A Different Twist on a Bus Driver v. Biker Incident

Mr Mead suffered a broken leg and fractured wrist and as he lay on the ground in agony, the driver simply straightened up the single decker bus and continued on the journey.
But Mr Mead says far from feeling anger towards the driver, he actually feels sorry for him.
The computer programmer from St Anne’s, Bristol, said: ‘It just seemed to me that it was a complete moment of madness from him.

'It goes to show how one bit of rage can affect so many people’s lives. It has affected me and my family - but also now him and his family now he has gone to prison. ‘He was angry and he let the anger get the better of him. But I do not feel any anger towards him now - in fact I feel really sorry for his family.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102578/Cyclist-Phillip-Mead-forgives-road-rage-bus-driver-Gavin-Hill-mowed-down.html#ixzz1mf6ImNnp

TriMet is having a fun day

Via Dispatch:
Bus broken down at Gateway
Bus at 52nd and foster gets rear ended
76 broken down
fumes causing people on the bus problems
DRIVER CALLS DISPATCH ABOUT MAN PASSED OUT ON BUS

Portland Mercury

Bus Stopped

Portland Transport

A Couple of Things I'd Like TriMet to Think About

Just a typical ride on a 'frequent' service TriMet bus line...

http://streetbonersandtvcarnage.com/blog/portland-americas-armpit-scenes-from-a-trimet-bus/

Promoting the Boondoggle

When in reality, WES ridership hasn't really increased at all. The weekly ridership numbers have been floating around 8,000 for quite a while now. It appears to be at its peak and flatlined. But of course the percentages make WES look SO much better than the actual numbers, so TriMet goes with that instead. On top of it all, WES carries the LEAST riders of  any transit mode TriMet has.


Here are the real figures:

Bus: Weekly trips were up 1.5 percent to 1,163,300

MAX: Weekly trips were up 0.7 percent to 756,100

WES:  Weekly trips were up 17.4 percent to 8,100

So sorry to burst your bubble, TriMet, but BUS is actually leading the way. How much ridership did WES have in the past few months? December had only 7,250 riders, November had 8,000 riders, October had  8,450 riders which TriMet boasted as ‘a new record high’ for WES, telling us that WES ridership probably won’t increase all that much, if at all, anymore. Oh, and September weekly WES ridership? Only 8,150 riders. 50 riders more than January. WES ridership has plateaued—it is clear to anybody who doesn’t let themselves get blinded by TriMet’s phony propaganda.

And a little tip, TriMet? Maybe is WES ran more than just weekday rush hour, say all day and on weekends, you might have more ridership? You shot 

yourself in the foot with that move.

It'd be nice if we at least had one media outlet who reported the truth rather than just what TriMet wants everybody to see. The Boregonian is one of the worst culprits:

With WES leading the way, TriMet ridership continues to grow in January

$186,612 per year for doing absolutely NOTHING

SO HOW MUCH IS FAST FREDDIE AND BRIAN (the ghost) PULLING IN FROM TRIMET?
When you crunch the numbers, Freddie gets $186,612 per year for doing absolutely NOTHING. And Mr. Brian over there gets $129,588 per year to do absolutely nothing also.

And then you wonder why TriMet has a 'budget deficit'...

...but boy. It sure would be nice to be paid so much to do nothing. Smart idea getting outa your GM job at TriMet, Freddie! Now you can get almost the same pay for sitting on your butt and doing nothing!

TriMet: The leader in everything except the thing they're supposed to provide

TriMet, Portland's regional public transit agency, will commission a 60-kilowatt solar installation featuring SolarWorld solar panels at the South Terminus of the MAX green and yellow light-rail lines near Portland State University in late February. The system, installed by REC Solar, is the agency's first large-scale photovoltaic installation. In addition to generating more than 64,000 kilowatt-hours of solar energy each year and helping shield TriMet from rising utility rates, the graceful, curvilinear design of the installation has been hailed as public art by some local transit observers

 Advanced Transportation Energy Systems Chart Cleaner Future with Solar Panels from SolarWorld - MarketWatch) 

This could easily happen at TriMet

I wonder if this has happened at TriMet before, but we've just never heard of it? I wouldn't put it past TriMet to cover up something like this.

"Despite photographic evidence, showing mould growing all over the back seats, management has shown little interest in cleaning the seats which not only smell awful but are a health hazard to drivers and passengers,'' a spokesman for the bus driver's union the RTBU said.
Read more 

We're Customers, NOT Crimminals

http://rantingsofatrimetbusdriver.blogspot.com/2012/02/we-are-customers-not-criminals.html