25 / gallon in February; with prices pretty much a full dollar below that last month, I’m not surprised people have taken to personal transportation methods.  There was also decent biking weather (for the most part) here in Portland last month so I’m guessing there was an increase in bike transportation comparatively-speaking.  Though, this number probably is fairly insignificant.That being said, gas prices and public transportation ridership go hand-in-hand: gas prices go down, ridership falls.  Gas prices go up, ridership increases.

The WES numbers are unsurprisingly underwhelming.  Due to the limited-area nature of the WES line, there wasn’t going to be frothing demand there.

PDX car-free happy hour on Thursday, March 12

Aaron over at Trillium Transit wrote me a note about a pretty cool event happening soon – PDX car-free happy hour.

What’s your vision of sustainable transportation and how to make it happen for Portland and the greater world? How do you get around in Portland in and in the greater world? What are you working on? Please join Portland’s first Car-free happy hour to discuss, mingle, and eat and drink.

When: 2nd Thursday of each month (First is March 12), 5-7pm

Where: Roots Organic Brewing Company, 1520 SE 7th Ave, Portland, OR

Who’s invited: Bicyclists, transit riders, pedestrians, motorists looking for other options, carpoolers, activists, consultants, nerds, journalists, public agency employees, politicians, neighbors, and friends

What: Car-free happy hour is an informal venue to mingle participate in a social exchange of information, ideas, and connections. Let’s put the ingredients together and see what happens.

For monthly reminders and discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/pdx-carfree

TriMetiquette is at SearchFest 2009

Just wanted to let everyone know that I, Christian Bullock, will be at SearchFest 2009 on March 10th at the Portland Zoo.  If you’re going to be there as well, do say hi!