Proposal to axe fareless bus service in Fareless Square

TriMet has a new proposal out for changes to Fareless Square.  What are the changes?

No more fareless bus rides in Fareless Square.

Do keep in mind that TriMet will be keeping MAX and streetcar fareless in the current Fareless Square boundary.

TriMet states that this would make “more efficient bus operations.” They make several good points about this, namely:

“Many bus riders in Fareless Square get on at a stop, ride a few blocks and then get off. This slows travel time for the bus and can back up buses moving through the Mall.”

And:

“Ending free rides on buses would also remove potential conflict with bus operators, who may not always remember which riders paid or didn’t pay, as the bus approaches the Fareless Square boundary.”

TriMet also states this won’t have as much impact as you might think, namely because “More than 50% of riders in Fareless Square already have a monthly or yearly pass, so a change to the free zone is not an issue for them. We believe others will walk or bike more as a result of the change.”

TriMet is seeking public opinion on this proposal.  TriMet will accept comments through July 17th at this email address: comments@trimet.org.  I strongly suggest if you have any opinion whatsoever to make your opinion be heard; as we’ve seen in the most recent round of changes to bus lines being axed and times being changed, strong enough public opinion does sway how a final proposal is shaped.

You can read more about this proposal here.

The adventures of Tux, a guide-dog & TriMet

Guide dogs & TriMet – you see an occasional rider with one.  The dogs, themselves, are always obedient and not distracted (which every guide dog SHOULD be).

Read a story over at the Courageous Heart about a woman and her guide dog… and it’s written as a day in the life of an individual with a guide dog riding the bus & MAX.  And I have to say, seems like it’s always a fun (yet eventful) adventure.

My fiancee’s sister trains dogs… and downtown Portland, Oregon is a popular training ground for guide-dogs.  There’s even a guide dog campus located in Boring.

Definitely worth a read – it’s a really well-written story.

Would you call this a good will evangelist?

TriMetiquette reader Kristin sent me this story:

Kristin notes: face has been cutout to protect identity

Most riders are conscious of this unspoken etiquette: keep the volume low (conversations, music, drunk ramblings, etc.) and respect the almighty SILENCE.

It’s 5:30pm on Tuesday evening and I’m taking bus #12 home from Downtown. It’s the end of the workday, people are tired and we all want to enjoy a few minutes of solitude before we get off the bus and have to get back to the demands of our lives.

The bus is at full capacity; every seat is taken and people are standing so close to one another that I can smell my neighbors’ lunch on his breath. Fortunately, we can all keep our cool. Upon entering this bus, each of us vowed to respect thy neighbor by maintaining a code of silence.

Just as the bus is taking off, heading over the Burnside bridge, I hear a woman talking loudly – almost yelling – ‘Come on damn it, it’s Earth Day – smile! What the hell’s wrong with everyone.’ She proceeds to look at the people sitting to the left & right of her, gets up in their face and says ‘Why aren’tcha smiling? COME ON SMILE!’ People are looking away from her in hopes they will be spared from the rude awakening.

I can appreciate wanting to spread a little cheer. It would do us good to smile a bit more. Being rude & overtly loud certainly didn’t make me smile; in fact, it turned my smile upside down.

Using the bus to lower your consumpton lifecycle

Alison Wiley over at the Diamond-Cut Life blog wrote about how she personally took some steps to help lower her “consumption lifecycle.” She took a cue from Michael Pollan’s piece in the NY Times called “Why Bother”. What she’s been doing:

“Me? I’ve been working in our food garden and enjoying a car-free weekend, using my legs and a TriMet bus to get me everywhere I’m going — church, the film “End of Suburbia” at the Bagdad on Hawthorne, and a dinner party reunion of our cross-country skiing group. Fun!”

Awesome about the bus part!  I’m interested in knowing – did Alison never ride a bus before?  I mean, I know some people have this “thing” about how the bus is not an attractive mode of transportation.  And while this may be the case in some cities, I find that commuting on the bus in Portland is not only attractive (they keep the bus in about as good as shape as possible considering the rider #s) but is also quite speedy.

Keep it up Alison!

Automated stop announcements being tested on TriMet buses

Missed this little nugget of news, so apologies for it being a couple of days late:

TriMet is now testing automated stop announcements on seven bus lines.  What exactly is an ASA (automated stop announcement)?  From the news release:

“Buses with internal Automated Stop Announcements (ASA) are now notifying riders where they are along bus routes on seven TriMet bus lines. ASA ensures people who are hearing or sight impaired and those new to transit are informed of upcoming stops, by providing both internal readerboard and voice announcements of major stops along a bus route.”

The seven bus lines that are testing this out are:

• 6 – Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
• 14 – Hawthorne
• 54 / 56 – Beaverton Hillsdale Highway / Scholls Ferry Rd
• 57 – TV Highway / Forest Grove
• 72 – Killingsworth / 82nd Ave
• 75 – 39th Ave / Lombard
• 79 – Clackamas Town Center

I personally think this is a nice feature to have on buses.  I know if I haven’t ridden a particular bus line before, I get antsy about which stop is coming up.  And most of the time I can’t seem to hear the bus driver over the speaker announcing some of the stops.  What is everyone else’s opinion on this?  Good, bad, indifferent?

If you’re interested, you can read more about this feature.