It’s getting close to WES time (that would be February 2, 2009)!  And in celebration for the upcoming Wilsonville - Beaverton commuter rail, TriMet has an essay contest!  Access it here.

While prizes aren’t specifically mentioned, the contest rules do state that there’s one prize valued at $86, which is, hmmm, how about this: just about how much a monthly all-zone pass costs!  I wonder what the first prize is… :)  There are also “up to 30 prizes” that are valued at $4.25 a piece… which, yes yes, are the price-point for an all-day all-zone pass.

In any case, what I’m most interested is this:

“All participants will be entered into a drawing to win an invitation to a preview ride on WES Commuter Rail and your essay might be published on trimet.org!”

TriMet!  Let me on a preview ride on WES!  And also, TriMet!  Please link to me!

The contest closes on December 9th at 5 p.m., so you have a month to write a 100 words or less essay.  What are you waiting for?  Get writing!

You know the Westside Express Service?  The WES?  If you were just thinking, “I’ve known the plans, seen the construction… where are the trains?!” - here you go.  The first WES train has arrived and it’s a real beaut!  The seats look comfy!

Sidenote: KGW - do I really need to register on your site in order to participate in a poll?

Did you know TriMet puts together a quarterly publication for employers & transportation coordinators?  It’s called To Work and features updates on TMA (transportation management association) activities & other up-to-date news items.

The summer issue (link to downloadable PDF) is about Westside Express Service (WES) safety, the Steel Bridge construction happening this summer & how more and more TriMet buses are getting equipped with automatic stop announcements (ASA).

Pretty good read!

On May 22, the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) program Oregon Art Beat will be featuring the creation & execution of the Westside Express Service (WES) commuter rail art project.  The WES art was made to encourage riders at the WES stations to interact with it… which sounds like an interesting concept.  I’ll be tuning in… will you be?

What: WES art featured on Oregon Art Beat
When: May 22 at 8 pm
Where: On your local OPB channel

Read over at the Tigard Area 10 Neighborhood Blog that the Tigard library is having a Westside Express Service (WES) Day. TriMet personnel will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the new service that will begin having testing trains run in the summer.

More details:

WES Day
Sunday, May 18 from 1 - 4
Tigard Library
13125 SW Hall Blvd

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