The sky is falling!

Portland transportation bureau going broke

Occupy Portland marchers protest against JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/11/occupy_portland_protesters_get.html

Calling out the shuttle buses!

Blue/Red/Green Line:

Due to police activity at the Rose Quarter Transit Center, service is disrupted. Shuttle buses are transporting riders between Lloyd Center and Old Town. http://trimet.org/alerts/index.htm

photo by Ross Wrede

How To Save On Bus Fare

http://peopleofpublictransit.com/how-to-save-on-bus-fare/

@sarahmorriganSarah Morrigan

It is interesting that all of sudden Portland Police Assn got interested in saving taxpayer dollars. #OccupyPortland

Arrest no. 38 at Occupy Portland

http://bojack.org/2011/11/arrest_no_38_at_occupy_portlan.html

Amtrak tests eTicketing in Northeast

Punkrawker

Isn't MAX great?

@KOINLocal6KOIN Local 6

Suspicious device on MAX at Rose Quarter has closed service in both directions. Shuttle buses set up between Old Town and Lloyd Center.

Police: Protester shoved police sergeant into TriMet bus during Occupy Portland march

Well, I'm suspicious if this really happened how the Police say it did. We all know cops love lies and lying about this and saying it happened the way they say it did gives them their excuse to go into riot mode and crack down on protesters because according to them, 'enough is enough.' It would be very convenient for them and very inconvenient for the protesters.
Police: Protester shoved sergeant into moving bus | KPTV
Police arrest man who allegedly shoved sergeant into TriMet bus during Occupy Portland march | Oregon Live
Plus, it has been reported that the cop only sustained 'minor injuries', but logic would say that if he was hit by a moving bus that he would have more than just 'minor injuries?

SUSPICIOUS DEVICE ON MAX! EVERYBODY FREAK OUT!

RQTC MAX trains evacuated because of suspicious device on a train. Apparently the device is a 'box with wires hanging out of it'.

TriMet Cares

If you need to go east, you gotta go west then east again. Don't make any sense? Yeah, that's just it--it doesn't.


"The elevator to the eastbound platform at Sunset Transit Center will close for maintenance Monday, November 7, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are unable to use the stairs from the top level, use the elevator to the westbound platform, take MAX to Beaverton Transit Center and then transfer to an eastbound train or take Line 20 to Beaverton Transit Center and then transfer to an eastbound train.
Line 20 also travels into Downtown Portland on West Burnside Street. If you are traveling to Sunset Transit Center from the west, take MAX to Washington Park Station, then take MAX westbound to Sunset Transit Center and use the elevator on the opposite platform. Nearby Park & Rides are located at Millikan Way and Beaverton Creek MAX stations. 

The elevator to the westbound platform at Sunset Transit Center will close for maintenance Tuesday, November 8, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are unable to use the stairs from the top level, use the elevator to the eastbound platform, take MAX to Washington Park Station and then transfer to a westbound train. If you are traveling to Sunset Transit Center from the east, take MAX to Beaverton Transit Center, then take MAX eastbound to Sunset Transit Center and use the elevator on the opposite platform. Nearby Park & Rides are located at Millikan Way and Beaverton Creek MAX stations."


Could TriMet have picked a worse time? A weekday...during the day...especially during the morning and early evening rush hours when TriMet gets the highest ridership? Seriously? 
Why couldn't this stuff have been done on a weekend day or late during the night to affect the least riders? But let's remember, TRIMET CARES! Go by MAX!

Let me guess--it's a plastic bag

@LauralPorterLaural Porter

Breaking News... bomb squad called out for suspicious device on Max train at Portland's Rose Quarter. #KGWNightTeam 11pm

Milwaukie Light Rail: Full Steam Ahead, even though we're going to cut bus service and raise fares soon

Light rail news: Milwaukie advisories committees to consider light rail station, Kellogg Bridge designs | Oregon Live

You might have little to no bus service at all, but at least TriMet build this! It solves all of our problems.

Inside TriMet's Beaverton Bike & Ride | The Prudent Cyclist

Although, at my last check, the BTC bike and ride was doing considerably better than the one at Sunset TC (though, that's not saying too much), was it really worth all the hoopla about it?

Remind you of TriMet in any way?

California HSR drops another bombshell

Liars' budgets -- they're everywhere

http://bojack.org/2011/11/liars_budgets_theyre_everywher.html

Uh oh: The Occupy Portland movement is turning for the worse

...At roll call, a new directive from Chief Mike Reese required gas masks, batons and helmets would be mandatory for officers on patrol staring Friday...

Portland police union on 'Occupy': 'Enough is enough'

You wanna know all the hundreds of rules TriMet operators have to put up with?

Then click here.
Ha. It's called a 'reference copy'. The damn thing is 100+ pages long. I don't think that would qualify as only a 'reference copy'.

TRIMET management always bringing the most vital information to our attention

http://rantingsofatrimetbusdriver.blogspot.com/2011/11/trimet-management-always-bringing-most.html

The Boondoggle Report

On Milwaukie MAX

Fission still ongoing at Fukushima

http://bojack.org/2011/11/fission_still_ongoing_at_fukus.html

What makes this place great

...I have to use a school bus because TriMet won't take me there
...hardly any transit service at all!
But don't worry--TriMet has WES!

Portland opens new cycle track along Southwest Moody Avenue near South Waterfront District

Oregon Live
Bike Portland
I have it in mind to go down there tomorrow if I have time and check it out. I'm excited! :)

National Geographic's Photo Contest 2011

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/2011/entries/recent-entries/?source=email_eap0911
Some really great ones!

A Bad Two Weeks for TriMet

November 2, 2011 Bus Incidents:

BUS GETS JAMMED ON ITS WAY BACK TO POWELL GARAGE








Earlier that day....
Car strikes TriMet bus in SE Portland, 7 hurt | KGW (72)

Passengers injured in collision involving bus | KPTV

A few hours later....
Car hits TriMet bus in Beaverton | KATU (89)

Deputies: Driver flees after smashing into TriMet bus | KPTV








This comes after last week where there were two different TriMet incidents one day after the other:


4 riders hurt when TriMet bus gets cut off and slams on the brakes
and
Semi collides with MAX in Hillsboro

And not one of these incidents was an operator's fault.

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

    It will be interesting to see how the so-called advanced economies wriggle out of this dilemma. There may be yet some other ways of extending and pretending, but I don't see it. Rather, it would seem to open the door to universal default. The very next part of the official story is that, supposedly, every investor on God's green earth would come stampeding into American bonds, but where's the hedge now? There is none. 
Clusterfuck Nation

BTA: Finding philosophers and storytellers in the back of the bus

We are, by nature, philosophers and storytellers. We love to gossip, to feel a part of an intricate web. Riding on a bus is more interactive than reality TV; the stories are intricate and not interrupted by commercial breaks — stories that carry you to your next destination. We are full participants in a drama that unfolds quickly.

STREETROOTS

This article really captures one of the things that makes me love riding the bus so much, however, I'm usually the one sitting in the very front of the bus talking to the bus driver and listening to stories from them (and boy have I heard some great ones that I don't think I'll forget for a long time). Plus, my regular bus line is a tiny, community filled bus line (the 51) and that brings many great stories from both passengers and drivers and simply a brilliant sense of community. The riders are (almost always) regular riders and commuters so we all know and see each other every day on that bus and being crowded on a tiny 30' bus only makes it better.

Riding on the Steel Bridge: A tale of access and anger

http://bikeportland.org/2011/11/03/riding-on-the-steel-bridge-a-tale-of-bike-access-and-anger-61466

Why things were screwy with traffic downtown during rush hour last night

Occupy march winds through town in support of war veteran | KATU

TriMet's 'Night Stop' program to start again on Sunday

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/11/trimets_night_stop_program_to.html
And this program will be great to use against drivers so supervisors can say 'you chose a bad place to stop' even if it was a perfectly safe area to stop. I've seen it before.