Is it the Pathway or is it the Urban Fabric?

TriMet is looking at closing a pathway that connects the Willow Creek Transit Center which is located just northwest of the intersection of 185th and Baseline on the MAX Blue Line. The reason behind the possible closure is because of crime and drug problems along the path so I decided to take a look at the situation first hand to see what the problems truly are here.

First here is a Google map of the area:


View Larger Map

The pathway in question goes south from the transit center to Baseline Road.

Looking from Transit Center toward Baseline Road

The picture above is looking from the Willow Creek Transit Center toward Baseline Road and instantly you can see two major problems with this pathway. The first is that there is high walls on both sides blocking views of anyone along the path and the second is that there is very little lighting along the path. In addition there is a child care facility to the left of the photo which is only open at certain times of the day and there is a single family residence located to the right of the photo.

Looking back toward the Willow Creek Transit Center from Baseline

The next picture is looking back toward the transit center from Baseline and once again you can see the problems along the path. Once again you have the fences which creates a canyon affect which is just asking for problems in addition to the bushes on the right that even further block the view of the path. While you want tree canopy to shade pathways and make them more walk-able in this case they combine with the high fences to further hide the pathway from the public.

Looking west along Baseline

Looking east from along Baseline

Once you get off the pathway you have more issues once you get to Baseline. The road is wide with narrow sidewalks and very few streetlights. As can be seen in the upper photo looking toward the west where most of the residences are you have fences that put even fewer eyes on the street. Looking east you have a child care place that is very auto centric and turns its back to the transit center then empty lot on one side of the street and a shopping center.

The problem with closing the path is that for people to residences located on either side of Baseline there it leaves a long walk. From the transit center you will have to travel out of your way and head north to Edgeway then head to 185th then south to Baseline with both of those streets being very pedestrian unfriendly. While walking is fine for many of us, we also have to take into consideration the elderly and those with limited mobility that will have a more difficult time reaching the center. The other alternative for these people will be to take the infrequent 88 bus that travels a short distance on Baseline to reach the transit center.

The problem here is not the presence of the pathway but the Urban Environment around the pathway or the lack there of. The pathway design creates a canyon and walled off effect that means that there is not eyes on the pathway. The solution is not to close the path but to find ways to make it safer which will require rethinking how it is laid out and the visibility onto it. Unfortunately it is just not the path that is the problem, the area around Baseline is auto-centric suburbia where pedestrians come last.

Hopefully a good solution can be found. 

The Barbur Transit Center - The Good, Bad, the Ugly, and the Really Ugly and how it doesn't fit into the urban form

In my first entry on how transit centers fit into the urban form and how they can they can fit better into a strong vibrant urban form I showed a worse case example with the freeway based Parkrose-Sumner Transit Center near the Portland International Airport on the MAX Red Line. 

Today's entry is an even worse example and that is the Barbur Transit Center which is stuck between Interstate 5 and its predecessor Barbur Blvd which was once US Highway 99W. The Barbur Transit Center is currently the oldest transit center in the Trimet system having opened in 1977 and as you will see it is showing its age. The transit center is actually nothing but a glorified Park N' Ride lot as the area around the transit center is very auto oriented and hostile to pedestrians and is not designed to blend into the community or the community to blend into the transit center.  

Trimet Parkrose/Sumner Transit Station - The good, bad and ugly

During my recent trip to the Portland International Airport for a trip to Los Angles, I took pictures of the three Red Line stations that only serve the Red Line to the airport. Unfortunately I was using a borrowed point and shoot which did not have the quality of my DSLR but the pictures will have to do. For these stations along with many others I plan to photograph soon, I will document what the existing conditions are, what the zoning is, what the plus and minuses of the station are, and what can be done from an urban design standpoint to make the station a better place now and in the future.

First up is the Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center which is the perfect example of why freeway based rail transit stations just don't work especially when all the conditions this one faces. That is not to say it is not a popular transit hub as it does serve several important bus lines but because of the freeway location will never be all it could be.

3 Day Transit Only Trip to Los Angeles

A job interview in Los Angeles on December 20th meant I had to travel down there and get around the city. My choice was to use transit and avoid the use of a car for the entire trip. I could have taken Amtrak from Portland and it would have been about $50 cheaper than flying if I had to pay but I cashed in my frequent flyer miles and got a free round trip ticket to Los Angeles which included a free upgrade to first class on the trip back – bonus! My first preference would have been to fly into Burbank which is more convenient and has better transit access but it would have been 15,000 more miles for the ticket which is beyond what I had or wanted to spend so LAX would be the spot I flew into.

Red Line Train Arriving At Pioneer Courthouse Square with Siemens S70 cars

Now there is two...

LACMTA Metro Local #8407 (Photo credit: L.A. Urban Soul)

Today it was announced that North American Bus Industries better known as NABI has been purchased by New Flyer Industries of Winnipeg Canada for a grand total of $80 million dollars. Although the NABI factor in Alabama will continue to produce buses at this time (currently has 1500 buses on order), it bascially leaves to companies (New Flyer and Gillig) as the major suppliers of transit buses in the United States (plus a few niche players whose orders don't amount to much).

The biggest existing customer for NABI is currently the Los Angeles METRO who purchases most of their buses from the company, having had conflicts with several manufactures in the past although most of those such as Neoplan have already stopped producing buses or the US market.

Opening of the new Portland Streetcar Line

Had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the new Portland CL line this past Saturday. This is the third new rail opening I have attended, the first being the opening of the original TRAX line in 1998, the second was when I was invited on the VIP run of UTA's Front Runner commuter rail service between Ogden and Salt Lake City, and finally the opening of the this new streetcar line.

My first ride on the new line occured before the actual ceremony as I rode the new CL line from 11th and Jefferson to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) which I happen to be a member of.

The MC of the event was the mayor of Portland Sam Adams who will be leaving office at the end of his term in a few months. He took time to blast a attack article in the Oregonian and pointed out there is already investment going on along the streetcar line.

Another speaker during the ceremony was Neil McFarlane who is general manager of TriMet. For anyone who follows transit blogs in the Portland area, they will know that he is often blasted and called some rude names in many circles including on a blog run by a disgruntled former bus driver. 

He actually rode the same streetcar that I did from the Portland State University area and will have to say that I found him to be very approachable and talk to several people on the streetcar. 

There was several other excellent speakers during the ceremony including one of the people responsible for the streetcar itself Michael Powell who happens to own a bookstore of some notoriety that is served by both of the streetcar lines now.

After the ribbon cutting the VIP's boarded the Oregon Iron Works prototype car that was making its inaugural run in revenue service. There has been some complaints about Oregon Iron Works because they are behind in production of the cars by a couple of months but one of the speakers noted that the previous cars were 8 months behind in arrived so Oregon Iron Works is actually doing pretty good. 

I rode the next streetcar to the Lloyd District and took these pictures of that streetcar returning to OMSI. The area I took this picture is pretty desolate because the area is surrounded strictly by high rise non-mixed use office buildings that are ghost towns on weekends. You may also notice in the picture above that to the right there is a Honda Accord parked in the bike line which is supposed to be the lane on the right with parking to the left of the bike lane. 

After grabbing a bite to eat I made a point to catch this streetcar on its next trip back to downtown. The car had a minor problem with its wheelchair ramp that was quickly taken care of and the we had a good trip back to 10th and Clay where I got off.

The line is currently U-shaped but in less than three years will become a true loop when the new bridge over the Willamette River is completed by TriMet and the streetcar will use it along with TriMet light rail trains.

It will be interesting to see how this line performs over the long haul. Right now frequencies are not what is needed and the area is no Pearl district however that may actually be a good thing. Do we really need lots of new high rises that bring the suburbs to the urban center, or should we see development that is more human scale? There is plenty of potential along the new line and time we tell what will be made of it.

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• Portland's new streetcar loop debuts
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Transit Customer Service from F to A grades

English: by me UTA bus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Bus 2909 of TriMet, the public transit agency in Portland, Oregon, is a 2009-built New Flyer D40LFR. It is pictured on Harrison Street at 4th Avenue in downtown Portland, outbound on route 54 to Beaverton Transit Center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Denver - CBD: RTD Light Rail (Photo credit: wallyg)

     The following are three customer service examples from three different transit agencies in the western US. After reading the three incidents and the response from the transit agency, which one of these agencies would you like to be a customer of? The three offer the best examples of a total failure, adequate action, and giving outstanding customer service.

   

      

Denver RTD

Grade: F 

      Denver RTD gets the worst grade for customer service. My experience started when I flew into DIA for a meeting and took a RTD bus and light rail to my motel. I boarded one of their MCI commuter cruisers with an all day, all zone pass which I purchased on-line. The driver has to punch the day pass for it to be valid, well the driver did and punched the wrong day. Unfortunately the drivers do not carry day passes so when we got to the light rail station I had to purchase another day pass. 

      First of all I was not mad at the driver and when I talked to Denver RTD customer service I did not mention which bus or time that it happened. A couple of weeks, that's right weeks after I talk to them about the day pass they send me a nasty email saying basically too bad, not our problem. The email was extremely unprofessional and showed a lack of customer care by RTD. 

Portland TriMet

Grade: C

     I have been riding TriMet for about a year now since moving here to Portland. For the most part most of my trips are pretty uneventful except for the random person that has to talk on their cell phone way too loud telling the other person about their sex life and so on.  However, I have had two experiences with TriMet operators in which I took up an issue with their customer service department. I should point out that I have also sent in three commendations for drivers also so I am not only complaining, but also commend those that are excellent in their jobs. 

     In both incidents I got a email from a customer service rep that said sorry you had an issue and said the driver would be talked to. I will say that both letters were written individually and not form letters which I gives points to TriMet. TriMet does the basics in good customer service, nothing more so it gets a passing grade. 

Salt Lake City Utah Transit Authority

Grade: A 

     In my time riding UTA, I only one time sent in a complaint. That day I went to take one bus to a Park N Ride lot to catch a second bus. It was daylight out so that cannot be used as an excuse. The driver of the first bus passed me right on by didn't even bother to slow down. Immediately behind him was another bus deadheading to the Park N Ride lot. This driver hit is breaks but then kept on going. I then waited for the next bus to come along. Because the next was supposed to do a loop before heading to the Park N Ride lot I would miss my next bus. However, the driver of the next bus went ahead and dropped me at the Park N Ride Lot so I wouldn't miss my next bus. 

     The customer service person at UTA offered me two free day passes (since at the time I was not riding on a daily basis so I didn't need the discount on a monthly pass). Of course I didn't complain to get the free day passes and never sent in another complaint. However, UTA did the best job of taking care of the customer and ensuring they will be happy with UTA service. 

     You can clearly see why UTA gets the best grade here. Some would argue that they should not waste the money trying to please a dissatisfied customer however, that response would be narrow minded. Transit systems need to work on their customer service skills just like any other company that provides a service and deals with passengers every day of the week. 

     

       

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• Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Customer Experience

Streetcar Basics

The interior of a Portland Streetcar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: A car of the Portland Streetcar system at the eastbound Portland State University stop, on Market Street at the South Park Blocks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few years ago the thought of streetcars returning to our streets was a fantasy. Today several cites have either installed new streetcar lines, constructing lines, or in the advance planning stages. I support streetcars as I feel that they are a great step between basic bus service and full light rail service (notice I did not include BRT - Badly Repackaged Transit). 

The question is, what should be the priorities of new streetcar lines. The most famous new streetcar line is off course the Portland Streetcar. To be honest, I rode it on Monday but overall I rarely do. Now that I spend more time downtown at Portland State I most likely will be riding more especially to head to Powell's Books. 

People opposed to the streetcar line say is nothing but a subsidy to developers. It is easy to call it that, after all it goes through a part of town that was about to rapidly development. On the other hand the same people who make those kind of comments turn a blind eye to all the subsidies suburban sprawl developments get every day of the week. We could quarrel all day about the that, but instead lets see what the streetcar does do. 

1. The streetcar provides service along a corridor that has never had service. While the two ends of the network (in the northwest side of town and south of PSU), the bus service was not in direct competition with 

Tri-Met buses. In fact the one line that follows the streetcar in the northwest will be rerouted in September in a budget cut move that actually eliminates duplicate service. 

2. The streetcar provides an alternative form of transportation that makes that part of the Portland much more livable. While I don't go to Powell Book's everyday, maybe once a month at the most, it is much more convenient to take the streetcar than trying to drive and find a parking spot. 

The question is, what should the priorities be for a streetcar line? The problem with making a blanket statement is that every city has different priorities so what is important for Portland, is different for Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Atlanta or any of the other cities that have projects in progress. 

While Portland is a great example here is some things that could improve the current Portland system and any future extensions: 

1. One problem was that the system was designed only to have single cars. From my understanding this was a compromise to ensure support along the line. However, one of the benefits of rail transit is when you add additional cars to a train to make it more efficient and carry more people. Any future lines should have the capability to run multiple car trains. 

2. There is no private right of way. The streetcar gets stuck in traffic. While in an ideal world the streetcar would have its entire right of way reserved, we know in the real world this is just not possible. However, I see no reason why on 10th/11th Streets the streetcar cannot have its own reserved right of way in stretches and other areas to. 

3. The streetcar should have signal priority plus priority at the four way stops like Couch and 11th were the streetcar gets stuck for extended periods of time. 

In September Portland will open its new East side streetcar line. Until the loop is completed with the opening of the Milwaukee MAX line in 20515 I am not overly enthusiastic about how well this line will do but we shall see. 

That brings up a good question, for a city looking to extend a streetcar line or put a new one in, what should the priorities be? As I said early every city has its own most important priorities but this is some general guidelines. 

1. The first priority of a streetcar line should be to provide an essential transportation function. If the city already has a light rail or rapid transit system, the streetcar should function as a feeder between the major rail line and important business and residential sectors. Salt Lake City is a perfect example of this. The streetcar will provide service from all three light rail lines to the Sugar House district which is currently a major retail center and will have high density housing going in. 

In a way the east side streetcar in Portland will provide this function also as it will connect from the Lloyd District light rail stations to the Pearl District offering customers an alternative to the current ways to get to the Pearl. 

Once the Milwaukee MAX line is completed, the Portland streetcar will provide an excellent feeder from that line to the northwest part of town that is not currently available because of the alignment of bus service (31.32,33 and 99) and the streetcar line. 

Another good route in  Utah would be from the Ogden Transit Center to Weber State University which is being studied at this time. This would create a feeder from the Front Runner Commuter trains to busy 612 bus line on Washington Blvd and onto the University replacing route 603. 

2. Another important priority would be to supplement a overburdened bus route along a busy corridor. In its transit plan Portland is looking to supplement bus service with streetcars in such corridors as Sandy Blvd. I mentioned this at one time where it will allow the 12 route to become limited stop along this section of route speeding up Trimets longest route (which is being split up in September and won't be so long anymore). 

Another good example would be the Barbur Blvd/Capitol Highway corridor. Currently there are in the study phase on this project for Badly Repackaged Transit or Light Rail, but as I see it know there is a slim chance of a good system being built. Chances are some half baked BRT plan will get built that will end up not having a major impact. 

You could run the streetcar down Barbur and Capitol Highway to the Hilsdale area. This would allow TriMet to cut routes such as the 45 at Capital/Sunset and make routes such as the 44 and 12 faster through the area speeding up bus rides for those through travelers. 

When it comes down to it, streetcars can function both as a feeder from major rail routes to major employment and dense residential areas. It can also be a relief valve for busy bus routes along major dense corridors. What it comes down to is that streetcar routes need to be done right the first time. No matter how successful the route would be there will be naysayers, however if a route is well designed and does the job it is easier to counterbalance the CAVE (citizens against virtually everything) types. 

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• New website to help fund streetcar line

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• Anti-Streetcar Resolution Narrowly Defeated in County Transit Committee

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• The Star's editorial | Pursue KC's streetcar line but re-examine funding

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Time for out of the box thinking and less bureaucracy?

Image via Wikipedia
As things continue to look bleak for transit agencies across the nation, and with politics in Washington DC not making things any easier, is it time for some out of the box thinking? I know, that is a catch phrase that has been over used over the years but it is so appropriate to the challenges now facing the transit agencies.

Many transit agencies are cutting service and having to do more with less. I have mentioned many times about the unfunded mandate with paratransit service which is something we have to live with and some of the innovative ideas that are being used to make the service less expensive by combining it with flexible bus routes. However, I have also pointed out some of the problems that comes with those types of operations such as cost and connectivity.

One thing we need to see out of transit agencies is more entrepreneurship type innovative thinking and less bureaucracy. The problem is any large organization gets to the point where it is almost difficult to accomplish anything. They squash any attempt at innovative thinking that will rock the boat.

Big transit agencies are so used to do everything the same way they have for years it is impossible to get them to change the way they do business. Now I am not just picking on transit agencies here. Many big companies face the same issues including ones that started by being innovative. Even the mighty Microsoft is feeling the affects of it and for a good look at what is happening there and with the problems it can create take a look at the book Paul Allen: Idea Man. In one chapter of this book he points out how bureaucracy has become rampant at Microsoft (although he never calls it that).

He points out that up to a quarter of the staff at Microsoft is not pulling their weight and need to go away but it has become almost impossible to get rid of them. I am sure that anyone could look inside your neighborhood transit agency and find the same situation.

However, advocates are often their own worst enemy and make the situation worse. So many of them are so negative to anything the transit agency does that the agencies bureaucracy becomes even more embedded into the agencies culture.

Just look at what is happening in Portland, Oregon. Trimet has announced cuts to take place in September. While some advocates are coming up with some good ideas, too many of them are so negative to the agency and so blatantly militant that their views don't get heard.

Is their changes that could take place at transit agencies? Of course there is, many of them could loosen the grips of their bureaucracy and become more willing to adapt to changes and more innovative. But advocates also need to meet the agency half way and have a positive oriented discussion and not a name calling session.

The elections this year may bring change but not the change transit advocates are looking for or transit agencies for that matter or we could have more of the same. Now is the time for transit agencies to start thinking outside the box, become more innovative and to start breaking down their bureaucratic barriers and encourage a entrepreneurial  and true leadership spirit within their ranks. It is also time for transit advocates to start having serious but positive talks with transit agencies.

Related articles

• If Nokia is a bureaucracy, and Microsoft is a political party, then what are Apple and Google? (therivalsbook.wordpress.com)
• Bureaucracy Killing DC's Movie Industry (outsidethebeltway.com)
• TriMet budget-balancing plan: Longer waits, higher fares, no 'short hopper' trips, no Free Rail Zone (oregonlive.com)
• TriMet once again proposing LIFT fare hikes to help balance budget (oregonlive.com)
• Protecting the transportation needs in our communities (thehill.com)
• 14 Ideas for Busting Bureaucracy (blogs.hbr.org)
• Why the House Transportation Bill Hits Bus Riders Especially Hard (dc.streetsblog.org)
• How the Hypernet Will Overthrow Bureaucracies and Empower Teachers (forbes.com)

Six months riding Trimet and Counting...

It has been about six months since I moved to Portland, about 3 months since I updated you on my travels on the Trimet System. Last time my travel was pretty straight forward: Take the 54 and 57 to work, then ride MAX, WES and 78 to PCC Sylvania and back home on the 44 or I would ride MAX, the 6, and 44 to PCC. After Christmas, my life completely changed and I am always riding the 44 to PCC and back but my work schedule has me traveling a lot more which you can see from the number of buses I have rode down below.

Here is a rundown of the rail vehicles I have traveled on:

Manufacturer Information:    # In Fleet      #Ridden       Most Ridden and Notes

1986 Bombardier                    26                 23             107 and 116 (7 Times Each)
*The three I have not ridden 106, 119, and 126 I have never seen them either so not sure if they are still in service, being repainted since many of these cars are getting new paint schemes or just missing them.
1997 Siemens SD660              52                 50              245 (4 Times)
2003 Siemens SD660              27                 All 27         303, 308, 309, 314, 325 (5 Times)
2009 Siemens S70                   22                 20              410 (3 Times)
Streetcars                               10                 All 10          7 (4 Times)
Colorado Railcar Power DMU   3                  All 3            1001 (21 Times)
Colorado Railcar Trailer            1                  1                  Once
Ex-Alaska RDC's                     2                  2                 Once Each                                          

Now for the bus fleet:

Year:    Manufacturer/Model    # in Fleet    #Ridden       Most Ridden and other notes:

1990    Gillig Phantom 40'             63?           18            1420, 1422, 1430, 1458, 1459 (Twice)
*Not sure how many of these are actually still running.
1990    Gillig Phantom 30'             43             12            1609 Twice
1992    Flxible Metro 40'              107           47             1738 (4 Times)
1994    Flxible Metro 40'              26             17             1821 (4 Times)
1992    Flxible Metro 30'              10             9               Each one only once
1997    New Flyer D40LF            22             7               2016 Twice
1997    Gillig Phantom 40'             65             50             2139 (5 Times)
*These are buses normally assigned to the 44 Monday-Friday so its no surprise that I ridden them so many times.
1998    New Flyer D40LF            118           33             2202, 2206, 2210, 2246 (Twice)
2000    New Flyer D40LF            60             16             2518, 2526, 2560 (Twice)
2002    New Flyer H40LF            2               0            
2002    New Flyer D40LF            55             38             2632 (Three Times)
2003    New Flyer D40LF            25             16              2715 and 2719 (Twice)
2005    New Flyer D40LF            39             16              2807, 2825, 2834 (Twice)
2009    New Flyer D40LFR          40             All 40        2908 (6 Times)
*Since these are the regular buses assigned to the 54 and 57 and sometimes the 78, its no wonder I was able to ride all them over a six month period.
 

Although I have a very love/hate relationship with low floor buses:: easier to get on and off, faster wheelchair loading, however they loose capacity, are not the comfortable to ride in, and are not that well put together, I will have to say that the D40LFR's from 2009 do seem to making some headway quality wise.

While Trimet may be a bus fans paradise with the large number of Flexible Metro's still around, Trimet  does have an aging fleet and with Flxible having been out of business for almost 17 years now, I imagine that some parts are now becoming difficult to get. Trimet does have 55 diesel buses on order along with 4 hybrids which are coming from Gillig.

While Trimet has many haters out there including many of its own bus drivers, as a passenger I have to say for the most part Trimet has done an excellent job. Only once has there been a bus break down that affected me and that was when I was still riding the 54 westbound and one of them broke down leaving the garage. However, Trimet while the 54 is run out of the Merlo garage on the westside, they pulled a bus out of the Central Garage on the near east side and the bus was only running a few minutes late.

The only other incident actually worked to my benefit. One of the 1992 Flxible 30' Metros was overheating and it caused the bus to run about 10 minutes late which meant I did not have to way 20 minutes for the next bus to arrive.

Drivers on the other hand are a mix bag. Trimet does have some excellent drivers. I have sent in commendations to Trimet on two of its drivers. The first one was a driver on the 54 who is now working the 67. This person has a wonderful personality, knows how to treat customers, and was always a pleasure to ride with. Sadly the replacement on the 54 has not lived up to him.

The other driver I sent in a commendation for was on the 44. This person is extremely friendly with a wise cracking personality that works perfectly for the clientele on the 44. I rode with him a few times when I needed to make trips to downtown before heading to PCC from Beaverton.

There is only one driver I have come close to filing a complaint about. This person shows a lack of personality when you board the bus and this person gives you a look like the driver would rather cut your throat than have you on the bus. This person never says a word, just gives you the dirty look. If a customer asks this person a question the customer is luck if they get a grunt.

I always try to wish the driver a good day, afternoon, etc. when I get off the bus if the bus is not extremely crowded. One time when getting of the bus I gave this driver the standard good day and I actually got a response of the driver!! The driver say "whatever." I guess its better than a something else the person could have said.

I have ridden with this person on a couple of routes so the person must be extra board. Clearly this is someone who needs to find a job where they do not have to deal with the public.

On Tuesday, I had my first encounter of adverse weather conditions on Trimet. Once again Trimet did what it was supposed to do and provided the best possible service under less than ideal conditions. Below is a picture of my 44 to PCC Sylvania on that day.

In fact the bus had to get around several cars that got stuck along Capital Hwy. and SW 49th. The driver did a great job and we arrived at our destination in good time.

In interesting note is that this was my first time every riding a transit bus with chains. The Utah Transit Authority I believe uses chains on its ski buses when conditions are bad but since I am not a skier, I never rode the buses to the ski conditions.

Another interesting note is the bus pictured above is equipped with automatic chains that engage with the flip of a toggle switch. The driver said these buses are the only ones equipped with them. I wonder if these were an add on order from another transit agency (add on orders is when a transit agency adds a bus order to another agencies order to get a better price on buses).

After six months of regularly Trimet, I can say that Trimet does what it is supposed to. Provide the best possible service to the most riders possible with the budget given them. I encounter many people in my travels that want to whine about one thing or another when it comes to Trimet, but overall service does the job it is supposed to.

Is Trimet a perfect agency? Of course not, there is issues that need to be fixed but it does its job well.

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• Numbers for the geeks... (transitinutah.blogspot.com)
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Renumbering for Customer Friendliness

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Since I know live in Portland, Oregon I will probably use TriMet here as an example of many of my postings just like I did with Utah Transit Authority when I lived there. I will also use other transit agencies I am familiar with such as Metro in Los Angeles and Spokane Transit Authority in Spokane. However, I will not try to step on the toes of Portland Transport, an excellent transit related blog that does a great job of covering news in the area.

TriMet like many agencies still have a antiquated number system part of which is descended from its predecessor agencies. The number system is a hog pog of numbers that don't tell the person much information about the service.

However, many agencies have created new number systems to make their route numbers make it easier for customers to understand the system. The late Southern California Rapid Transit District in Los Angeles was one of the first agencies to do this. From the late 70's through 1983 the RTD renumber all its routes so a person only had to look at the number to know if the bus traveled to downtown Los Angeles or if not if traveled primarily north-south, east-west or if it was express bus or something else.

Meanwhile Jarrett over at Human Transit talked about creating a number system that told you the frequency of the routes.

Lets use these concepts to see how you can renumber a transit system to make it more customer friendly and easier to use. Of course there is always the people who don't like it when routes change, but in the long run what is most important that it would make the transit system more customer friendly for all the riders.

Here is a sample numbering system for TriMet:

100 Series Routes-Frequent Service Routes that service downtown Portland
200 Series Routes-Frequent Service Routes that do not serve downtown Portland west of the Willamette
300 Series Routes-Frequent Service Routes that do not serve downtown Portland east of the Willamette
400 Series Routes-30/60 Minute Service Routes that serve downtown Portland
500 Series Routes-30/60 Minute Service Routes west of the Willamette not serving downtown
600 Series Routes-30/60 Minute Service Routes east of the Willamette not serving downtown
700 Series Routes-Limited Service Routes
800 Series Routes-Express Service Routes
900 Series Routes-Special Service such as routes that run peak hours only

Those familiar with TriMet will know that there is only one route in the 200 series and only a few more in the 300 series but the point is to make the system easy to understand. You could combine both of those into the 200 series and adopt from their.

In addition there is one odd ball route which is the current 154. It starts at the Oregon Transit Center then travels across the Willamette. You could put this route in the 500 series since most of its route is west of the Willamette or in the 600 series since its connection with the rest of the network is at Oregon City.

Also, TriMet currently has no limited service routes but this is an example and in the future TriMet should look at instituting limited stop service on busy corridors which is something I will be posting about in the future.

While you could argue semantics, this is a general renumber system that would make a system more customer friendly and easier to use. It could be adapted by any agency to not only designate where a bus goes but also the frequency of route.

Numbers for the geeks...

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Its been three months since I moved to Portland and started regularly riding TriMet. Since I am a numbers guy I like to keep track of the number of vehicles I ride and how many times I ride them. Not sure if anyone really would care about these numbers except for fans, but here goes.

The routes I ride most often are: 44, 54, 57, 78, MAX, and WES.


Model Information and number:                         Number Ridden:              Most ridden:

Buses:
    
1990 Gillig Phantom 40'     63 buses                  11 Ridden                       1458 (twice)
(not all left in service)
1990/91 Gillig Phantom 30' 43 buses                 None
1992 Flxible Metro    40'    108 buses               15 Ridden                       1738 and 1756 (twice)
(not all in service)
1994 Flxible Metro   40'     26 buses                 7 Ridden                         1821 (twice)
1992 Flxible Metro   30'     10 buses                 None
1997 New Flyer D40LF     22 buses                 4 Ridden                         None more than once
1997 Gillig Phantom           65 buses                 20 Ridden                       5 of them ridden twice
1998 New Flyer D40LF    118 buses                4 Ridden                         None more than once
2000 New Flyer D40LF     60 buses                 2 Ridden                         None more than once
2002 New Flyer DE40LF     2 buses                 None
2002 New Flyer D40LF      55 buses                8 Ridden                         None more than once
2003 New Flyer D40LF      25 buses                9 Ridden                         None more than once
2005 New Flyer D40LF      39 buses                9 Ridden                         2825 Twice
2009 New Flyer D40LFR   40 buses                32 Ridden                       2936 (5 Times)

Rail Vehicles:

1986 Bombardier                26 vehicles           16 Ridden                        116 and 122 (4 times)
1997 Siemens SD660         52 vehicles            22 Ridden                        245 (three times)
2003 Siemens SD660         27 vehicles             9 Ridden                         308 (three times)
2009 Siemans S70              22 vehicles            5 Ridden                          409 (twice)

Colorado Railcar Power        3 vehicles            2 Ridden                          1001 (7 Times)
Colorado Railcar Trailers      1 vehicle              not ridden
RDC's                                  2 vehicles            not ridden

(sorry the columns did not come out properly).

As you can see from the numbers since I ride the 44, 54, and 57 most often on the bus side the buses assigned to those lines (the '97 Gilligs to the 44 and the 2009 DL40LFRs to the 54 and 57) are the ones I have ridden the most.

I ride WES once per day two or three times per week and it seems like every time I get the 1001. I have never been in a RDC before and I am hopping to ride those this Friday if scheduling works out.

If anyone knows how many of the older buses and the Bombardier cars are still in service, I would be interested in finding out.    

I plan to update this as time goes on.

Adventures riding TriMet

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I just purchased my TriMet monthly pass for October, which is the third one I have purchased since moving to Portland in mid-July. It has been a few years since I have regularly commuted by transit since I could walk to my last job in Salt Lake so taking a transit trip was something special.

For the most part there is little to talk about on my commutes. My trips usually involve trips on bus and then connecting for a three station ride on MAX. I usually enjoy my first bus trip of the day because it is reverse commute to the Beaverton Transit Center and is not very busy. It is long enough that I can get some reading done before arriving at the transit center and connecting to MAX.

On my return trip I usually take MAX to the Goose Hollow station then ride the 6 down to Park in order to go pick up my mail.

For the most part, my commute is pretty routine which is a testament to how well TriMet does work despite the whining by some circles including some of its bus drivers. However every once in a while something will happen that will make the commute interesting and the last couple of days it has been on route 6 despite the fact I only ride it a few blocks.

Yesterday the incident was one that would get your blood pressure up and today's was one that makes you laugh. Yesterday the bus pulled up, and the doors opened. I always wait to see if anyone is getting off. There was one guy sitting near the front but he did not move so after a few seconds I started to board. The guy then starts yelling at me that he is getting off with a walker and why didn't I clear the way for him. I just moved around him and sat down. He then yelled at me some things that I will not repeat and got off the bus.

Then there was today. There was already a bus sitting in the bus stop area but he wasn't departing for 15 minutes. Another 6 came and pulled up behind him with the regular driver I usually have on this run. A Asian lady gets off the bus with when of those folding shopping carts. The problem is as you can see from the google view the bus cannot park perfect so there is always a gap between the bus door and the curb.


View Larger Map

As the lady gets off the bus she the small wheels on the back of her folding car come off. She starts yelling at one in particular in her native language, then walks to the wall on the other side of the sidewalk leaving her cart stuck between the bus door and curb.

The driver tries to shut the door to move the cart but it just fell back in. I guess he expected either me or the other passenger to move it but after a moment he put the parking brake on and moved the cart himself.

The bus pulled away with the lady just staring at her cart.

Starting Monday my journeys will become longer so I should have even more interesting encounter as a TriMet rider.

To Hybrid or not to Hybrid (buses that is)

Image by paulkimo90 via Flickr
Hybrid buses...some transit companies have gone crazy having all new buses be hybrids while others such as TriMet in Portland and the Utah Transit Authority have been more conservative when it comes to buying hybrid buses. Back in 2002 TriMet received two New Flyer Hybrids while UTA received three of the same type of buses.

After evaluating TriMet made the decision not to order any new hybrids until this year because they did not see enough savings to justify the initial high costs of the buses. However, last year UTA received 10 Gillig Advantage BRT hybrid's to go along with a purchase of new regular diesels, and this year TriMet has decided to see how much the changes in hybrid technology in the last decade has changed and ordered 4 hybrids also from Gillig to evaluate their performance.

Some would argue that Hybrids use less fuel so transit agencies should by them. Of course life is a little more complicated than that. In fact the experience with hybrids have been a mixed bag largely because how well they save on diesel depends of the type of service they are used on.

New York is probably one of the biggest users of hybrid buses. In an environment like crowed New York streets were many of the buses are sitting in traffic or traveling at low speeds the hybrid technology pays off. However, in Seattle the opposite situation exists. Seattle purchased their hybrids to travel in their bus tunnel when it became a joint operation with Sound Transit Light Rail. However, once the buses leave the tunnel a number of them become express routes across the Seattle area. Because they spend a majority of their time travel at higher speeds Metro does not see the advantages of Hybrid technology.

Here is a article from Seattle about the performance of their hybrids from a few years ago:

Hybrid Buses Fuel economy promises didn't materialize 

Some later numbers may show some better performance from diesels including maintenance cost however lets look at some important numbers:

Currently Hybrid buses cost substantially more than standard diesel buses. For example TriMet's new hybrids cost approximately $650,000 while the new diesels that TriMet ordered this year coast about $400,000. So lets look at some examples to show what would make this purchase justify itself.

As you can see above the difference in price between the regular bus and the hybrid bus is $250,000. Let's say a standard bus gets 4 miles per gallon and a hybrid averages 5 miles per gallon. That means that you would save one mile per gallon. For the sake of this example and to make the numbers easier lets say that the transit agency will put 500,000 miles on it during its life at the agency. Also let's say that the average price of diesel during the life of the bus is $3.00 per gallon to keep the numbers easier. With this example the agency would spend $375,000 on fuel for a diesel bus and $300,000 for the hybrid.

The $75,000 savings does not justify the initial cost of they hybrid. In this example it is virtually impossible for the Hybrid to justify its initial cost. There is other factors that need to be considered beyond just fuel cost such as maintenance and resell value but that would most likely go in favor of diesel for maintenance and resell value is so small it is irrelevant anyway.

When making decisions on what type of bus to buy we need to look at hard numbers and not just try to feel good. But there is also something to be said for going beyond the bean counter numbers. Hybrid buses can offer other benefits that cannot be looked at on a balance sheet such as quieter operations and points on the political and public relations front.

On a profit and loss statement the hybrids may not add up, other factors may be in their favor but a transit agency needs to look at the the life of the vehicle and whether the substantial cost will pay off in the long run.