2015-08-31

 

Vae Viator^66 2015-08-31

Vae Viator66

America’s Worst♪




When politicians involve themselves in technical matters, expect failures.
**********************************************************
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 intra-line 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
 
(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 documented by your Mole, 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.


The video(s) linked below 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, cutting in front of Metro 111/311 bus(es).



Please see this video of four (4) vehicles which cross the solid white line and cut off a moving Line 111/311 bus.  


The last vehicle in line, a black SUV, makes a last minute rush to beat the bus. 

Thanks to www.youtube.com for their excellent video support!


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 to do than protecting bus passengers.


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.


An homage for her "contribution" to L.A. transportation.



Your Mole would like the former head of LAWA remembered for her "contribution" to Los Angeles area public transportation.   She was quicker than her contemporary, the former head of the LACMTA, to implement the lucrative FlyAway service and discouraged all attempts, however feeble, to bring other modes of transportation to LAX.

Too, we should memorialize her attitude vis-à-vis public transportation directly to LAX in following the transportation access pattern used by many, if not most, world-class airports, to wit, "Any time you go under the airport, it is fraught with problems, ..." [hardly a get it done attitude!].

 
 The Mole reads the papers and other things, obviating the necessity of your doing so.

The Times reports (Nelson) that of the 20,000 passengers who were surveyed on “harassment” [my euphemism, this is a family blog] covering the past six months, “… About 19%, or 3,760 people, said yes. That's a decrease of three percentage points from last spring, when 22% of riders …” responded in the affirmative. 

Add that indicator of dissatisfaction to the rude drivers, drivers who can’t or won’t position their bus at a stop “flag” or equidistant to and a short easy step away from the curb, the eardrum shattering noise on the M V Transportation contracted lines, the lack of restroom facilities anywhere and other irritants and soon one can see why people will pay a premium for automobile transportation.  Is the LACMTA really America’s Worst?  When all aspects of the LACMTA mass transit “service” is considered,  the answer is YES! 

Out of cars, into buses and onto bicycles and by foot - “Mobility Plan 2035”

The Los Angeles Times reports (Zhaniser) on a Los Angeles City Council plan
to reduce automobile usage, the result of it, according to one proponent, the “…mobility plan's projects will increase walking by 38%, transit use by 56% and bicycling by 170%.”  This is the first time I have cited Mr. Zhaniser’s work and I liked what I read!

Your Mole invites the fifteen City Council members to invite the Mayor, Mr. Washington the CEO of the LACMTA and another attendee of their choice as guests, making eighteen people in total, to test their theories by following this Mole’s plan.

The plan would include a combination of walking, riding public transportation and bicycling.  It would go something like this:

The eighteen people would meet at the “Taj Mahal” (the LACMTA’s headquarters) on an agreed upon weekday.  The evening before, their bicycles (personal equipment or city provided as needed) would be positioned at City Hall on the following morning the bikes would be transported by flat-bed truck to the starting point of the exercise, viz., the LAX City Bus Center, arriving at the LAXCBC about 7:30. 

The eighteen members of the group would be transported by four limousines each limo would include several gallons of good coffee, perhaps from BarrioBucks [Gracias al señor Lalo Alcaraz!  You can hear señor Alcaraz and others too,  on KPFK, Fridays at 16:00~17:00 on the “PochoHour of Power”!], along with appropriate pastries, so that they could have sort of a “continental breakfast” en route to the LAXCBC.  >Pocho link  <

Starting at about 8:00, the group along with their bicycles, would take Metro 232 Line buses to the corner of Sepulveda BL and Rosecrans, rendezvous at Fry’s Electronics, do some light shopping and return.

I believe that the first rude shock is the fact that Metro buses can transport only two bicycles at a time.  The logistics demand that nine (9) buses will be required; since the 232 Lines buses operate at thirty (30) minute intervals, the time required to position the group at Fry’s is an additional four hours. 

The follow on rude shock is that there are no public restrooms at the LAXCBC – therefore anyone, who began to experience the diuretic effect of the morning coffee, would be required to look elsewhere for relief.  There are a number of hotels within walking or bicycling distance although biking in the area is NOT for the faint of heart with lots of buses, cars and shuttle busses whizzing by; so waking might be best.

The walk from the LAXCBC to 96th Street and Jenny, crossing the street with a green walk-light, walking to the hotel, using the facilities and returning, might be accomplished without further delaying the plan.

If the first two people left at 8:00, the entire group would be at Fry’s at noon!  Let’s skip the shopping for the final two people and return as soon as the entire group is positioned.  They could all be back at the LAXCBC by 16:00, assuming that the first two people could leave on a 12:00 bus

On the way back to the LAXCBC the distinguished members could note the fact that the 232 Line north-bound bus make a USELESS LOOP around Mariposa station an artifact of years back when Nash was a one-way street south.  Maybe Mr. Washington could note that fact and discuss it with the CEO of M V Transportation, Mr. Brian Kibby who is the contract operator of the 232 Line.

The time, money, fuel etc. which is now wasted could be invested in constructing a loop through Plaza El Segundo, which now requires crossing two busy streets (El Segundo and Rosecrans) and a walk of about a quarter of a mile, if they followed my plan the group could see this stop right across from Fry’s.

Oh and they’d find that crossing the street is lots of fun. The walk light last for less than two steps, then the “red hand” starts flashing.   One’s every sense must be alert during this crossing; cars headed south from the west side of the intersection will try to “beat” pedestrians through the intersection, cars headed south from the east side of the intersection will often tailgate through their red light taking up your two steps of green walk light, while cars turning east from the north bound lanes of Sepulveda may not even know that there is a pedestrian in the crosswalk and begin their turn to the east on Rosecrans just has you come into view!  Are we having fun yet?

I find that most intersections in Los Angeles, although offering more crossing time,  are still shared with drivers whose attitude is “get out of my way”.

The attitude of those drivers is complemented by the LACMTA’s in their refusal to do anything to make the lives of its ridership the slightest bit easier

I have numerous posts which cite the problems crossing Sepulveda at Rosecrans and the lack of a 232 Line bus south bound stop at El Segundo Plaza.

It is unlikely that the imaginary trip described above will actually happen, but, at least, one will be able to understand why.

The Times follows up on the City Council’s “Mobility Plan 2035” (Zahniser2).  The piece includes quotes from members of the city council, one of which says: “This is a document [the Mobility Plan] that helps up prioritize public safety so that those who are walking and bicycling and trying to get around [without] a car don’t get killed. Right now only 5% of those hit by a car going 20 mph die.  Over 80% of those hit by a car going 40 mph die.” 

This Mole wonders exactly how all cars will be kept at 20 mph OR if 95% is an acceptable survival rate?  The con point was represented by “… Laura Lake, a volunteer with the advocacy group Fix the City.”  She said, “We want to see real transportation reform, but this isn’t it.  This is aspirations and slogans, not transportation planning.”

I spend quite a bit of time on foot in the city, bicycling has become just too dangerous, and my experience crossing streets along with the morning TV recitations of overnight hit and run deaths, communicate the fact that people and cars simply don’t mix well.

Unfortunately, the “Mobility Plan 2035” has that “built by politicians" feel.

The Los Angeles Times covers (Zahniser & Nelson) another aspect of Mobility Plan 2035 and some of the history which lead to the plan.  Which plan “… seeks to shift the city’s emphasis away from the automobile …”.

Your Mole, who has lots of experience with traffic as a pedestrian, feels that the Mobility Plan 2035 is overly ambitious and likely not achievable.  The reason being that one can put streets on a diet and reduce their capacity by half, but, unless it is possible to change the long established habits of the driving public, it’s just stacks of paper.   I have been cut-off mid-street in the cross walk by a driver who knows that only a fool will step in front of a speeding vehicle.

I have never once seen a police officer from any jurisdiction issue a citation for what amounts to assault as a result of these incidents. 

Then there are the street racers.  Better enforcement and tougher penalties are needed ― how about a ten year license suspension for ONE INCIDENT of street racing and a minimum term of forty years for vehicular homicide?  That would set the bar!

Of course, it would be much better if the city council got together with the the county people LACMTA included― and provided us with a true RAPID TRANSIT system, instead of the Toonerville Trolly-like street cars with which they are scarring the landscape. 

Take the Expo Line-II, for example, it will grade cross BOTH the busy Overland AV and Westwood BL, which should make for a great commute irrespective of mode of transportation.  The same will apply to the Crenshaw Line which will bridge streets like La Cienega at Florence passing over the the 405 exit and Century BL but cross many other streets, e.g., Manchester, at grade level.  To this Mole, it is sort of like running as fast as you can for a while and then crawling on your hands an knees for other intervals.  From an expense standpoint, it is more like having a slice of bread for dinner and then having an après diner pousse-café, in that the total experience is less than satisfactory. 


A Times piece (Lozano) relates the facts associated with an early morning 20 Line bus crash.  The unidentified driver says (he/she) "blacked out" but (he/she) may simply have fallen asleep at 02:00 on  August 22, 2015.  No injuries to the sixteen aboard were reported.


The Los Angeles Times follows-up (Nelson2) on their previous “harassment” story.  Ms Nelson and Mr. Oreskes do a fine detailed job on this piece.  The most telling quote is this: "The whole process was so disheartening," [a passenger who had an unpleasant experience] said. "Everyone wanted to direct me to someone else. They have people to check to see if your fare is paid, to make sure they get their money, but they don't actually care about what happens." 

These are  restatements of su Topo’s frequent statements: “There is NO SECURITY associated with the LACMTA’s service” and the LACMTA is inconsiderate of its ridership, or words to that effect.

Please read all of the fine work by the hard-working reporters which I have cited above.  Works Cited (vide infra) has links for the Internet reports and you can search www.latimes.com for the Internet version of the print stories or see your local reference librarian for the paper copies.

« Ce sont les Grecs qui nous ont légué le plus beau mot de notre langue: le mot " enthousiasme" - du grec “en théo”, un Dieu intérieur.» 

Louis Pasteur (1822-12-27~1895-08-28)

[It was the Greeks who have left us the most beautiful word in our language the word "enthusiasm" - from the Greek "in theo" a God within.]
Merci Bien à http://evene.lefigaro.fr/

Ars longa vita breva


 Here is Simon Vouet's (1590-01-09~1649-06-30) “Saint Cecilia”. N.B.  Please be aware that some of his work is intended for adults. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/simon-vouet-saint-cecilia

 ¿Musica?

Let's listen to some of work of Solage (1758-1829).

Here is a brief sample of his Fumeux fume par fumée.
http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/46023.html

Thank you to www.classicalarchives.com !




Metro Area – Lower your expectations! ♪

The Mole rides again, so you don’t have to try to puzzle out why the LACMTA is always advertising its "greatness".    

All dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)


Promises, promises♪

Someone appears to have Photo-shopped the above photo.  But the modifications have the look and feel of truth. Click on the photo above to enlarge it, then click once again so that you can read the "photo shopping" along the bottom of the bus.


Littering Man

2015-08-06 @LAXCBC near 06:00:  A man sits on a bench and carries out an animated, if not understandable conversation with himself.  He throws objects toward the trash can; if he misses, he retrieves the object and properly deposits it in a trash can.  He tosses other objects randomly about his area and leaves those lie where they fall.

2015-08-11 08:25: This Mole helps a nice couple from Santa Catarina , Brazil   navigate to Hollywood in what this Mole believes is the best and most economical manner.   The left him with a map showing the bus transfer points, paper transfers and day passes.  They also shared with him some of the attractive features of their home state.  I'd like to say Obrigado!”  to them!

 M V Transportation buses are NOISY!♪


Some drivers are not so quiet either.


2015-08-21: I ride a 130 Line bus.  A passenger boards a few stops after mine and presents a Metrolink "pass" the driver is unable to determine the validity of the "pass"and calls "Dispatch".  Dispatch tells the driver to accept the "pass" and inform the passenger that next time he will be required to pay full fare. Everyone can hear this exchange because all these radios are always on full volume.  We are stopped for the five minutes or so it seemed interminable at the timetaken up by this exchange.

Listen to a short segment of this conversation, please set your playback volume to at least 50 but higher is better, so that you can have a true flavor of the on-bus experience, here.  

My research on the matter turned up this item dated May 13, 2013:  
"Metro is preparing to begin latching gates at Red and Purple Line subway stations beginning this summer, with gates at other Metro Rail stations to be latched subsequently. All Metro riders will need to ‘tap’ their TAP cards to get through the gates.

That, of course, is an issue for Metrolink passengers who get free transfers to Metro as part of their fares [emphasis mine] — Metrolink uses paper tickets, not the plastic “TAP” cards that have become the norm on Metro. In order for Metrolink passengers to get through latched gates, Metrolink and Metro have worked together to develop paper TAP cards for Metrolink customers.

The following has been posted to Metrolink’s website and explains the transition from the current ticketing system to TAP-enabled paper tickets. Bottom line: The TAP-enabled Metrolink tickets for destinations in Los Angeles County (the area served by Metro) will be available through Metrolink ticket machines and for those purchasing Metrolink monthly passes. Metrolink customers will have to ‘tap’ those tickets when using Metro Rail and will continue to show their tickets to bus operators on Metro bus lines" [emphasis mine]. 

My only issue with this transaction is the part about giving Metrolink passengers free transfers to Metro! Why are they so special?  Year by year the LACMTA has reduced benefits to its ridership, e.g., free transfers for us to DOT Dash buses are long gone, increased regular transfer prices, "free transfers for two hours" subject to unachievable requirementssee more examples ― long waits for "Rapid buses" e.g., Santa Monica BL west of Sepulveda BL and other areas too -with no bus benches, being by passed by "Rapid buses" for having the bad luck of not ending up at a "Rapid stop".
"RThe two-hour period begins upon the first boarding of a trip, when a TAP card is tapped to pay the 1-Way Fare. The customer must tap their card upon each subsequent boarding during the trip; the TAP system will recognize if the customer is within the two-hour transfer window and is making a valid transfer covered by the 1-Way Trip. The number of transfers within the two-hour window is not limited; as an example, a customer could transfer from bus line 20 to the Red Line to the Blue Line to the Green Line, all with payment of a 1-Way Trip, as long as the last transfer occurs within two hours of the first tap. But transfers back to the same bus or rail line where the customer’s TAP card was last used are not permitted. For example, the customer may not, transfer from the Green Line back to the Green Line, or from bus line 20 back to Line 20; a new 1-Way Fare would be deducted from the Stored Value on the card. As mentioned, trips lasting longer than two hours can be made on the 1-Way Trip fare, as long as the last transfer is made before the two-hour transfer window expires. [excerpted from the Metro.net page linked at "see more examples", above ].




 Sorry NO BUSES!♪

2015-08-13: I am waiting for a 102 Line bus.  It seems a good time to try out the Metro App.  I configure BOTH Wi-Fi and Location Services as the App has, in the past, assured me that that will improve performance.  I have the PDF schedule on my cell, so I actually know its scheduled departure time from the LAXCBC.  But, as you can see on my iPhone display above - no luck.



It is more than two hours later, I am not anywhere near bus stop 2788!  I'm waiting for any of the buses noted on the "flag"above. The Metro app shows me essentially the same display which is documented above.  With this App, like so much of the LACMTA, often third best is about all one can expect.  I don't believe that they test modifications to the app.  My  "Feedback" mechanism, is this blog!

And Again Sorry NO BUSES!♪

What, again?  hmmmm, do you see the problem?  I am a trained IT professional so here is how I identify the problem: “The Metro App apparently thinks that every stop is stop number 2788 or there is some other bug!  “Nice Work”, LACMTA and the Metro App writers, one cheer for you both!  Full Disclosure A new release of the Metro app was made available close to my publication deadline, so, I'll report back next month on its "fitness". 

Next Bus Has the Answer!♪

I thought back to the  www.nextbus.com site, which is the basis for the butchery which turned it into the LACMTA’s “Nextrip”.  I entered the stop number which was quickly transformed into a stop name.  At first I attempted to find a “stop table” on the LACMTA’s site(s) which I soon abandoned as a waste of time. 

You can see above that in the first instance I actually was at the the La Tijera/Manchester stop, number 2788.  So, it seems that once the App fails it continues to fail which is the type of “bug” one expects only from very junior programmers. 

I will update you on my adventures with the Metro App next month J.  In the meantime, please use nextbus, the quickest, most professional and accurate source for bus information.

One last thing about the Metro App, as I explored I found the feature pictured above.


LACMTA’s Nickle-and-Diming!♪

Those cheap ______ (fill In the blank, e.g., guys)___________  are taking our tax money by the tons, yet they want to sell us bus schedules on the Internet?  Which Internet file transfers will save them pounds of money in printing costs and give them the appearance of being “green”.

That “feature” of the Metro app worked while the necessary ones, like reporting the next scheduled bus at my stop did not. 


2015-08-20 @11:55 or so: I wait for a 102 Line bus on Sepulveda BL.  The bus pulls up 10 metres short of the "flag" where I'm positioned.  Let's see ..., lots of the drivers cannot pull up to the stop with the length of their bus parallel to and an easy step away from the curb.  Some, refuse to place the bus at the "flag" so that a passenger can step aboard.  This driver wore a badge showing an I.D. of 9959.  It 9959 valid? It seems low ―of course, no driver would remove a leading digit from his badge, would he??


But this is a bus stop, isn't it?

2015-08-24: I am waiting at a "bus stop" on Century BL.  The stop used to have a standard flag but that was taken down during the early days of construction of the Century BL/Crenshaw streetcar overpass.  I read these two signs as indication that the stop is back in operation. I come to this conclusion based upon the fact that there are no directions to the real temporary bus stop as one would usually expect.  However crude the descriptions of the location 
they are often crude and difficult to read― there are no such location descriptions here!  The inescapable conclusion is that this is a bus stop.   The 117 Line approaches, I signal my intention to ride, the driver slows, glances at the signs and drives on.  I take the next CCMBL and pay the cash fare.

 This, typical of the LACMTA the right hand doesn't even know that there is a left hand.



Care for a seat, No thanks!


2015-08-25: Another bus stop, I decide to take a seat, until I get closer to the bench and find that my would-be bench-mate comes with an overpowering olor!  I pass on another day and find him still "haunting" this La Tijera and Sepulveda shelter.


LACMTA signage!


2015-08-28:  Yes this work by the LACMTA is supposed to pass for a bus stop sign. With a little work and an understanding of just how little the LACMTA cares about its ridership, one can discern that the 40, 111, 311, 607 and 740 buses stop (I hope) here.  What pride of workmanship goes into these things!  Mr. Washington, you must be proud of your staff.  Dear Reader, would you like to find out where all these lines intersect and tell the LACMTA where this ugly thing is located?  On the positive side, it is duct taped in place to stay :-).

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.

With a population of about just under four million ―making it one-fourth Los Angeles size ―Porto Alegre, Brasil gets it done!  Let’s take a ride on their rapid transit elevated line  which connects Porto Alegre International Airport to the city via the Aeroporto station of the Porto Alegre Metro train. Please watch a brief video of the transfer here.
Obrigado to the u-loader of this first video, "JCKC" and to the up-loader of the second video, Paulo Siberico!

As always, thank you to our host, www.youtube.com 

Cosmology


What releases as "... as much energy in a few seconds as the Sun does over its 10 billion year lifetime"?  Sciencedaily.com explains (Royal ...) that it is a GRB (Gamma Ray Burst) and that a number of these make up the largest structure in the universe that has been observed to date.  It is BIG, five billion light years across!  Please follow the link included in "Works Cited" (below) read more and see a nice image too.

Fare Box Score Box and related Lists of Shame

I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: xxxxx (yyyy-mm-dd;

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.

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].

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 have been submitting feedback and experiences slow but positive progress.  Until all issues are resolved, lo siento. [Addenda 2014-07-31]: Things have been much better lately.  There is a more responsive feedback system now. [Addenda 2015-08-22]: Recently, even the "Feedback"mechanism  has failed to submit problems.

 I like blogger.com very much, and IF things ever normalise, I will consider deleting this "Disclaimer and apologia" section.

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



Lozano, Carlos. “Driver and passengers are injured after Metro bus slams into tree”. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 22, 2015: Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-driver-passengers-injured-after-metro-bus-slams-into-tree-20150822-story.html
 
Nelson, Laura J. “One in 14 Metro riders has been groped in the past six months, survey finds”. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 6, 2015. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-sexual-harassment-20150806-story.html

Nelson2, Laura J. and Oreskes, Benjamin. “Reports of sexual harassment by Metro commuters could hinder efforts to boost ridership”. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 25, 2015. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/crime/la-me-mta-rider-harassment-20150825-story.html

Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). "Five billion light years across: The largest feature in the universe." ScienceDaily. Aug. 4, 2015. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150804074039.htm

Zhaniser, David and Nelson, Laura, J. “Street offers glimpse of L.A.’s goal”. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 16, 2015:A1. Print.

Zhaniser, David. “L.A. maps out sweeping transportation overhaul”. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 8, 2015. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-mobility-debate-20150809-story.html#page=1

 Zhaniser2, David. L.A. rethinks its roads”.  Los Angeles Times
     Aug. 2,  2015. Print.

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