The LaMetroMole with LACMTA Comments

How about eliminating the unnecessary loopy 232 Line route around Mariposa Station on this contracted to MV Transportation and establish a south bound 232 Line stop at Plaza El Segundo.  Think of it as a rare, “service to your ridership” about which you can brag to the Federal Transit Administration.






Then too, you could join the rest of us in the thirty-second (32^nd) year of the personal computer age and solicit comments and other input about proposed line cancellations (do you ever do anything else?) via the Internet.  This would be in place of the ill-advised, ill-conceived, ill-timed, poorly planned, ill-executed and totally biased in favour of LACMTA management’s proposal; you know, as if a publically traded company held its annual shareholders’ meeting on Christmas Eve in Tahiti.

Rapid service, which is an oxymoron, to those of us bypassed and left standing at the “regular” bus stop when no “regular” service is planned for hours or, facing a half mile walk to a stop serviced by a Rapid Line.   The 704 Line is a good example of POOR service. Initially, the 704 promised service on Santa Monica Blvd, at say, Sepulveda, every fifteen (15) minutes or so.  When su Topo pointed out repeatedly that the LACMTA was not living up to that “promise”, the LACMTA took action; they remove the promise from the information signs at the bus stop.  After that service change, it became progressively worse.  The last time I waited for a 7-4 Line bus I was forced to spend an hour, without benefit of a bus bench, as I watched sever Rapid 704s terminate at Sepulveda Blvd.  So, finally, my wish: (1) that Rapid Service to Santa Monica Blvd. be supplemented (twice hourly) with local service; or (2) that free transfers be given to passengers on all service to Sepulveda and Santa Monica Blvds so that they can continue on board Big Blue Bus; or (3) mutual pass acceptance be negotiated with Big Blue Bus and all other Muni services.


This list could go on and on and will do so in 2012.



That said, note the fact that hers is an appointed position; she would certainly run into political barriers to a full and detailed investigation, don’t you think? 

This is the juncture where la Taupe asks Ms Watanabe to contact Ms Zavala and determine if SOCAL Connected has another year or so to devote to the LACMTA.  This Mole would be all eyes and ears if and when KCET rolls the tape.


Madame de STAËL (1766-04-22~1817-07-14) De l'Allemagne, chap. 13
















Su Topo could not parse the following quote: "You put in a new rail line, if at the same time you're taking out some bus routes, people might have to walk further," said Daniel Levy, director of Metro's division of civil rights programs compliance”, as an apology or simply a statement of fact which might be stated as “they’ll figure it out”. 


Please note that your Mole is not aware of ANY bus lines which are planned to connect with Expo Line stations.  Any rational organization would have had such lines up and running in advance of the Expo Line opening in 2015, sorry, just joking.


The Times reported (Bloomekatz) how the LACMTA will respond to the Federal Transit Administration charges of civil rights violations. 


A technical magazine which I read, described (Albright) some of the benefits which accrue to those who leverage their on-board GPS.  After reading what they accomplished I find myself sure that the LACMTA is not making full use of the on-board bus GPS.


The article points out that GPS is an excellent tool with which one can monitor driver behavior and reduce accidents.  As a result insurance cost can be reduces and in the case of the LACMTA perhaps even fares could be lowered.

¿Musica?

How about something beautiful from the French pianist Hélène Grimaud?
http://grooveshark.com/s/Beethoven+Piano+Concerto+No+4+In+G+Major+Op+58+3+Rondo+Vivace/3gtjcd?src=5



The New Yorker has an excellent piece on Ms Grimaud here, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/07/111107fa_fact_max


Please accept the SOCAL Connected report (vide supra) as the “Ear” and “eye” contribution for this month.

Cosmology

Here is a nice simple discussion of time travel and related ideas.
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/11/the_science_of_warp/

Also covered is the second law of thermodynamics, which says that the total entropy of the universe increases as time increases. Entropy is, essentially, the amount of confusion — mixing — in the universe.

The London newspaper The Telegraph covers the use of the Large Hadron Collider as a tool with which to find the “Higgs Boson”, the particle which imparts mass to objects. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/large-hadron-collider/8947263/Higgs-boson-scientists-reveal-first-tantalising-glimpses-of-God-Particle.html


Harpers Magazine allows us to think about multiple universes.
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/12/0083720


In an inset, we are given a nice, simple, easy to understand video, by Professor Michio Kaku of City College of New York and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and other experts discuss multiverses.  Thank you to the History Channel for this excellent program.
http://mwvastronomy.net/2011/09/the-universe-multiverse-parallel-universes/


(All times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)

2011-12-19 @ 11:00: A 232 Line driver change is made at Plaza El Segundo but the oncoming driver leaves the dispatch radio set on high volume.

Lots of out-of-town travel and rides with friends this month so, that’s all folks.


I.D. Numbers of buses with Outs of Order Fare Boxes: 8431;

Note: No or few entries above do not necessarily mean all fare boxes are in operation. 

I.D.Numbers of Distracted Drivers: xxxxx (iii),;

None included here, but observations of a minor nature may be included in the main posting;

Codes: (i) Extended conversation(s) with passenger(s) or (ii) cell phone call(s).  Frequently, details can be found in the text above, (ii*) cell phone call(s) which are aggravated by some other action, (iii) Self-distracted.  Codes (ii*) and (iii)  will ALWAYS be explained in the posting.

I.D. Numbers of Buses Defaced by WhoIs stickers: 5211, only partly visible yet identifible; this also serves as proof that NO LACMTA project, however small, is ever really completed;

~UR or +UR = (+UR) whois sticker and the ugly residue left after passengers partly remove the sticker. (~UR) = Only the ugly residue left after passengers almost completely remove the sticker. +L = an old (legacy) sticker black letters on a plain white background –these are the original form of defacement.

* Another reason for displaying the operator's ID on the internal display and the headsign.

ID numbers of Buses whose Head and Tailsigns disagree: xxxx      ;

Format is Bus number followed by Headsign number/Tailsign number.

ID numbers of Buses without Braille signs: XXXX;




The format is Driver number F[{Y/-n/+n} C[{Y/N+/-}].  Meaning of F if Y the driver stopped with the Bus stop “flag pole” somewhere between the bus front door frames.  A negative number, e.g., -3 is the approximate distance in metres (think yards dear readers) between the nearest bus door vertical frame member and the flag pole signifying that the bus stopped short of the flag.   A positive number, e.g., +3 (metres) is the approximate distance between the nearest bus door vertical frame member and the flag pole signifying that the bus stopped past the flag.    The value for C[{Y/N}], “Y” tells us that the driver stopped within an easy step from the curb to the bus, “N” means it was NOT an easy step from the curb to the bus.   It is this Mole's belief that an average experienced good driver should be able to control his bus so as to position in near the curb and with the flag pole slightly to the front of the bus.  

23320 F[Y] C[+1.5]; 74831 F[-3], C[Y]; xxxxx F[+], C[]; xxxxx F[+], C[];  N.B. distances are in metres, think yards.

nnnnn* = Contract Driver

I.D. numbers of drivers who are almost guaranteed to give you a Rough and Jerky (R & J) ride.  xxxxx;

I.D. numbers of drivers who will give you a potentially life-threatening ride.  XXXXX(-); XXXXX(-);

Codes: S = not wearing seat belts; J = bad judgment (unsafe driving practices).



La Taupe's Abréviations

ADADO = Automatic Destination Announcement (on) Door Opening. This feature is installed on many buses and operates on extremely few.  Another “money down the toilet” LACMTA investment.  La Taupe that this is intended for the visually impaired because people who can see can read the “head signs”.

ASAS = Automatic Stop Announcement System the GPS (Global Positioning System) driven mechanism for generating audio for the upcoming stops. N.B. Because of the low power (read weak) processors used in the on-board stops may be too close to identify stops separately.  This is known as a granularity problem.  Then too, if the driver operates the bus at speed above the speed limit you will find the system “back announcing” stops which you have already passed.  I find that this will NOT keep some drivers from complaining “that you didn’t signal (ring) in time.  They don’t understand their relationship to the system and how, by driving faster than the GPS computer, they can bias it.

BBB = Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus

CC or CCMBL = Culver City (Municipal) Bus (Lines)

CCTC = Culver City Transportation Center this is the place formerly known as FHMTC = the Fox Hills Mall Transportation Center (Sepulveda & Slauson)

FFE = Full Fare Equivalent (presently $1.50)

GMBL = Gardena Municipal Bus lines

LAXCBC = the LAX City Bus Center.

OCTA = Orange County Transportation Authority.

Rapid Transit = does not compete for right of way, that is, it will not run at grade unless it has EXCLUSIVE DEDICATED USE of the right of way).

R & J = Rough and Jerky [ride].

TT = Torrance Transit.

T1 = the normal type of driver/staff.

T2 = is the non-stop talker type of driver/staff, on the phone or to passengers,

T3 = the uncommunicative type of driver/staff, sometimes surly.

WLATC = the West Los Angeles Transportation Center (Fairfax & Apple)

Su Topo’s Disclaimer and apologia

Your Mole always attempts to write an easy-on-the-eyes page using text input.  Blogger.com however, has other ideas and will often not stay with a single font type or point size, produces extraneous spacing and etc.  I wish I had time to debug the HTML which they produce, it is NOT the straight text which I pasted into the form, but I don’t.  Therefore, I apologize on behalf of Blogger.com for the changes which they make, of which I do not approve.  Sometimes, what I see, thankfully you don’t, is 24 point type –it is giant and other times they swallow my text, although it still seems to be there.  In fairness to them, things seem better, although this is partly because I do understand which of their “features” do the most damage to me and consequently do not use them.  Communicating these problems to them, for me, is something like having teeth extracted without the benefit of anesthetic, actually it is less fun than that.  By their design, there is no simple e-mailing them with "Please look at my say, posting of 2009-06-28, it is weird!” I am hoping that one of their developers will someday read this, copy my code and improve their text to HTML engine.  Until then, lo siento.

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This  is to certify that I, the blogger who is known as the LAmetroMole, with respect to this blog, except as described below, am not now nor at any time during the past year have been, nor it my current intention to ever be:

1) A participant, directly or indirectly, in any arrangement, agreement, investment, or other activity with any vendor, supplier, or other party doing business with any of the entities about which I have written, which has resulted or could result in personal benefit to me.

2) A recipient, directly or indirectly, of any salary payments or loans or gifts of any kind or any free service or discounts or other fees from or on behalf of any person or organization engaged in any transaction with any of the entities about which I have written. 

Any exceptions to 1 or 2 above are stated below with a full description of the transactions and of the interest, whether direct or indirect, which I have (or have had during the past year) in the persons or organizations having transactions with any of the entities about which I have written.

There are no exceptions.

Date: 2009-06-24                  S/LametroMole                  



Albright, Brian. “Improve Fleet Safety And Security With GPS”. Field Technologies. Nov. 2011:14.  Print.


Bloomekatz, Ari. “Technical problems delay Expo Line's debut”. Los Angeles Times. Dec. 25, 2011.  Web. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-expo-problems-20111225,0,758848.story














Stevens, Matt. “Girls find way to share school’s extra food”. Los Angeles Times. Dec. 27, 2011:AA1.  Print.

Weikel, Dan and Vartabedian, Ralph. “High-speed rail’s backup plan criticized”. Los Angeles Times. Dec. 27, 2011:AA1.  Print.




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