Should there be hand sanitizer on MAX?
I haven’t personally bought into the hype that the swine flu* is going to be anything particularly nasty this flu season. That being said, a lot of folks have… and I think that’s actually a good thing because it means individuals are most likely keeping up with covering coughs, washing hands, etc.
KGW recently ran a story about whether or not hand sanitizer helps stop the spread of the H1N1 virus. I was originally thinking, “Well, it’s technically a virus and not a form of bacteria… so hand sanitizer probably wouldn’t be super effective.“ But KGW says it does help!
That got me thinking: the best way to help reduce your chance or perhaps getting the H1N1 virus is staying away from crowded, close-proximity places. Unfortunately, for us public transportation riders, it’s kind of hard to stay away from crowded MAX trains, buses, etc.
So here’s an idea: how about placing some hand sanitizer on MAX trains for folks to use? I know that I personally dread touching, well, anything on the MAX when I ride. And I’m not saying the cleaning folks aren’t doing their job; I’m sure they do an awesome job. But the sheer amount of people that ride, that wipe noses and hold on to the rail, that sneez… ok, you get my point.
What do you all think? If there was perhaps some hand sanitizer on the MAX, maybe by the door, would you perhaps take a couple of pumps and use it? Do you think it would be a good idea to provide folks this? Would you feel perhaps a little bit cleaner if this was provided?
*I’m personally not a fan of media outlets using the term “swine flu” instead of H1N1 virus; the USDA even asked folks to not refer to it as such
Image is from The Heartland Perspective blog
Finally rode on the green line…
… and it was mighty fine.
Went from Gateway to Clackamas Mall to shop and dine.
At each station stop I enjoyed the cool little glittery-tile design.
Almost didn’t catch the train right as it was leaving the station on the way home; if I didn’t, I would whine. (30 mins between trains on the weekend)
Seriously though, finally rode that puppy with Mrs. TriMetiquette and it was just fine. My wife and I always like to look at the glass designs at each MAX stop when we’re riding; they’re usually different from stop-to-stop but it seemed like they’re the same at each green line stop.
Quick and easy trip to the Clackamas Mall!
Ridership down in August 2009
Lower gas prices? The recession? Unemployment? More biking (personally, I’ve been biking a lot this summer to work)? In any case, TriMet ridership was down 4.4% overall in August 2009 compared to August 2008.
A breakdown:
- Bus weekly trips down 11.4% (whoa nilly)
- MAX weekly trips up 9.2%
- WES weekly trips were at 5,900 (yikes)
So continues the extremely poor ridership of the WES…
How are we all liking the new Portland Transit Mall?
With the big changes to 5th and 6th avenue downtown, the new Portland Transit Mall is close to what it’s going to be like at usual capacity with the Green MAX Line running on September 12 (now that we’re seeing test runs for the Green Line).
How is everyone liking the set-up?
Honululu is trying to get rid of offensive odor on public transportation
The Honululu, Hawaii city council is considering a bill that will make it illegal for public transportation riders with “odors that unreasonably disturb others or interfere with their use of the transit system” to ride. The bill proposes that if someone with an offensive smell does ride, that person…
“… may be ordered to leave transit property and issued a summons or citation by a police officer. If convicted, a person could be fined up to $500, spend up to six months in jail, or be both fined and jailed.”
Jail time for an offensive odor?! Wow.
Free rides for all (high school students)
Just saw that our mayor just tweeted that the City Council has approved free transit passes for 14k Portland Public School students in grade 9 - 12. You can read about this here. This allows all PPS students from grade 9 - 12 to ride the MAX, bus or streetcar for free from September 1st to June 30th, 2010.
Why this is a good idea
Obviously, allowing students to take public transportation to and from school helps the morning and afternoon commute via automobile by getting some more cars, trucks and vans off of the roadway. This also helps parents of these students by letting their son or daughter get to school responsibly via public transportation.
There is not time restriction for the pass either, so if a student is involved in any extra-curricular activities, they’ll still be able to use public transportation to get around. I know when I was in the high school band (laugh all you want! Band president junior and senior years in high school!), my Mom and Dad would have LOVED for me to somehow hop on a bus and go home; who knows how many hours of their time they spent waiting in a car to pick me up after a high school football game because I was in the pep band or even taking me to school at 6:30 in the morning for jazz band.
Why this is a bad idea
Maybe I’m an old cranky man inside a 27 year old guy’s body, but more often than not those in the 9 - 12 grade age range seem to act like preschoolers on the MAX or bus (I’ve actually not encountered too much rude behaivor on the streetcar…). I wonder if there can’t be some sort of program where ticket inspectors can cite students who are eligible for this program if they’re acting rudely and have their free pass taken away for some set amount of time.
Also - these passes are good anytime during any day of the week. Why not restrict these passes to Monday - Friday use? Why Saturday and Sunday as well?
And then there’s the problem of overcrowding. MAX lines are already super crowded during the morning rush hour ( 6 - 8am). This will only make it even more crowded. Is TriMet planning on running more MAX trains? I’m sure the Green Line (opening September 12th!) will help somewhat, but I would hope we might see a couple more trains during this time period.
What do you all think? Is this a good decision on the City Council’s part? Are you a parent with a student who is in the 9th - 12th grade in a Portland Public School? Let me know.
Fareless Square to go rail-only fareless in January 2010
Fareless Square will be going fareless rail-only effective Sunday January 3, 2010. This means no more fareless rides for bus service in the Fareless Square. TriMet reports that 51% of public opinion supported the cut for free bus service.
OregonLive reports that there was one dissenting vote:
“Lynn Lehrbach, of eastern Multnomah County, was the lone dissenter in the board’s vote. He said the fareless area helps bring rich and poor together.”
Umm… yeaaaaah. That seems, to me, to be a really weird reason.
Here’s the release from TriMet.
What do you all think? Good idea? Bad? Personally, I guess I support this move more-so than abolishing Fareless Square entirely. Having the MAX Green Line downtown should help a bit.
Thank you!
Dear Trimet and the Powers That Be–
This is Mrs. Trimetiquette speaking. Officially. I’ve been behind the scenes mostly, calmly and unconditionally supporting my husband in his quest for decency, courtesy, and common sense when it comes to public transportation here in Portland. But I’ve had enough of Christian taking all my ideas and posting them as “new” blog posts. It’s my turn. And I would like to personally, publicly, and officially thank you, Trimet, for finally stepping up to the plate and enforcing your very own rules. I ride Max two days a week to and from work, and I don’t remember the last time my fare WASN’T checked. Like clockwork. You all are out there, sporting your crisp navy blue and white uniforms, checking fare DAILY. Now, before, a fare inspector was a rare sight. So rare that I used to have panic attacks when I saw one of you because I was afraid the ink on my newly stamped All-Zone ticket has smeared from holding it firmly between my anxious and sweaty fingers. Or I would have day-mares that I would mix up my current pass with one from the week before that I had inadvertently thrown into my bag. But now, you are predictable. And I thank you for that. Thank you for so diligently inspecting EVERYONE’s fare, for kicking off the low-lifes who try to cheat, and for thanking those of us who don’t. Thank you for freeing up seats for paying customers. I only hope that it’s not “just a phase” that you all will grow out of. Truthfully, when people see you all stepping onto the train, they behave (most of the time). And the ones who don’t, well…thank you for kindly escorting them off, because more often than not, the misbehaving ones don’t pay fare. Just please keep it up. Don’t get lazy. I know I’m not the only one when I say that I actually enjoying riding Max much more now that I know you all are out there. For us.
Be well,
Mrs. Trimetiquette, Jess Bullock
TriMet bringing sexy back with new trains this Thursday
Indeed, TriMet is bringing “sexy back” by unleashing six of the 22 new Type 4 MAX trains into regular service. You’ve no doubt seen those big, beautiful trains running test runs on the tracks. Well, I’m here to tell you that you might be riding on one of those bad boys this Thursday, August 6.
Joseph Rose has the ‘deets on the new train type:
“Compared to the typical Type 3 MAX trains, the Type 4 offers four more seats per vehicle for a total of 136 seats per two-car train. It also has a little more standing room with a design capacity of 344 for a two-car train, compared to 332 for the existing Type 3 trains.”
Roomier too? Sounds very nice!
Nice new blog ranting about C-TRAN
The author of the blog Rantings of a Regular C-Tran Rider left me a note asking if I could take a look and let readers know about the blog. It looks as if, yep, this blog definitely is all about ranting on C-TRAN.
In the spirit of sharing the blog to all of you, here’s my personal rant about C-TRAN: all caps? Really? Like you’re screaming at me. C-TRAN. No, I didn’t yell that… in fact, I whispered it in my head. But I had to type it like C-TRAN.
In any case, feel like reading some ranting against C-TRAN? Now you know where to go!