2016-04-30
2016-04-30 Vae Viator 74
Vae Viator74
reads
America's Worst♪
Punishment?
Please remember to vote AGAINST any LACMTA/Metro ballot measures this fall!
Please remember to vote AGAINST any LACMTA/Metro ballot measures this fall!
At this juncture, the ballot measure is designated Measure R2. Su Topo will provide you with an easy "mnemonic" [many, many thanks to Dictionary.com for the pronunciation! Dictionary.com is your Mole's "go-to dictionary and thesaurus" on his laptop and cell phone!] so that you can easily remember the ballot measure —Ripoff 2!
The LACMTA/Metro doesn't deserve any additional funding from us until they begin to deliver the service which we deserve; including but not limited to:
Building restroom facilities where they are needed. They know the locations!
If the drivers have restrooms the ridership needs them as well;
Providing security at the LAXCBC and along bus routes especially at 96th ST and Airport BL; The LACMTA devotes lots of money to "security",which is likely NOT cost effective, but almost nothing is spend on REAL system security. Providing an "app" or a telephone number is NOT providing security!
Training bus drivers that can DRIVE, which will be partly evidenced by positioning their buses at a bus stop equidistant and an EASY step to/from the curb. Many drivers lack a sense of professionalism and not all drivers are able to pull up to a bus stop properly; near the flag and close to the curb for the full length of the bus. It is probably just a case of the 98% giving the rest a bad name. Also, eliminating those drivers who break then accelerate and repeat, viz. rough and jerky driving —nothing focuses attention like a few firing for lack of aptitude.
Providing a pleasant on-board ambiance; no LOUD audio emanating from Metro vehicle's on-board audio systems or the riders riders personal audio devices. NOT employing drivers who think they are there to provide entertainment —Silence is Golden!
Disallow boarding of passengers with unpleasant body odors, dragging trash bags stuffed with recyclables, drunk and/or unruly etc., etc.
Importantly, adding the bus drivers number to the scrolling sign inside the bus, so that riders can report those drivers who are rude, crude and have poor driving skills. Obviously, the LACMTA is unable to make those determinations.
The LACMTA badly needs to foster a culture of openness and transparency! Providing quarterly and annual reports for each significant project, reporting which reflects project status in terms of ahead of or behind plan and a budget metric showing dollars over/under budget would allow the public to evaluate their competency.
La Taupe has commented a number of times on changing the drop off point ofMetro buses at LAXCBC so as to minimise the distance one has to travel when transferring from a Metro bus to another Metro bus. It would be a simple change. No matter how simple or easy, the LACMTA will do —I believe— only what a court order demands.
You can review prior posts of: 2013-03; 2014-12; and 2015-10.
Su Topo as heard from seniors on the unfair and disproportionate Muni transfer price increase forced on them. It rurns out to be a 250% increase from ten to twenty five cents. The fair thing to do would be to roll it back to 10 cents for a period equal to the period that it was at 25 cents, then raise it to 15 cents. ¿Cómo esta abuelita?
Riding LACMTA services is generally not that pleasant to begin with and is only made more unpleasant by experiencing the above "punishments".
Part of FlyAway's expanded fleet♪
FlyAway aided by the LACMTA Pick the pockets of the Taxpayer♪
This is a topic which su Topo has often touched upon but to which he will devote still more space. Especially since the LACMTA and seems disinclined to defend its territory .i.e., charter MD Transportation. The aid provided by the LACMTA takes the form of its lack of a will to resist and an eagerness to eliminate any of its bus lines which might compete for even an infinitesimal fraction of the business.
Not only do the big buses not giveth the small ones take away too! FlyAway, in reality, LAWA —a city agency continues to provide transportation to LAX from a number of origins. The LACMTA has no single-seat bus service to LAX. When it cancelled the 439 Line it severed Metro connections between Union Station, the West Side Transportation Center, Culver City Transportation Center and Aviation Station. This left the the field open to LAWA who could charge something greater than four (4) times Metro's full fare.
At the time FlyAway came into being Metro pass holders were allowed to ride to LAX on their passes. The LACMTA was greasing the skids that early on! I made the ride and it was comfortable and faster than the 439 Line. Had they continued to allow us to ride on our passes, very likely I would have considered it a benefit that Metro was providing me and not be writing this today.
However as time passed the pass privileges on Dash, DOT Commuter Lines were also eliminated, joined the cancelled FlyAway privileges and, how shall I say, went extinct? Along with many single-seat buses which forced us to take multiple Metro Buses/Trains to get where we needed to go. And don't forget, we once had Metro transfers available to us.
All those things are gone! While the base fares have gone up making the ridership shoulder the burden of paying MORE for LESS!
What does the LACMTA have to say? Except for their usual policy of telling us how great transportation is in Los Angeles —nothing, a complete stonewall.
Oh, by the way, Los Angeles area papers, this could well be a Pulitzer Prize winning story for an enterprising reporter or team of reporters. Remember the King-Drew story that won for the Los Angeles Times team? This is much, much bigger: waste; abuse ; breach of fiduciary; abdication of responsibility; lots of wasted money on things that didn't pan out (think TransiTV) and possibly fraud.
Over the years the Office of the CEO has been occupied by Snoble who spent fist-fulls of dollars on stickers for each bus stop; which stickers were almost obsolete on the day they were affixed or certainly within six months of that date. Then there was Leahy whose principle mantra was something along the lines of I was a bus driver. Now we have Mr. Washington whose prior city boasts a mass transit NOT RAPID transit link to its airport —he will be right at home in Los Angeles.
The LACMTA should have head-hunted in New Your City or Chicago for the kind of leadership the country's second city's county;s transportation agency should have.
The very though of that kind of non-docile CEO likely makes the politicians dream of retirement.
La Taupe dreams of the deconstruction of the the LACMTA and reconstituting it with NON-political supervision. It would have a CEO for the LACMTA and a vice president for for the vehicular infrastructure [freeways etc.] and another vice-president for Rapid Transit. Bifurcation would allow each group to better serve its constituency. Although these constituencies overlap to some extent but, —for the most part, they divide along income/class lines. The premise of transit would be: we already have Mass Transit Buses, subways and the Green Line which are Rapid Transit but ALL future monies would be spent on replacing the candidate bus lines with Rapid Transit Lines and rapidising to the largest extent possible those existing Toonerville Trolleys —NOT building more of them! With all the supporting departments, including Industrial Engineers to correct many of the currently existing deficiencies. Not the least is building Rapid Transit where it is needed.
This Mole views the McLaughlin Group most weekends on the PBS SoCal channel (50). To ensure that he cites them properly, he obtained the transcript of the broadcast. Here is the quote from the broadcast of the first weekend in April.
Then, in my personal reading I found this: "One thing these [Federal Government] officials understand is that a portion of government contracts gets recycled into campaign contributions" (Lofgren, 169).
This Mole views the McLaughlin Group most weekends on the PBS SoCal channel (50). To ensure that he cites them properly, he obtained the transcript of the broadcast. Here is the quote from the broadcast of the first weekend in April.
From the Transcript (McLaughlin):
[Tom] ROGAN: I think three lessons here. First, it was the lesson of what happens when you a socialist governance structure imbued with economics. It’s ripe for corruption. And it’s why I always think we should be careful to have politicians talking about infrastructure spending without discretionary, without oversight [Mole's emphasis]. You can visit the PBS SoCal site here.
The McLaughlin Group's site, which allows you to view past programs, is accessible here.
The McLaughlin Group's site, which allows you to view past programs, is accessible here.
Then, in my personal reading I found this: "One thing these [Federal Government] officials understand is that a portion of government contracts gets recycled into campaign contributions" (Lofgren, 169).
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???♪
SuTopo will include this comment in every post with the above until BBB corrects the problem. For quite awhile BBB has been charging for inter-line transfers, reversing the long-standing policy of free transfers to other BBB lines. This presents the BB as less friendly to its ridership than in years past.
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.
Another Near Miss♪
Pictured above is another near miss! The bus was in the process of leaving the bus stop —it was in motion when the auto darted across the white line ahead of the bus. It is only a matter of time before there is an accident here. The LACMTA, Metro, the policing agencies and the politicians don't seem to care!
This Mole has covered the situation for years and he will place his archive in the hands of the plaintiff(s) when the accident does occur.
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.
2016-04-30
Please see this VIDEO of a vehicle crossing the solid white line and cutting off a Line 111/311 bus.
Then, a convoy of four (4) cars cut off a moving bus. One of the frames of the video is captured in "Another Near Miss", above. Those cars a passing a moving Metro bus. Your Mole's prediction? Sadly, nothing will happen until there are tragic consequences; injuries or deaths!
And yet another set of two cars cross the solid white line because they are in a hurry. See that video here.
Airport auto rental shuttle drivers and others, if shown in the above videos, are all Class-B operators and should know better; but often they don't care and neither does the LACMTA and any of the policing agencies which have jurisdiction in the area.
And yet another set of two cars cross the solid white line because they are in a hurry. See that video here.
Airport auto rental shuttle drivers and others, if shown in the above videos, are all Class-B operators and should know better; but often they don't care and neither does the LACMTA and any of the policing agencies which have jurisdiction in the area.
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.
Thanks to www.youtube.com or their excellent video support!
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, (2) the L.A.P.D., (3) the L. A. County Sheriff’s Department and (4) Mr. Washington who is the current 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, stop there 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.
Metro's Flag al revés♪
At sea, a vessel in distress will fly its' flag upside down. It is only right that, given the dysfunctional LACMTA, we should fly Metro's flag in that manner.
In this section it is su Topo's intention to call your attention to situations which he has observed that highlight the "LACMTA Way" of doing things.
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 bus driver and former head of the LACMATA, 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 direct-to-airport 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.
Your Mole likes to look in on the progress of New York City's Second Avenue Subway sometime in order to establish that some places are actually building and making progress with Rapid Transit. amNEWYORK published an excellent, well illustrated article (Harshbarger) on the topic. I'll only quote a single sentence from the piece and ask you to read it by following the link provided in "Works Cited", below. "No one reading this story will likely be alive when the Second Avenue Subway is completed". A slight variation of that statement is true about Los Angeles: No one reading this story will likely be alive if the LACMTA ever completes a single-seat link from Downtown Los Angeles and LAX.
Atlantic magazine featured an article (Humes) entitled "The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life”. I’ll simply quote the subhead and encourage to read Mr. Humes’ impressive article! “Considering the constant fatalities, rampant pollution, and exorbitant costs of ownership, there is no better word to characterize the car’s dominance than insane.”
amNEWYORK featured an article (Harshbarger) about the progress of the Second Avenue Subway. It is great work and nicely illustrated too!
I'll quote just a single sentence: "No one reading this story will likely be alive when the Second Avenue Subway is completed." Please take that to mean that the project is of a long duration. I can apply that sentence to the LACMTA's work, thusly: "No one reading this story will likely be alive if the LACMTA ever completes a one-seat ride from downtown Los Angeles to LAX."
Please read Ms Harshbarger's article and learn about this massive project.
Los Angelenos need to understand what a dynamic organization, I mean the New York City MTA, can accomplish, so they can see what a mess the LACMTA has given us in their Toonerville trolleys.
Mr. Humes is an impressive writer with lots of published books and other materials to his credit. You can visit his Website here. You can also hear him interviewed on NPR's Freshair with Terry Gross about the distances parts of everyday items travel in order to arrive in our hands , here.
The Los Angeles News Group covers (Bartholomew) the dissatisfaction of San Fernando Valley residents with the transportation provided them by the LACMTA. "Critics say a Measure R tax approved by voters in 2008 brought the Valley only two light rail stops out of 80 built throughout the region." Su Topo says that 2 out of 80 translates to the decimal fraction, .025, not good!
Nice work! Ms Bartholomew!
This Mole believes that voting in favour of measure "Ripoff 2" this year amounts to repeating the same action and expecting different results —and we all know what that means. The LACMTA would like to have a $120,000,000,000 revenue stream in order to perpetuate itself, not provide transit and certainly not RAPID TRANSIT to its ridership.
The Los Angeles Times reports (Nelson) on the LACMTA's plans to change Union Station. Ms Nelson writes: "As part of a multimillion-dollar restoration effort, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority hopes to breathe new life into Union Station by hosting concerts, leasing retail space and improving the restaurant offerings."
Ms Nelson makes some excellent points about why this might not be such a good idea.
It appears to this Mole that the LACMTA is going to make yet another attempt to bring their anti-Midas touch to an area only tangentially related to transportation. Why not? It is time for them to enter new, unrelated areas since they have so badly confounded the Los Angeles transportation that it may not be fixable; at least not without years of effort and tons of money. How about this idea? They can make Union Station over into a wild animal park. Then Metro-Link riders bring a high level of excitement into their lives by making a mad dash for their trains while attempting to avoid tigers which have been deliberately underfed.
La Taupe is more direct about the inadvisability of
The Times informs (Vartabedian) about still more CHSRA financing problems. Mr. Vartabedian exposes weaknesses in CHRSRA's planning and funding processes that were revealed in hearing held by the California State Senate.
The Times updates (Weikel) us on Metro-Links plans to spend money. Mr. Weikel's work is extremely readable and this piece give one a real sense of activity st Metro-link.
These plans are part of Mr. Art Leahy's approach to transportation. When Leahy was LACMTA CEO, he gave LACMTA passengers innovations such as the now demised TransiTV and other contributions too few to mention.
They are, please take a seat, introducing electronic ticketing —I'm stunned and changing the schedule —yawn and eliminating express trains.
The Los Angeles Times covers (Vartabedian2) the latest from the CHSRA. "The roughly 164 miles of track from the Central Valley to Anaheim will be the most technically complex, environmentally sensitive and financially taxing part of the $64-billion project to connect San Francisco to Southern California by 2029." For lots more detail, please read this great piece from Mr. Vartabedian.
Will CHSRA be up to the challenge, based upon experience-to-date your Mole thinks not.
Mr. Vartabedian is back with the Time coverage (Vartabedian3) about San Fernando residents'feelings about possible routes.
Please read this piece and find out how they feel. Short answer? Not good!
Please read the excellent work of all reporters mentioned this month or any month —links, when available, appear in "Works Cited" (below).
Of course, if you are a Los Angeles Times subscriber —as this Mole is— you can read articles like these while you enjoy your morning coffee!
Additionally, Many libraries have back issues of the Los Angeles Times available. For example, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Los Angeles County Libraries and other city libraries such as, Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena; all are excellent ones which I have visited.
Of course, if you are a Los Angeles Times subscriber —as this Mole is— you can read articles like these while you enjoy your morning coffee!
Additionally, Many libraries have back issues of the Los Angeles Times available. For example, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Los Angeles County Libraries and other city libraries such as, Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena; all are excellent ones which I have visited.
« J'étudie le caractère des fleurs comme celui d’un visage humain. »
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-01-14~1904-08-25)
[I study the character of flowers like a human face.]
Merci beaucoup à http://2bloth2010.over-blog.com/article-henri-fantin-latour-112341408.html pour la citation!
Ars longa vita breva
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-01-14~1904-08-25) was a technical master of portraiture, still life, among other areas. His Madeleine Lerolle can be viewed here and his The Dubourg Family here.
The flowers mentioned in his citation above can be seen at roses and Narcissus in an Opaline Glass Vase.
Merci beaucoup à www.henri-fantin-latour.org/
The flowers mentioned in his citation above can be seen at roses and Narcissus in an Opaline Glass Vase.
Merci beaucoup à www.henri-fantin-latour.org/
¿Musica?
Composer François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-12-16~1834-10-08) offers us his Complete Harp Concerto with Elizabeth Hainen DePeters.
"Thank you!" to www.youtube.com for this beautiful work. We are also grateful to Mr. Fred Hainen who shared this music with youtube and ultimately, with us.
Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪
The Mole rides again, so you don’t have to bounce along on the Silver Line.
All dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
2016-04-01 @ITC, 08:30: It is no joke that none of the five (5) drivers who that pull up their buses in front of me can position them equidistant from and an easy step away from the curb. I would imagine that Metro drivers are the absolute worst in the world. Nothing against the ladies, but four of the five were women. I saw a man with a cane and children struggle to negotiate the impossible distance to the curb.
Your Mole's solution? Hold a series of Saturday (or on other days off "Training Days" for the ladies. Fill an articulated bus with women drivers and have each one take a turn at the wheel. Parking parallel to the curb and NO MORE than two feet away, properly pulling up to the "flag" would all be on the agenda. Th grade would be Pass/Fail. Those who failed could come back on two more Saturdays and try again. Three fails and they could begin to search for a more suitable career. I believe in unions, so the driver's union shoul play a role in upgrading their skills as well.
Concurrent with this educational offensive, the buses would begin to display the driver's number on the scroll . This would make it easy to report drivers like #28166 —details below. Male drivers would quickly get the message and reports from passengers could guide their remedial training.
Frankly, this Mole is weary of having to have the long jump skills of Jackie Joyner-Kersee in order to exit the bus.
2016-04-02 @LAXCBC, 13:00: A man drinks beer; a woman feeds the pigeons near the sign that says: "Do not feed the pidgeons." while another man rants. Security? None that I can see.
2016-04-03 @LAXCBC, 14:00: La Taupe helps a German student find a bust to take him to his motel.
2016-04-11: I ride with the rudest driver encountered to date (#28166). She ignores passenger greetings etc.
Concurrent with this educational offensive, the buses would begin to display the driver's number on the scroll . This would make it easy to report drivers like #28166 —details below. Male drivers would quickly get the message and reports from passengers could guide their remedial training.
Frankly, this Mole is weary of having to have the long jump skills of Jackie Joyner-Kersee in order to exit the bus.
2016-04-02 @LAXCBC, 13:00: A man drinks beer; a woman feeds the pigeons near the sign that says: "Do not feed the pidgeons." while another man rants. Security? None that I can see.
2016-04-03 @LAXCBC, 14:00: La Taupe helps a German student find a bust to take him to his motel.
2016-04-11: I ride with the rudest driver encountered to date (#28166). She ignores passenger greetings etc.
Annoying Silver Line Ride♪
2016-04-14 @ 11:25: It wasn't that it was so noisy, so much as it was very bouncy! La Taupe has decided that each bounce was due to the fact that the bus is so wide that it hits most, if not all, if the lane separator "dots" along both sides of the lane —aka raised pavement markers, or "Botts’ Dots." So named in honour of Dr. Elbert D. Botts, with whom the idea originated. Each of the "spikes" shown above represents the noise after the bus hits the "dot"; but it could also represent the constant jolting which one feels at the time when the bus goes over the "dot". You can read more about the "dots" at the California Department of Transportation site to which your Mole says "Thank You!"
The LACMTA lacks the ability to evaluate their products and fix problems. It is incredible to su Topo that the slogan "The fastest way Downtown (or words to that effect)" are applied to a bus —NOT Rapid Transit Rail!
Spring St. Signage♪
This sign could be cloned and placed above the entrance of EACH BUS CENTER —and may I suggest that the first be placed at the LAXCBC?. Please click on the photo until you are presented with the maximum size, the rectangular sign can then be easily seen/read.
Aisle Blocker♪
2016-04-14 PM: It may look like enough the passenger above is leaving one enough space, but in reality he isn't.
El Metro en Ciudad México♪
At least the portion of the map that could fit. It is a well designed systema. Click once or twice on the photo for an enlargement and you can see the many transfer points which result whenever lines are designed to cross. You can see the complete map here. ¡Muchas gracias á ciudadad México!
Mr. Washington, how about it?♪
Billions wasted on a poorly or UN-designed transportation system but nada on badly needed public restrooms in the subway stations or bus centers. How about it Mr. Washington? Let's have four or five years of improvements in creature comforts for the passengers, before you ask for more of our tax monies?
Sleeping Beauty♪
2016-04-17 late morning, a Taupe waits for a bus on Century BL: He'd like to sit down in the shade provided by the bus shelter, but someone has beaten him to it!
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 (OR Five) Seats to LAX!
OR
The LACMTA Tries Again; Asymptotically to LAX!
OR
Metro is the worst way from the City Center to theAirport, LAX, that is!
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 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.
N.B. LACMTA staff and management, avoid cognitive dissonance, DO NOT CLICK on THIS LINK!
Let's take the train from Liberty Airport in New Jersey to Pen Station in Manhattan.
www.youtube.com, thank you so much, you are simply great! Thank you too, to doc7austin for your upload!
Cosmology
Maddie Stone, a staff writer at Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/), writes: "On the grandest scale, our universe is a network of galaxies tied together by the force of gravity." One can visit the Gizmodo site and see an impressive graphic representations of such a network here.
Fare Box Score Box OOS and related Lists of Shame
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: Direction Line, etc
XX (2016-XX-XX@ XX:XX); X
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. At the present time (2016-04-30) there are too many drivers to name, whose skill at parallel parking is deficient .
XXXXX F[+0] 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 40 foot 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)
GTrans (Gardena transit?) formerly 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. [2015-12-31] The feedback section disallows screen shots which show problems with the "final posting", such as, orange sections which cover blocks of text and change the font size. All it would take is allowing and attachment. But, ... [Addenda 2016-03-31] Since Blogger.com forced me to learn HTML 5, I can fix "many" of the problems which apparently were caused by using Word notation in "imported" files. The mystery failure to save problem still occurrs but have diminished. [insert crossed fingers icon here :-) ].
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
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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
Humes. Edward. “The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life”. The Atlantic. Apr. 12, 2016. Web. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/absurd-primacy-of-the-car-in-american-life/476346/
Lofgren, Mike. The Deep State: The fall of the constitution and the rise of a shadow government. New York: Viking, 2016. Print.
McLaughlin, J. (moderator) & Rogan, T. (panelist). (2016) , The McLaughlin Group [Broadcast Transcript]. Retrieved from: http://www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=2114
Bartholomew, Dana. "L.A. hopes to combat traffic with proposed sales tax hike. Los Angeles News Group. date unavailable. Print.
Harshbarger, Rebecca and Salazar, Cristian. “The Second Avenue Subway explained”. AMNY.com. Dec. 20, 2015. Web. http://www.amny.com/transit/the-second-avenue-subway-explained-1.11244882
Humes. Edward. “The Absurd Primacy of the Automobile in American Life”. The Atlantic. Apr. 12, 2016. Web. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/absurd-primacy-of-the-car-in-american-life/476346/
Lofgren, Mike. The Deep State: The fall of the constitution and the rise of a shadow government. New York: Viking, 2016. Print.
Nelson, Laura J. “How Metro plans to reinvent Union Station from transit hub to urban destination” Los Angeles Times. Apr. 9, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-union-station-20160409-story.html
McLaughlin, J. (moderator) & Rogan, T. (panelist). (2016) , The McLaughlin Group [Broadcast Transcript]. Retrieved from: http://www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=2114
Weikel, Dan. “Metrolink aims to rebuild ridership with new scheduling on the San Bernardino Line and digital ticketing.” Los Angeles Times. Apr. 3, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-metrolink-service-20160403-story.html
Vartabedian, Ralph. “Senators share their doubts about bullet train financing with rail officials”. Los Angeles Times. Apr. 4, 2016. Web.http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-train-funding-doubts-20160405-story.html
Vartabedian2, Ralph. “State releases new details on possible bullet train routes”. Los Angeles Times. Apr. 8, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-train-reports-20160409-story.html
Vartabedian3, Ralph. “San Fernando Valley residents sound off on proposed bullet train routes”. Los Angeles Times. Apr. 12, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rail-meeting-20160413-story.html
Vartabedian3, Ralph. “San Fernando Valley residents sound off on proposed bullet train routes”. Los Angeles Times. Apr. 12, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rail-meeting-20160413-story.html
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