2015-05-31
Vae Viator^63 2015-05-31
Vae Viator63
America’s Worst♪
When politicians involve themselves in technical matters, expect failures.
La Taupe had high hopes for the new LACMTA CEO, one hope was that he would force the LACMTA to build Rapid Transit rail instead of the Toonerville Trolly street cars which is being foisted upon Los Angeles.
My diminished hope comes as a result of knowing that the Denver International Airport link is of the mass, NOT rapid type; meaning that it includes grade level crossings.
******************************************************
The photograph below documents the situation at the Maxella AV and Lincoln BL stop on the BBB number 3 Line. It is the sort of “work” one would expect from the LACMTA. They taped or caused to be taped shut the aperture in the plastic pipes associated with power poles. These pipes continue to be used as improvised trash cans. BBB N.B. The stop still needs a trash can!
BBB Maxella Trash Fix???♪
Su Topo will include this comment in every post with the above until BBB corrects the problem. For quite awhile BBB has been charging for intraline transfers, reversing the long standing policy of free transfers to other BBB lines.
Too, BBB has spent lots of money to build a big headquarters on Colorado BL just east of 4th Street. Mr. King, just a few dollars for a trash can, you might need a few more to cover other bus stops too, will erase this section. After all, it is Marina Del Rey! :-)
Why a trash container is needed♪
The photo above shows exactly what people will do when a trash container is not provided. They will jury rig something. What they did in this case is rip off the tape which covered the plastic pipes at the base of the utility pole and stuffed their trash into the pipe, nice, huh?
Edward F. King, Director of Transit Services
City of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus
City of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus
(Photo: www.bigbluebus.com)
The man pictured above could ensure that trash containers are installed along BBB routes with a simple three-line memorandum.
White Line Incursion Series
Su Topo uses video to highlight the problem of scofflaw drivers endangering Metro bus passengers yet, no authority seems to want to take ownership of the problem. The issue is not unique to the particular site which this Mole documents, but is illustrative of a general problem. Your Mole encourages you to report similar problems to the appropriate agencies in your area(s) and hope that you will have better luck than he. In the youtube.com videos linked below one can see exactly what happens when the policing agencies fail to enforce traffic laws and that they document the important fact that a never-ending stream of vehicles fail to use the lane as required by law.
Neither are the policing agencies active when it comes to protecting us by bringing these obvious and frequent traffic law violations to an immediate halt. The LACMTA is derelict as well, in that they fail to use the near hourly proof of the violations captured by the on board cameras, mentioned here, and discussed at length in the posting of 2012-05-31.
In the following video(s) we see further instances of scofflaw drivers, a black SUV sandwiched in between two shuttle vans, cutting in front of Metro a 111/311 bus.
Please see the video of three vehicles which cross the solid white line and cut off a Line 111/311 bus.
Please carefully note that, in some videos, pedestrians are pinned to the curb by the vehicles that cut in front of the bus —as a result these pedestrians are illegally denied the right-of-way. Which right-of-way would be unchallengeablely theirs IF, and only IF, Mr. Washington would review su Topo’s simple solution (vide infra) and implement it .
In spite of the potential for these violations to occur several times per HOUR, I have never seen a police presence at this location. One would think that with a bus schedule taped to the dashboard one of the several policing agencies would have made some arrests by now. Unless they have "more important" work, than protecting bus passengers, to do.
La Taupe feels that it is appropriate to dedicate these video(s) to ALL the agencies that should be protecting us. So, they are dedicated to (1): Airport (LAWA) Police, the L.A.P.D., the L. A. County Sheriff’s Department and Mr. Washington who is CEO of the LACMTA.
Su Topo has recommended a simple solution to the problem. That is, have the 111 Line buses pull up to pedestrian crosswalk then stop and discharge passengers. Doing so eliminates the space in front of the bus which the always-in-a-hurry scofflaws use to cut in front of the bus. But, with the LACMTA nothing is simple. Although the solution could be implemented with nothing more than a memo to the 111/311 Line drivers, it is a task for which the LACMTA so far has proved to be inadequate.
OVERMATCHED (for a while anyway)
The Mole reads the papers and other things, obviating the necessity of your doing so.
The Los Angeles Times photographically covers (Mosler) another Blue Line accident. I saw it in the print edition (vide supra, "Works Cited") but again the Los Angeles Times search anchor, I mean engine, failed to deliver. Those who are interested can find the Times' picture in the cited issue at their local library.
Undeterred, I searched the Internet and found that the Press Telegram covered (Yee) the story in more detail. Six passengers were injured in an accident involving a Blue Line train and an automobile. You can read Mr. Yee's coverage by following the link in "Works Cited". The piece also has a photograph.
This was just another accident involving America's most dangerous light rail line; just way too many at grade crossings! Unfortunately, there will be more. Until the LACMTA elevates safety to the top of their list of priorities and ceases to have a "build it in the cheapest manner" there will be more accidents like this.
The Times reports (Nelson) the cabinet secretary for Ttransportation's reading of the situation here in Los Angeles. He has a political job and speaks as a politician [Please see Mole's Law: which is the first sentence in this post]. Here is a very perceptive quote, a question which, although unidentified, I believe it was posed by the reporterq: "Los Angeles officials are on the verge of asking for another half-cent sales tax increase that could bring in more than $100 billion for more transportation projects. What should this region be focusing on?[sic]"
In response to another Times question about accidents at-grade level crossings, the secretary replied: "Look, I’m all for more grade separations. But that requires an investment, ...". What la Taupe hears is that saving lives is simply not a priority while building on-the-cheap is numero uno!
In the rare event that a reader is unaware of su Topo's position on giving the LACMTA carte blanche to collect and spend taxpayer monies, it is an emphatic NO! Your Mole is unwavering in his opposition to any further "Hoovering" of the public transportation users' hard-earned dollars by the LACMTA or anyone else! In short, please vote against any proposition/measure designed to create an LACMTA revenue stream of tax-payer money.
Fifty-three million dollars for the LACMTA's bus operation facility but, not a dime for public restrooms at stations, nor at bus centers and etc. This fact alone deserves a "breach of fiduciary" or the proper action to bring relief, as a response. If the people who are so eager to slip their hands into the publics wallets and handbags, they should "ride the system" and experience what ordinary people do; and be subjected to the privations which result from their penny-pinching approach to Los Angeles' transportation needs.
qThe web edition linked in "Works Cited" verified that the question was identified with a prefix of "Times:".
Undeterred, I searched the Internet and found that the Press Telegram covered (Yee) the story in more detail. Six passengers were injured in an accident involving a Blue Line train and an automobile. You can read Mr. Yee's coverage by following the link in "Works Cited". The piece also has a photograph.
This was just another accident involving America's most dangerous light rail line; just way too many at grade crossings! Unfortunately, there will be more. Until the LACMTA elevates safety to the top of their list of priorities and ceases to have a "build it in the cheapest manner" there will be more accidents like this.
The Times reports (Nelson) the cabinet secretary for Ttransportation's reading of the situation here in Los Angeles. He has a political job and speaks as a politician [Please see Mole's Law: which is the first sentence in this post]. Here is a very perceptive quote, a question which, although unidentified, I believe it was posed by the reporterq: "Los Angeles officials are on the verge of asking for another half-cent sales tax increase that could bring in more than $100 billion for more transportation projects. What should this region be focusing on?[sic]"
In response to another Times question about accidents at-grade level crossings, the secretary replied: "Look, I’m all for more grade separations. But that requires an investment, ...". What la Taupe hears is that saving lives is simply not a priority while building on-the-cheap is numero uno!
In the rare event that a reader is unaware of su Topo's position on giving the LACMTA carte blanche to collect and spend taxpayer monies, it is an emphatic NO! Your Mole is unwavering in his opposition to any further "Hoovering" of the public transportation users' hard-earned dollars by the LACMTA or anyone else! In short, please vote against any proposition/measure designed to create an LACMTA revenue stream of tax-payer money.
Fifty-three million dollars for the LACMTA's bus operation facility but, not a dime for public restrooms at stations, nor at bus centers and etc. This fact alone deserves a "breach of fiduciary" or the proper action to bring relief, as a response. If the people who are so eager to slip their hands into the publics wallets and handbags, they should "ride the system" and experience what ordinary people do; and be subjected to the privations which result from their penny-pinching approach to Los Angeles' transportation needs.
qThe web edition linked in "Works Cited" verified that the question was identified with a prefix of "Times:".
The BBC's "More or Less" (More) broadcast covers numbers and is available as both print and audio. I found interesting their description of the year 2038 problem.
The idea of epoch dating is, from my standpoint, pretty much limited to Unix and to an unknown extent Linux systems. They count seconds since the beginning of the Unix era, viz., GMT[UCT] 00:00:00, Thursday, January 1, 1970. That value, unless changed by the supplier of the operating system is internally stored as a 32 bit [binary digit], binary value. The largest decimal value which is storable in binary in a 32 bit integer, expressible in decimal is 2,147,483,647. The largest decimal value which is stored in binary in a 64 bit integer, expressible in decimal is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807.
Are we having fun yet?
The problem, unlike the Y2K problem involved people taking the "system date" from a large number of systems —a systems date which was pretty much unchangeable! so the applications had to be changed to sense bad date and rework them —a process called remediation. Lots and lots of hard work was accomplished by dedicated IT employees, which work resulted in a manageable number of problems, unseen by the public when the calendar turned to the year 2000.
The remediation of the year 2038 problem is a much less arduous. At the limit of counting the Unix era as a 32 bit binary value, the problem space is localized to the operating system space. Use a 64 bit integer to store the value, change a limited number of subroutines, possible some predefined functions and you are done. The difference that the users will see is that, when calling a date function, he will see proper dates passed back him and they will continue to be 8 numeric digits or patterns like, 20390101.
As far as replacing Unix operating systems is concerned, newer Unix and Linux systems have much more functionality than the older ones so, doing the same with more should be a manageable problem AND we have twenty-three years in which to implement the solution. Many of the older systems need to be replaced anyway so a planned replacement program can be put into effect well ahead of the deadline.
A much more detailed problem description, along with background and fixes is available here.
The Market Place Morning Report (Marketplace) on 2015-05-22 was especially interesting to your Mole. Just a little over six minutes in length, at 2:12 one can find information on the "Leap Second", an adjustment to our clocks which will synchronise them with the earth's rotation. The adjustment will be made on June 30, at 23:59:60 UTC. The change has its own set of problems, as you hear in this concise overview.
The report can be heard here. Please click on the play "delta" after loading has begun. While playing, you may reposition the play point by left-clicking and using the mouse to pull the current point to 2:12 or anywhere else. OR, simply listen to all 6+ minutes if you have the time.
If you want to find out how it ended up as UTC then click here.
An L.A. Times piece (Nelson2) informs us that "[M]ore than two-thirds of Los Angeles County residents would support raising the county sales tax by a half-cent to bring in about $120 billion for rail and highway projects, according to a new poll paid for by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority." Well, it is difficult for me after being critical of so many things, large and small, to believe that people can't wait to give their money to the LACMTA. I have long believed that the LACMTA should be divided into two independent organizations; those tasked with public (hopefully rapid) transportation and those who are focused on roads and highways. Our freeways may be first class, although, "free" can definitely be applied to many aspects of freeway travel which now come with a price tag attached OR preferential treatment if you own a certain type of vehicle.
Your Mole thinks that a poll with more specificity would yield better results. For example, asking respondents: "Would you support a sales tax increase that brings in more than $100 billion for more transportation projects spent 70% on highways and 30% on rail. Even with these two hypothetical values reversed I would want to know it they plan to build the rail at or mostly at-grade or RAPID transit. I've read of past LACMTA surveys that showed the bus/rail users were almost giddy with happiness [my take] with the work of the LACMTA. That doesn't square with the many complaints and mutual commiseration which is a usual part of most Metro trips.
"People who identified themselves as likely voters were asked ..." about their willingness to support a tax increase. Unfortunately, this approach eliminates the opinions for many transit users whose only "vote" is the fares which they must pay. Those are the people who were happy to hear that they would be given a free transfer, only to find that it was a promise layered with onerous requirements. Like many aspects of life in America in 2015, it is the non-users of a system that dictate the flow and structure of our lives.
Another Times piece (Nelson3) covers a court settlement that paid a man who had his foot amputated after being struck by a Gold Line train in 2009. It is obvious that the LACMTA wouldn't have paid $4.25 million dollars unless the plaintiff's legal points
Quotable: "The settlement agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing. ".
Oh, it seems to be a refaire of the failed debit card of the past. I can't be clear about this since the program doesn't start until June and the link was "sparse" on detail. I would NEVER use it and would caution you with an oft heard phrase, "Pioneers are the ones who get arrows in the back!"
You can see that the LACMTA performed their usual due diligence by the fact that the example pictured above expires more than a six months before the program is scheduled to start; you get the idea, right? Two cheers for the LACMTA!
« Je vais être jaloux de cette tour. Elle est plus célèbre que moi. »
The idea of epoch dating is, from my standpoint, pretty much limited to Unix and to an unknown extent Linux systems. They count seconds since the beginning of the Unix era, viz., GMT[UCT] 00:00:00, Thursday, January 1, 1970. That value, unless changed by the supplier of the operating system is internally stored as a 32 bit [binary digit], binary value. The largest decimal value which is storable in binary in a 32 bit integer, expressible in decimal is 2,147,483,647. The largest decimal value which is stored in binary in a 64 bit integer, expressible in decimal is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807.
Are we having fun yet?
The problem, unlike the Y2K problem involved people taking the "system date" from a large number of systems —a systems date which was pretty much unchangeable! so the applications had to be changed to sense bad date and rework them —a process called remediation. Lots and lots of hard work was accomplished by dedicated IT employees, which work resulted in a manageable number of problems, unseen by the public when the calendar turned to the year 2000.
The remediation of the year 2038 problem is a much less arduous. At the limit of counting the Unix era as a 32 bit binary value, the problem space is localized to the operating system space. Use a 64 bit integer to store the value, change a limited number of subroutines, possible some predefined functions and you are done. The difference that the users will see is that, when calling a date function, he will see proper dates passed back him and they will continue to be 8 numeric digits or patterns like, 20390101.
As far as replacing Unix operating systems is concerned, newer Unix and Linux systems have much more functionality than the older ones so, doing the same with more should be a manageable problem AND we have twenty-three years in which to implement the solution. Many of the older systems need to be replaced anyway so a planned replacement program can be put into effect well ahead of the deadline.
A much more detailed problem description, along with background and fixes is available here.
The Market Place Morning Report (Marketplace) on 2015-05-22 was especially interesting to your Mole. Just a little over six minutes in length, at 2:12 one can find information on the "Leap Second", an adjustment to our clocks which will synchronise them with the earth's rotation. The adjustment will be made on June 30, at 23:59:60 UTC. The change has its own set of problems, as you hear in this concise overview.
The report can be heard here. Please click on the play "delta" after loading has begun. While playing, you may reposition the play point by left-clicking and using the mouse to pull the current point to 2:12 or anywhere else. OR, simply listen to all 6+ minutes if you have the time.
If you want to find out how it ended up as UTC then click here.
An L.A. Times piece (Nelson2) informs us that "[M]ore than two-thirds of Los Angeles County residents would support raising the county sales tax by a half-cent to bring in about $120 billion for rail and highway projects, according to a new poll paid for by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority." Well, it is difficult for me after being critical of so many things, large and small, to believe that people can't wait to give their money to the LACMTA. I have long believed that the LACMTA should be divided into two independent organizations; those tasked with public (hopefully rapid) transportation and those who are focused on roads and highways. Our freeways may be first class, although, "free" can definitely be applied to many aspects of freeway travel which now come with a price tag attached OR preferential treatment if you own a certain type of vehicle.
Your Mole thinks that a poll with more specificity would yield better results. For example, asking respondents: "Would you support a sales tax increase that brings in more than $100 billion for more transportation projects spent 70% on highways and 30% on rail. Even with these two hypothetical values reversed I would want to know it they plan to build the rail at or mostly at-grade or RAPID transit. I've read of past LACMTA surveys that showed the bus/rail users were almost giddy with happiness [my take] with the work of the LACMTA. That doesn't square with the many complaints and mutual commiseration which is a usual part of most Metro trips.
"People who identified themselves as likely voters were asked ..." about their willingness to support a tax increase. Unfortunately, this approach eliminates the opinions for many transit users whose only "vote" is the fares which they must pay. Those are the people who were happy to hear that they would be given a free transfer, only to find that it was a promise layered with onerous requirements. Like many aspects of life in America in 2015, it is the non-users of a system that dictate the flow and structure of our lives.
Another Times piece (Nelson3) covers a court settlement that paid a man who had his foot amputated after being struck by a Gold Line train in 2009. It is obvious that the LACMTA wouldn't have paid $4.25 million dollars unless the plaintiff's legal points
Quotable: "The settlement agreement does not include any admission of wrongdoing. ".
"Dew" dilligence♪
The LACMTA published a glossy, expensive advertising card (Reload). This one is touting another "easy pay" plan. Su Topo says: "If you love the way the LACMTA provides your transportation, then you'll be delirious over this scheme, er, plan.
Oh, it seems to be a refaire of the failed debit card of the past. I can't be clear about this since the program doesn't start until June and the link was "sparse" on detail. I would NEVER use it and would caution you with an oft heard phrase, "Pioneers are the ones who get arrows in the back!"
You can see that the LACMTA performed their usual due diligence by the fact that the example pictured above expires more than a six months before the program is scheduled to start; you get the idea, right? Two cheers for the LACMTA!
« Je vais être jaloux de cette tour. Elle est plus célèbre que moi. »
Gustave Eiffel (1830-12-15~1923-12-09)
[I'm jealous of this tower. It is more famous than me.]
Ars longa vita breva
Let's honour Edgar Degas (1834-07-19~1917-09-27) for his excellent work!
See much more of Degas’s work here.
¿Musica?
Su Topo is feeling the need for some extra music since the demise of grooveshark.com :-(
Let's listen to Edith Piaff sing "Hymne a l'amour".
Encore? How about the same song by Mireille Mathieu?
Su Topo is feeling the need for some extra music since the demise of grooveshark.com :-(
Let's listen to Edith Piaff sing "Hymne a l'amour".
Encore? How about the same song by Mireille Mathieu?
Then, here is Pokey Lafarge with "Lovesick Blues".
Finally, here is Hank Williams with his version!
Fortunately we still have youtube.com! Thank you youtube.com!!
Finally, here is Hank Williams with his version!
Fortunately we still have youtube.com! Thank you youtube.com!!
The Mole rides again, so you don’t have to wonder if you and your property are secure at the LAXCBC.
(All dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
Wait, Wait then repeat♪
Wait, Wait then repeat♪
2015-05-06 @08:15: Pictured aboove is the third of four buses which la Taupe watched as they passed him by, they didn't go to Santa Monica, my destination. The LACMTA seems to have rectified another judgmental error, viz., TransiTV will no longer be one of the noisy disruptions that are part of public transportation. Now if only we could get them, (especially on lines contracted by MV Transportation , to turn down the ASA and dispatch radios.
Asleep at 05:34♪
2015-05-12: Every day the LAXCBC one can find proof that there is NO provision for regularly providing security at the site. The sleeper above could attest to that, if someone would wake him!
2015-05-12 Aboard a southbound 232 Line bus: The driver is pleasant, but new and he misses the eastward turn on Mariposa. Someone who knows the area better than I puts him back on track.
2015-05-25 @ 09:45: Your Mole waits for a bus on Seplulveda in front of Plaza El Segundo. He notices and documents the fact that the LACMTA ridership has the right instincts. It is just that the LACMTA cares noting about them and provides neither a bench that would give their legs a rest during the often long waits, nor a trash can. The riders here try to organise on on top of a lighting fixture. The grafiti likely originated with others.
2015-05-26 @ 08:47: As I wait at LAX, a CCMBL bus arrives and displays "New Schedules" and their date of availability on its headsign. I can only show the date, June first, above.
Illegal entry to LAXCBC♪
2015-05-26 @ 15:47: Another car, the black SUV, illegally enters the LAXCBC and stops to wait for someone or to try to figure out where they are. The LACMTA could end this practice by better no entry signs you can see the single poor, ineffective one that has been up for years just behind the light standard,just behind the black SUV (Please click the photograph for an enlargement).
2015-05-12 Aboard a southbound 232 Line bus: The driver is pleasant, but new and he misses the eastward turn on Mariposa. Someone who knows the area better than I puts him back on track.
We try to be neat♪
2015-05-25 @ 09:45: Your Mole waits for a bus on Seplulveda in front of Plaza El Segundo. He notices and documents the fact that the LACMTA ridership has the right instincts. It is just that the LACMTA cares noting about them and provides neither a bench that would give their legs a rest during the often long waits, nor a trash can. The riders here try to organise on on top of a lighting fixture. The grafiti likely originated with others.
CCMBL New Schedules♪
2015-05-26 @ 08:47: As I wait at LAX, a CCMBL bus arrives and displays "New Schedules" and their date of availability on its headsign. I can only show the date, June first, above.
Illegal entry to LAXCBC♪
2015-05-26 @ 15:47: Another car, the black SUV, illegally enters the LAXCBC and stops to wait for someone or to try to figure out where they are. The LACMTA could end this practice by better no entry signs you can see the single poor, ineffective one that has been up for years just behind the light standard,just behind the black SUV (Please click the photograph for an enlargement).
Ear (and Eye) to the Rail
Transit as unseen and unimagined by the LACMTA
The LACMTA (Subordinate to LAWA)
Presents
Every Which Way But Right!
OR
Four Seats to LAX!
OR
The LACMTA Tries Again; Asymptotically to LAX!
OR
The World’s Most Inconvenient Way in Which to Travel From City Center to an Airport!
The purpose of this section is to make people aware that the LACMTA is not home to many problem solvers. I hope to accomplish this end by presenting the solutions adopted by other cities, some in foreign countries, in solving the city to airport rapid mass transportation challenge.
Cautionary Note: Those employed by the LACMTA or LAWA should NOT view the following video(s). The speed of the train(s), the fact that they neither share the right of way nor stop at stop lights, because they are truly rapid transit, will likely make you dizzy, nauseous, confuse and frighten you.
Here is a nice trip with several transfers —transfers are a fact of life in the big city— between Newark Airport [Newark Liberty International Airport] and Philadelphia International Airport. With a population of 5,474,000 Philadelphia is slightly more than one-third the size of Los Angeles, yet they have transportation directly to their airport. Newark has less than 300,000 population.
Let's take the ride! Please close your eyes tightly, Ms L!
Thank you to the uploader of this video, Railfan Video Net!
Again, thank you to our host, www.youtube.com
Cosmology
Scientific American will teach us that light can be slowed down. They'll do it in only one minute and provide both an audio and the text transcribed from the audio here.
Please read more about the super void at the telegraph.co.uk site. You'll encounter some related and seeming unrelated links along the way in this piece. I recommend NOT clicking on anything and then rescan the article and skip links that seem unrelated. The diagrams and explanations age very good
The Hubblesite.org gave us this wonderful annotated photo of our neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, with its halo and shows us some distance scales. I embedded it and hope that clicking on it will enlarge it. Please use this link and read the story there, then click on "Release Images", click on "Hubble Probes the Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy. At that point you will be able to select an image size which is appropriate for you.
Fare Box Score Box and related Lists of Shame
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: 7907 (40 Line, 2015-05-27);
Note: No or few entries above do not necessarily mean all fare boxes are in operation.
I.D.Numbers of Distracted Drivers: xxxxx (i);
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: xxxx;
~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 the 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: Not noted xxxx/xxxx;
Format is Bus number followed by Headsign number/Tailsign number.
ID numbers of Buses without Braille signs: xxxx;
METRO drivers Lack of Basic Technical Skills Report
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.
xxxxx F[] C[];
I.D. numbers of drivers who are unable or unwilling to position their buses parallel to the curb, a short step from the curb and/or equidistant from the vehicles exits.
XXXXX F[+10] C[Y]; F[+7], C[Y]; xxxxx F[Y], C[Y]; xxxxxF[Y], C[Y]; N.B. distances are in metres, think yards.
13 metres is this is MORE than a bus length. 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(J)date; XXXX-XX-XX(-);
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.
BART = Bay Area Rapid Transit – Please note the use of the word “Rapid” because it is a word we almost never hear in Los Angeles.
BBB = Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus
CHSRA = California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is the equivalent, in more ways than one, of the LACMTA.
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 $1.75)
GMBL = Gardena Municipal Bus lines
ITC = Inglewood Transit Center
LAWA = Los Angeles World Airports.
LAXCBC = the LAX City Bus Center.
OCTA = Orange County Transportation Authority.
OOS = Out Of Service.
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].
T= 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 have been submitting feedback and experiences slow but positive progress. Until all issues are resolved, lo siento. [Addendum 2014-07-31]: Things have been much better lately. There is a more responsive feedback system now. If things keep this way, I may have to delete this "Disclaimer and apologia" section in the near future. Almost immediately after writing the preceding, the system "returned an error" on a save.
Your Mole’s Copyright Statement
All photographs and original written materials are copyrighted © 2007~2013 by LAmetroMole. ♪Clicking a photo will often* present you with an enlargement (sometimes successive clicks will further enlarge the photo). *This feature is dependent upon the Internet browser which you use and possibly other factors.
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains or provides links to copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, sustainable development, environmental, community and worker health, public disclosure, corporate accountability, and etc. We have often included relatively brief quotes from articles and etc., sometimes in addition to a simple link, because we have found that links frequently go "bad" or change over time. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without fee or payment of any kind to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes and to those who access the site via any and all other channels. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Music or other recorded material on this site, or referred to by this site are copyrighted by their respective artists and are made available here for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists you like by buying their commercial CDs, MP3s and downloads.
Your Mole’s Conflict of Interest Statement
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 is 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
Works Cited
Marketplace. (2015, May 22). Disappearing Grocery Stores. Podcast retrieved from: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/mid-day-update/podcast-disappearing-grocery-stores
"More or Less". "The number glitch that can lead to catastrophe". bbc.co.uk. May 5, 2015. Web. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150505-the-numbers-that-lead-to-disaster
"More or Less". "The number glitch that can lead to catastrophe". bbc.co.uk. May 5, 2015. Web. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150505-the-numbers-that-lead-to-disaster
Mosler, Mark. “Crash Injures Metro Passengers”. Los Angeles Times. May 9, 2015:B5 Print. [PHOTO]
Nelson, Laura J. “Transportation secretary assesses transit in L.A.”. Los Angeles Times. May 18, 2015:B3 Print. (Web: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-transportation-secretary-20150514-story.html#page=1)
Nelson2, Laura J. "Metro poll suggests strong support for 2016 transportation tax hike". Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2015: Web: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-poll-transportation-ballot-measure-20150507-story.html
Nelson3, Laura J. "Metro to pay $4.25 million to man struck by Gold Line train". Los Angeles Times. May 18, 2015. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-pedestrian-settlement-20150518-story.html
Yee, Greg. "Blue Line resumes normal service after accident in downtown Long Beach". Press-Telegram. May 8, 2015. Web. http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20150508/blue-line-resumes-normal-service-after-accident-in-downtown-long-beach
Nelson, Laura J. “Transportation secretary assesses transit in L.A.”. Los Angeles Times. May 18, 2015:B3 Print. (Web: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-transportation-secretary-20150514-story.html#page=1)
Nelson2, Laura J. "Metro poll suggests strong support for 2016 transportation tax hike". Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2015: Web: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-poll-transportation-ballot-measure-20150507-story.html
Nelson3, Laura J. "Metro to pay $4.25 million to man struck by Gold Line train". Los Angeles Times. May 18, 2015. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-pedestrian-settlement-20150518-story.html
Yee, Greg. "Blue Line resumes normal service after accident in downtown Long Beach". Press-Telegram. May 8, 2015. Web. http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20150508/blue-line-resumes-normal-service-after-accident-in-downtown-long-beach
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