2016-07-31
Vae Viator77
America's Worst LACMTA Transportation: Risible, NOT Rapid!♪
Punishment?
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 or Super Ripoff, if they go with the never ending grab!
The LACMTA/Metro doesn't deserve the funding which our tax dollars now provide and definitely do NOT deserve any additional funding from us; until such time as 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. This would be an important addition to the scroll as the ridership WILL identify the rude and incompetent whereas the LACMTA is incapable of doing so.
Many if most bus drivers DO NOT secure wheelchair passengers. In the event of an accident, these heavy vehicles could bounce around the bus and injure passengers. But like many items, safety to passengers is extremely low on the
LACMTA's priority list —if they even have such a list.
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.
Please review these prior posts on a more efficient arrangement of the LAXCBC on: 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 turns 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, Picks the Taxpayer's pockets♪
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.
LACMTA, need money? How about standing up for your charter, the limits of which seem to be defined in your title “The Los Ageles County Transportation Authority”. You should be running Flyaway, charge the tourists $10 each way to the airport, let pass holders ride on their passes and spend the profits on running a reconstituted 439 Line which can connect Union Station, the Westside Transportation Center, the Culver City transportation Center, the LAXCBC and Aviation Station. That way the hodgepodge that the LACMTA has cobbled together would start to appear as if it were an actual system!
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 countys transportation agency should have. The very though of that kind of non-docile CEO likely makes 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.
Billions wasted on a poorly or UN-designed transportation system but nada on badly needed public restrooms in the subway stations, rail stations and bus centers. How about it LACMTA? Let's have four or five years of improvements in creature comforts for the passengers, before you ask for more of our tax monies?
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?
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.
2016-07-31
Please carefully watch this holding for video* and you'll see a car cutoff 111 bus.
These incursions happen multiple times per day so it is only a matter of time before an accident occurs.
*Unfortunately, this month la Taupe has benn traveling too much to capture any video, ¡lo siento!
*Unfortunately, this month la Taupe has benn traveling too much to capture any video, ¡lo siento!
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.
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 a 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, “Anytime 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.
An editorial (DailyBreeze) covers some of the aspects of the LACMTA's Measure R2 which your Mole recommends voting against (vide supra). I will quote a single paragraph, but recommend that you read the entire piece, see the link (if available) in "Works Cited", below.; or obtain a copy at your local library.
Here is a quote from the piece: "If it's not careful the [LACMTA] board will also give voters something else —a good reason to distrust the whole $120 billion plan.”
The Torrance Daily Breeze also reports (Bartholomew) on the LACMTA's proposal to modify Measure R2. The LACMTA's intention, as reported by Ms Bartholomew, is: 'But instead of asking voters to support a half-cent Measure R extension with another half-cent tax through 2057, the transit agency now recommends a “no sunset” measure which would raise billions of dollars in perpetuity.'
Su Topo see this as even bolder “money grab” and opposes it even more strongly than he did the original Measeure R2, which he termed “Ripoff 2”. Obviously a new designation is required, and rising to the occasion, this Mole will call this new plan “Super Ripoff”!
The titular head of the LACMTA, arguably the worst transportation provider among America's large cities, is reported as saying, “It is the most aggressive initiative in the country today … […] This tackles everything ….”.
Ms Bartholomew has written an excellent piece, please read it for lots more detail.
And the LACMTA's CEO is so modest too. It is difficult for this Mole, who actually uses the LACMTA's services, to see one single positive contribution made by any of the last three (3) LACMTA's CEOs! Here are some your Mole's rating metrics: Maintenance, are rolling stock well maintained? Are sales kiosks working? Easy-to-use? Sited properly with no glare on the screens?; Ambiance, are most rides pleasant? Drivers rude or thoughtful?; Does the LACMTA make things easy for its ridership? Are rest rooms clean and available?. Reading these post will provide most of these answers. Or you can save time and understand that there are reasons why I call the LACMTA's work product fifth-rate :-)
The Los Angeles Times also reports (Nelson) a story about a suit against the LACMTA and its contractors who intended to perform work under some Little Tokyo property. The work is related to the "Downtown Bandaid" err, that is su Topo's term, the LACMTA prefers the Downtown Destructor, er, Connector. The judge refused to allow the action to go forward. I'll quote a single sentence from Ms Nelson's article: "Although tunneling has not yet begun, work on the project is behind schedule and about 9% over its original budget."
Oh no, it's worse than I thought! We already have poorly designed, badly planned and worse executed Toonerville Trolley system, how much worse would it be to force people to transfer at Union Station or 7th and Metro Center.
Oh no, it's worse than I thought! We already have poorly designed, badly planned and worse executed Toonerville Trolley system, how much worse would it be to force people to transfer at Union Station or 7th and Metro Center.
The LACMTA never had acceptable data regarding the number of people transferring, their points of origin and their ultimate destinations.
Just as a shark is an eating machine, the LACMTA is a money spending machine —one without regard to the the necessity of the expenditure. Don't like it? You could always move to a major metropolitan area with acceptable rapid transit. That means anywhere except Los Angles. I hope that the plaintiffs will appeal!
Just as a shark is an eating machine, the LACMTA is a money spending machine —one without regard to the the necessity of the expenditure. Don't like it? You could always move to a major metropolitan area with acceptable rapid transit. That means anywhere except Los Angles. I hope that the plaintiffs will appeal!
The Time's Nelson also informs us (Nelson2) about the bike sharing plan which, according to my reading of the lis sure to get people out of their cars. Here is a paraphrase and a brief quote from Ms Nelson: Passes cost $40 for an annual pass and $20 for a monthly one. "Riders without a pass will pay $3.50 for the first half-hour and $3.50 for each half-hour after that."
You can tell that LACMTA people are far removed from the daily lives of their ridership! At the half-hourly rate one would be better off with ride-share!
How does the bike sharing system work? Just great, if you don't use it! Take today, July 20th, it is hot in Los Angeles —imagine hopping off your shared-bike and walking into a client's office (I cannot imaging this!) perspiration soaking your shirt and running down your face. But inside you have the self satisfaction of having given up your car. You'd be better off on the bus. I strongly doubt that this idea will be a success!
The Metro spokesman was eager to tell us that "the worm had turned", however he and his fellows should try biking for the month of August before telling us how great it is going to be. The LACMTA has never met an idea, no matter how bad, that it didn't fall in love with, instantly. There is always lots of time to think realistically and feel bad about the idea, later.
Like TransiTv this is another loser! Think not? If the heat won't keep you off a shared bike, try biking in December when it's dark at 17:00 —among L.A. drivers.
The Times covers (Vartabedian) the continuing legal and political problems which seem to plague CHSRA's “Bullet Train”. Legislation is planned which might ease these problems. Here is Mr Vartabedian: "Supporters of the legislation say they simply want to “clarify” highly technical wording of taxpayer protections written into the $9 billion bond that voters approved for high-speed rail in 2008 [... . Mole]. But rail opponents say the move is a direct attempt to gut taxpayer protections and have vowed to sue over the legislation, potentially stalling the project further. Mr. Vartabedian always does an excellent job of covering this frequently convoluted topic! Please follow the Works Cited link below and read the complete article.
A Times piece (Weikel) indicates that the Metrolink board is "considering" replacing parts which were found to to be defective and contributed to damage in an accident. I understand the meaning of the word "considering" and find it indecisive, like much of what Metrolink does, weak in execution.
What this Mole would like to hear from any such constituted board is language such as, "we will take corrective action!". Mr. Weikel gives all the details in his article,linked below.
Also please read all the work by all the hard-working reporters cited here.
A Times piece (Weikel) indicates that the Metrolink board is "considering" replacing parts which were found to to be defective and contributed to damage in an accident. I understand the meaning of the word "considering" and find it indecisive, like much of what Metrolink does, weak in execution.
What this Mole would like to hear from any such constituted board is language such as, "we will take corrective action!". Mr. Weikel gives all the details in his article,linked below.
Also please read all the work by all the hard-working reporters cited here.
« J’ai pu me tromper mais je n’ai jamais trompé personne.»
Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757-09-06~1834-05-20)
[I could be wrong but I have never deceived anyone.]
Ars longa vita breva
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-11-30~1905-08-19) could produce near photographic realism in his work. Please see his «Bretoin frère et soeur»ici.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-11-30~1905-08-19) could produce near photographic realism in his work. Please see his «Bretoin frère et soeur»ici.
Merci beaucoup à https://www.toperfect.com/ for allowing us to visit this beautiful work of art!
One can see more of M. Bouguereau's art magnifique ici.
webneel.com, Thank you very much for allowing us to view these stunning paintings!
One can see more of M. Bouguereau's art magnifique ici.
webneel.com, Thank you very much for allowing us to view these stunning paintings!
¿Musica?
Composer Maurice Ravel (1875-03-07~1937--12-08) whose Bolero, is instantly recognised by many can be heard and seen, here.
"Thank you!" to www.youtube.com for this beautiful work. We are also grateful to 설명, who uploaded the video.
Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪
The Mole rides again, so you don't have to see exactly how the LACMTA wastes your tax money boarding buses with wheel-chair riders faster by boarding other passengers FREE!
Wire and fabric do NOT a wall make!♪
201-07-02 @ 11:00, aboard a southbound Line 40 bus: It is crowded and suTopo take a seat in the articulated section of the bus. He resolves that he will never again take a seat in this area and advises all his readers to avoid this portion of the extended length buses too. The wall i constructed of light metals, wire and fabric. It offers NO protection in the event of an accident. Sooner or later a red-light-runner will strike one of these buses at this, its most vulnerable point, bringine death and sever injury to the occupants of this section.
Someone in the bus manufacturing business should get busy and design a much strengthened "wall" for these vehicles and others like them.
At Least the Power is ON♪
The photo above was taken on 2016-07-07 at the Green Line Willowbrook Station. It provides further proof that the LACMTA just cant get it right; nor fixed, as this sign, whatever it might have originally intended to communicate is devoid of information and has been in that state for several months.
Modern Art?
201-07-12 at a bus stop: I look down at the sidewalk and for a moment I think I'm at MOMA in New York City, but I'm not. And this is not modern art, just the filth on the sidewalk at a bus stop the is never cleaned or poorly cleanded by the LACMTA's contractor: Shelter Clean.
Rider Disaproval♪
2016-07-12: The new bus schedules were announced, if not available on buses until much later on June 26. Here, two riders comment upon and document their agreement regarding the new schedule for the Line 117. Your Mole had to excise part of the photo to make it appropriate for a family blog. But I'm sure that most adults would be able to divine the graffitists intent.
2016-07-20 @ 06:45: Your Mole rides a 117 Line bus east on Century Blvd. so he can meet a business visitor at the visitor's hotel. Su Topo presses the "stop request button" but the bus zooms past Felton and continues east on Century.
In rely to la Taupe's query, the driver explains that due to construction the next stop will be about a half mile away.
As this Mole partakes of unneeded and unwanted exercise he notes that there were no on board announcements about skipped stops; nor were there any Metro notices placed along the route at the several skipped stops. It is business as usual for the LACMTA, NOTHING is ever done that will make the LACMTA's ridership more comfortable or better informed. The part of Century Blvd over which this Mole traveled is part of the City of Los Angeles
The mayor of Los Angeles has a seat on the LACMTA's board, so, one wonders why he isn't made aware of the LACMTA to do NOTHING about providing temporary bus stops in the area on-board stop change announcments and street side signage providing information about Line 117 stops?
Readers of these posts know that the LACMTA apparently has no maintnance budget, so they are always "on budget".
Su Topo firmly believes that the LACMTA monies are spent on executive salaries, equipment purchases, Toonerville Trolley build out with little for upkeep and maintenance and none for "frills" like improving conditions for its ridership. Everyone should keep in mind the low esteem in which the typical rider is held, that is, until it is time for the LACMTA to innundate her with tales of the wonders created by the LACMTA, in order to obtain that rider's vote for Measure R2, Ripoff2, or or Super Ripoff, as I like to call it.
Tell It Like it is♪
At a bus stop that is served by the LACMTA, BBB andCCMBL,la Taupe notes that BBB is also using the Next Bus service. They use its proper name "Next Bus" rather than renamng it "NexTrip" in what this Moles sees as an attempted credit grab. You can go to the site (www.nexttrip.com) and see for youself. All LACMTA tansportation schedules are available there —without the NexTrip designator.
This Is Not Rapid Transit♪
The photo above concretises the idea that the EXPO line will not deliver deterministic travel because, look at the signals and the traffic folks, it isn’t RAPID TRANSIT.
2016-07-230 Aboard southbound a 40 Line bus, mid-morning: A woman and her giant size luggage blocks the back door. I've seen her on a number of different buses. She asks for and receives a free ride, usually. I've seen some 117 Line drivers refuse her requests.
But the driver of this bus allowed her on board free and we all paid for it. She is foul-mouthed SQUARED. When passengers try to squeeze past her to exit through the rear exit, she unloads on them D-Moften holding her nose. If someone uses a cell phone in her vicinity she tells them exactly how she feels about it . Generally, curse words directed against her fellow passengers are frequent and not rarely physical threats.
I am sympathetic to an older, perhaps homeless woman who may be ill. She has sores on her back and is emaciated. None of this tempers her attitude. She needs to have organized help, the start of which may be a visit from the police.
After the bus arrives at the South Bay Center she transfers (without charge) to a southbound TT number eight bus. Apparently the driver knows her and lowers the wheelchair rampsho that she can push her massive load onboard. Another group of passengers is unaware of what awaits them.
Hawthorne Lennox Station Freeway Fence HOLE♪
No discussion of the LACMTA's approach to maintenance, or rather its lack of an approach, is complete without an example like this one. The hole pictured here was obviously purposely created with a tool! Click on the photo (twice) for the largest possible view. It offers easy access to the freeway and presents a real danger to users of the freeway below. I would say that what we see here is a crime against property, perhaps, since a federal roadway is involved it may even be a felony. Yet, no one in the LACMTA, which has the responsibility for BOTH the Toonerville system and the freeways, has seen fit to effect a repair. Never was, "If you don't know what's wrong, you can't fix it!", more true.
201-07-27 16:00: Your Mole's project in Carson ends and although he rode in with a co-worker he has to take the bus home. I start out walking on 223rd Street, walk and walk. Finally I find a LBT 191 Line stop, from which I can see a marker for the Long Beach city limits. The bus arrives in a few minutes. It id clean. quiet and comfortable driven by a polite driver! We intersect the Metro 232 Line which takes me to the LAXCBC. An hour's walk, two hours on buses and I am almost home.
When one rides the bus one walks a lot! LA Metro Mole
The Patsaouras Plaza is closing for construction (again) between July 11 and October 10 2016. It just closed a few years ago. Perhaps, if they had constructed it properly in the first place ... What is the difference between the Tour Eiffel and the Patsaouras Plaza?
Answer:
¡sɹɐǝʎ ʍǝɟ ʎɹǝʌǝ ƃuᴉplᴉnqǝɹ ɹoɟ ǝsolɔ oʇ ǝʌɐɥ ʇ,usǝop lǝɟɟᴉƎ ɹno┴ ǝɥ┴
Your Mole feels that by showing you month-by-month examples of the LACMTA's failures, you will come to see that throwing more money at this dysfunctional organisation is not the path to solution. It is a direct path to more money wasting by the LACMTA.
2016-07-28: Su Topo arrives in Santa Monica aboard the Xpo line. As he rides he performs mental calculations regarding the energy and other costs of riding on this roller coaster like track (ups and downs) along with the material costs of building the ramps vs building an elevated line that was rapid transit from the start. When one considers the long-term costs of accidents which result from grade level crossings. the positive aspects of initially building Rapid Transit seem to be the more favourable.
The Xpo Line Terminus
La Taupe arrived in Santa Monica just a few minutes after a train did. The stairway up to the platform were JAMMED! People sat on the steps creating an impasse, people pushed from behind -what has the LACMTA done to alleviate this situation? ¡NADA!, as expected. Of the many aspects of transportation they know nothing about, traffic flow seems near the top of the list.
When I compare my home town's transportation with major world world cities which I've visited, Los Angeles seems like Podunk Junction! To illustrate this point, Mr. Washington's Brain Trust, has come up with this: as an attempt to increase ridership he is putting together a "plan" to have Pokemon themed trains? and buses??. Mr. W., If you would take some of this Mole's service improvement suggestions, ridership would improve without childish games. Spend a day traveling on your "system" and see how you can justify the fact that the LACMTA feels that its ridership doesn't require los baños.
When I compare my home town's transportation with major world world cities which I've visited, Los Angeles seems like Podunk Junction! To illustrate this point, Mr. Washington's Brain Trust, has come up with this: as an attempt to increase ridership he is putting together a "plan" to have Pokemon themed trains? and buses??. Mr. W., If you would take some of this Mole's service improvement suggestions, ridership would improve without childish games. Spend a day traveling on your "system" and see how you can justify the fact that the LACMTA feels that its ridership doesn't require los baños.
Ear (and Eye) to the Rail
Transit as unseen and unimagined by the LACMTA
The LACMTA (Subordinate to LAWA)
11
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.
Let's take the train from the Stockholm from and to its airport—it is Rapid Transit folks! We can start the trip here. The population of Stockholm is 1,500,000 just a fraction of the Los Angeles area's population. but that doesn't stop them from having a real Rapid Transit system, as opposed to a Toonerville Trolley system
Thanks to youtube.com for your great support! and to Shiela Simkin for her upload!
Cosmology
sciencedaily.com presents us with a discussion of and a nice video of the concept of curved spacetime which was given to us by Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Please follow this link to learn more.
newscientist.com has a lead article that the very early stages of the merger of the Andromeda and the Milky Way galaxies may have already begun. This link will present that article and some other interesting ones as well.
Fare Box Score Box OOS and related Lists of Shame
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: Direction Line, etc., e.g., 125 (2016-05-28@ 10:20); Eastbound
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 (2016-05-31) 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
All original photographs and original written materials are copyrighted © 2007~2016 by LAmetroMole. As of 2016-06-01 copyrighted photographs will include copyright text. ♪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. Single use publication rights are granted provided the following statement is prominently displayed below the photograph: "copyrighted © 2007~2016 by LAmetroMole (http://lametromole.blogspot.com)"
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
Laura J. Nelson. "Judge refuses to halt subway project after Little Tokyo mall lawsuit". Los Angeles Times.Jul 20, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-regional-connector-lawsuit-20160720-snap-story.html
Nelson2, Laura J. ”How does Downtown L.A.'s bike-share system work?”. Los Angeles Times.Jul 20, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bikeshare-launch-q-and-a-20160706-snap-story.html snap-story.html
Vartabedian, Ralph. ""New political and legal battle is shaping up for California bullet train". Los Angeles Times.Jul 30, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-bullet-train-battle-20160729-snap-story.html
Weikel, Dan. "Metrolink will consider replacing defective parts on passenger cars". Los Angeles Times. Jul. 7, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-metrolink-parts-20160707-snap-story.html
Weikel, Dan. "Metrolink will consider replacing defective parts on passenger cars". Los Angeles Times. Jul. 7, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-metrolink-parts-20160707-snap-story.html
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