I was contacted by Scott over at Max It Magazine, letting me know about their magazine.  Their premier issue is both currently online and available in print-form.  They also have a Myspace page.

Good reading!

Had to share this crazy (unlucky!) story about John & his friends taking the MAX (or at least trying to) down to a Portland Trailblazers game. A couple of highlights from his unfortunate night:

• Plugged “$15″ into the ticket machine at the Gateway transit center only to discovery that the MAX was dead and that they would have to take a bus to get to the Rose Garden
• Took 40 minutes for them to get to 7th and Halladay from Gateway on a bus that was apparently manned by a driver who “was not familiar with this part of Portland, much less navigating narrow streets to transport a sardine stuffed bus from one MAX station to the next.”
• Then on the way home: “There was a brief moment when the entire bus gasped as the metal scraped across the concrete and made a ssssssssssccccccccccccrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecccccccccccccccchhhhhhh! and the bus tipped violently to the left then right as the tires went over the islands.”

Wow! Out of control! The one takeaway I have from that whole post is:

“But, I want to put the blame for the adventure we were about to begin on the helpful and courteous TriMet employees who were wandering around the Gateway station. They could have interrupted us when we were plugging $15 into the ticket machine to tell us that MAX was dead and that we and several hundred of our fellow passengers would soon be jammed into a bus and sent bumping around narrow surface streets between MAX Stations.”

That sucks!  Well, better luck next time…

Vivian over at MamaNeedJava shared a pretty embarrassing story that happened to her on the MAX.  Gotta say, that’s pretty dang embarrassing!

I seem to encounter the ‘chattering crazy person’ on just about every MAX & bus ride I take.  Sometimes it’s fun to run along with it and chat it up… but most of the time it’s just better to ignore.

Well now, I think Vivian’s decision to share her story didn’t factor in other places covering it 

Stacy over at Hello… This is Me recently wrote a post with six mentions of the word “MAX.” With six mentions, the post has to be good… right? Well, turns out that is indeed a positive post about using the MAX to get around that beautiful Saturday we had last weekend.

The post goes over some nice destinations individuals can use the MAX for. Stacy and a friend happened to use the MAX to hop on over to the Saturday Market as well as hit the Lloyd Center up for some shopping. Then they hit that little MAX disturbance over the weekend when they were planning on going to the local IKEA near the Portland International Airport. Three worthwhile destinations that MAX can take you - the Saturday Market, Lloyd Center & IKEA.

That’s a full day’s worth of shopping right there!

I’m not saying this should be done in regards to the MAX system here in Portland… but what I will say is this: this is a pretty interesting way to ‘cheat’ the transit system in Mumbai. An overview of what’s going on over there:

• Mumbai’s train system isn’t equipped with a ticket checking system (much like TriMet’s MAX system)
• Six million passengers use it each day
• A “clever traveler” has devised a scheme to create an ‘insurance policy’ that riders can pay that’s about $11 to join which gives you inclusion to this ‘ticketless-traveler organization’
• If caught without a ticket, you pay the fine… then turn in that receipt to the organization and you’re paid 100% of the amount you paid for the fine

Hmm, that transit system almost mirrors how the MAX system is set up here… no way to “enforce” riders to buy tickets, fare inspections that are WAY too infrequent… interesting….

Since when did a seat on the MAX or bus have a sign on it that said, “Your dirty feet are welcome to be placed here”?

Not only is this some “TriMetiquette” but isn’t this something that is universally taught all during schooling? You’re in elementary school - your teacher tells you to not put your feet up on a seat. You’re in high school - your teacher tells you not to as well. Now that you’re on the MAX though, it’s perfectly fine to do it! Come on now…

To me, putting your feet up on another is really a sign of disrespect. If there are people on the MAX or bus, then you’re disrespecting other people. If there aren’t any people riding at that time, then you’re disrespecting TriMet’s property.

So please: keep those feet off of the seat.

Are you placing the bag next to you because no one appears to want to sit down or are you placing it next to you because you don’t want anyone to sit next to you?

Both of these mentalities exist on the Portland MAX on a daily basis. Who is to say that the old woman with the unweildly bag doesn’t just want a place other than the ground to place her belongings? However, what if this old woman is actually a grumpy grandmother who hates sitting next to people?

Here’s what I think - someone placing their bag on the seat next to him/her doesn’t automatically mean that person is a jerk.

Though, I will say if someone approaches the seat, the seated individual should establish some sort of eye contact with the interested rider to see if they have the intent or desire to sit. If so, shuffle that bag over to your lap because your bag doesn’t have precedence over a human being. If you see an influx of people getting on the MAX, elect to move your bag over to your lap or show that, yes, you would move your bag if someone was interested in sitting.

No one deserves to have to stand if they wish to sit down in a seat occupied by a bag.

Note: portions of this TriMetiquette post appeared on PDX Pipeline - a Portland Arts, Music & Events blog

Read over at BikePortland that there was some “Public Transportation” graffiti on I-84 eastbound. Lo and behold, as we pulled into the 42nd Avenue MAX Station there it was:

Not a whole lot of room for someone to go about making that on I-205…

Morn over at Morn’s Insanity made the fatal mistake of not checking any alerts when riding.  And it paid.

So make sure to check online at TriMet.org to see if there may be any delays for your bus or MAX route.

This photo is an example of an area on the Max you are not supposed to stand. On the Max I believe this to be a pretty “light rule”. True, standing here may impede the ramp from extending, but I have yet to see that happen. When the train is full, sometimes you gotta stand here.

But MORE IMPORTANTLY, there is a similar area on the buses where you should not be standing unless the next stop is yours. I want to encourage riders to not stand in the little area where the back door is. It makes it very difficult for riders to exit around you in a space meant for a single person to walk through.

Don’t be that guy (or girl, but that seems to be rare)

-brewcaster