TriMet in Extraordinary Measures

Watched the movie Extraordinary Measures last night. As many of you probably know, this was the movie starring Brendan Fraiser and Harrison Ford that was partially filmed in Portland.

There are a couple of shots of TriMet transportation. The one thing I noticed during a scene Brendan Fraiser where was riding the MAX was all much TriMetiquette the other riders were displaying! Brendan was at a middle pole, hanging on, with the train being partially full; everyone was minding their own business, displaying good public transportation riding etiquette.

In any case, thought it was kind of fun to see. Is it only in the movies that riders of TriMet show good riding etiquette?

Ride TriMet and “catch up on sleep”?

I was reading TriMet’s Switching to Public Transit Saves Money page and something didn’t compute:

“In addition to all the extra money you’ll have, having TriMet deliver you safely to your destination will give you the extra time you need to meet your other New Year’s resolutions—relax, read more and catch up on sleep.”

Sometimes I can relax a bit on the bus (usually, on a packed bus, you can’t really relax) and I can usually get some reading time on my Kindle in the morning commute… but “catch up on sleep”?!  I’m sorry, I don’t think so!  I have to get up earlier and take a bus that takes 35 minutes to get to a stop that is a 10 minute walk to my final destination.  If I were to take a car, it would take me about 15 minutes total.

I’m not complaining about how public transportation takes more time than taking a car (I can bike faster to / from work as well), but I am finding it kind of funny about being able to “catch up on sleep” by taking public transportation.  Do they mean sleeping on the bus or MAX to catch up on sleep?

This time a tip for drivers

TriMetiquette is usually written from a point of view that asks for riding etiquette. But today, it’s TriMet driver (or operator, whatever you want to call those folks) etiquette.

First, this one line will explain it all:

Rain does not equal cold.

Sometimes, when it’s raining outside, it doesn’t necessarily mean riders are cold and that you need to pump up the heat. Typically, we’re wearing jackets and are already all bundled up. Making it extremely warm doesn’t help.