2016-10-31
Vae Viator80
Note: I have left much of last month's posting intact in this month's posting.
Note: I have left much of last month's posting intact in this month's posting.
I wanted to reinforce the idea that the LACMTA leaves much undone or does things poorly and therefore does not deserve a reward of eternal funding! The end of November posting is planed to have all new material :-)
¡VOTA NO EN MEASURE M!
VOTE NO EN MEASURE M!
Some aspects of Measure M Require Forty (40) Years to Actualise.
N.B. Those making the promises today will likely not be employed by the LACMTA 40 years from today!
Placing money in the hands of the LACMTA is pure folly. Placing tax revenue in the hands of the LACMTA forever is unconscionable!
The LACMTA promises jobs, better freeway traffic, etc. etc. BUT, the past is the best predictor of the future and based upon past performance the only area in which they excel is in making promises.
A Pasadena radio station, which shall remain nameless, offers a broadcast hosted by a lady with unknown transportation experience. The broadcast is ostensibly, about transportation. In reality it is simply an opportunity for the LACMTA, via its METRO PR group, to spew out propaganda. I can't bear listening to such pap, but in order to inform my readers I force myself to listen.
A recent program featured such silliness as Metro's (the LACMTA) plan for improve the access to the "first/last mile" of bus and rail "system".
One hilarious option offered was a thirty pound device that one could sit on an be transported at, if I remember correctly, fifteen miles per hour. Grasping at straws? Filling the " news hole"? Your Mole thinks so! People complain that a 2~3 pound laptop is too heavy. How are they going to haul around a thirty pound device which has possible life-ending consequences in L.A.'s traffic.
This is an excellent example of people who are "involved" in Los Angeles' never achievable promise of better transportation in the future. This Mole also see these futile attempts as the LACMTA's "try and fail again" approach; in some respects it is also a California thing when one considers our experience with Metro-link and the "Bullet Train".
There are lots of naïve people who are easily enamored with ideas of better transportation, although in all likelihood they seldom use public transportation. Yet, they are ready to go on record as a surrogate for the LACMTA and tell us how great it's going to be. That is the usual LACMTA modus operendi, viz., allow it to be designed by politicians, built without professional supervision, be satisfied with whatever way it turns out and then loose their PR flacks on us to tell us what a great job they all did.
With respect to others- N.B. To be determined: Exactly who is paying for "Yes on M"? And equally important exactly whose money are they using to fund the propaganda which is directed at us? Is it not illegal to use taxpayer funds for such propaganda?
Without question, Los Angeles has the WORST public transportation of any major U..S. city. I have been many large cities and the Toonerville Trolley system being cobbled together here would be laughed out of town in these other forward looking cities which take a long view rather than a cheap view.
Ignore the practical and "shoot for the moon" , right?? The LACMTA board members, the other politicians and the Pasadena radio station lady, if they use public transportation at all, it is sort of in the, isn't this fun, excursion mode of travel. Those tourists miss the grittiness of the day-after-day experience. Especially the after sundown rides.
For example, on the night of 2016-10-25, I rode the Green Line from Norwalk Station to Aviation Station. Incidentally, I rode in the same train car with the broken seat about which I have complained several times . There were lots of Deputy Sheriffs aboard. They were busy checking for fare payment, dealing with unruly passengers, those attempting to board free, etc. It was NOT fun! I do encourage those who are the mouthpieces for the LACMTA, like the nice lady from Pasadena, to hop on the Green Line from Norwalk Station about nine PM on a weeknight and see what using public transportation in Los Angeles really feels like!
Below, I have included some photos that depict reality as experienced by the typical commuter.
Please vote NO! ¡vota NO! on LACMTA/Metro Measure/Proposition M in November, remember M is for MALO and MALO means BAD!♪This is an excellent example of people who are "involved" in Los Angeles' never achievable promise of better transportation in the future. This Mole also see these futile attempts as the LACMTA's "try and fail again" approach; in some respects it is also a California thing when one considers our experience with Metro-link and the "Bullet Train".
There are lots of naïve people who are easily enamored with ideas of better transportation, although in all likelihood they seldom use public transportation. Yet, they are ready to go on record as a surrogate for the LACMTA and tell us how great it's going to be. That is the usual LACMTA modus operendi, viz., allow it to be designed by politicians, built without professional supervision, be satisfied with whatever way it turns out and then loose their PR flacks on us to tell us what a great job they all did.
With respect to others- N.B. To be determined: Exactly who is paying for "Yes on M"? And equally important exactly whose money are they using to fund the propaganda which is directed at us? Is it not illegal to use taxpayer funds for such propaganda?
Without question, Los Angeles has the WORST public transportation of any major U..S. city. I have been many large cities and the Toonerville Trolley system being cobbled together here would be laughed out of town in these other forward looking cities which take a long view rather than a cheap view.
Ignore the practical and "shoot for the moon" , right?? The LACMTA board members, the other politicians and the Pasadena radio station lady, if they use public transportation at all, it is sort of in the, isn't this fun, excursion mode of travel. Those tourists miss the grittiness of the day-after-day experience. Especially the after sundown rides.
For example, on the night of 2016-10-25, I rode the Green Line from Norwalk Station to Aviation Station. Incidentally, I rode in the same train car with the broken seat about which I have complained several times . There were lots of Deputy Sheriffs aboard. They were busy checking for fare payment, dealing with unruly passengers, those attempting to board free, etc. It was NOT fun! I do encourage those who are the mouthpieces for the LACMTA, like the nice lady from Pasadena, to hop on the Green Line from Norwalk Station about nine PM on a weeknight and see what using public transportation in Los Angeles really feels like!
Below, I have included some photos that depict reality as experienced by the typical commuter.
NO Luck #1♪
Although the original intent of these signs were to keep the homeless out, they apply equality to the bus or train rider who needs a restroom. But note, that among the very important amenities required by the LACMTA's ridership are accessible restrooms. 
NO Luck # 2♪
Restrooms, escalators etc. are all costly frills which can easily be eliminated by the LACMTA board members, the other politicians and, perhaps even, the Pasadena radio station lady. They don't have to ride on these poorly conceived, poorly designed, weirdly built —think the hills and dales of the Crenshaw Line along with its numerous (one is too many) grade level crossings.
At this juncture, the ballot measure is designated Measure or Proposition M. 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 or Proposition M —they are asking for an ETERNAL, never ending, money grab! They haven’t earned it and they certainly don’t deserve it!
America's Worst LACMTA Transportation: Risible, NOT Rapid!♪
Punishment?♪
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 firings for lack of aptitude.
Providing a pleasant on-board ambiance; no LOUD audio emanating from Metro vehicle's on-board audio systems, dispatcher radios or the 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.
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 not most, bus drivers DO NOT secure wheelchair passengers. Rather, they ask passenger if they wish to be secured; most seem to reply "NO". 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♪
(By the way, what is LAWA doing in transportation anyway??)
(By the way, what is LAWA doing in transportation anyway??)
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 Angeles 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. He also spent taxpayer dollars to propagandise us in favour of proposition R. 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 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???♪
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 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
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.
2016-09-30
Please carefully watch this video and you'll see two vehicles, the second one a taxi, cutoff a 111 Line bus.
These incursions happen multiple times per day so it is only a matter of time before an accident occurs.
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, “
you go under the airport, it is fraught with problems, ...” [hardly a get it done attitude!].
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 Los Angels Times reports (Nelson) that some of the LACMTA's promises will not be fulfilled until 2057 (la Taupe's take). That's forty (40) years from now. This piece could not come at a better time in order to reinforce this Mole's No on M campaign.
The spin-masters at the LACMTA must be spinning in their swivel chairs at the Taj Mahal after reading this article.
This is a great piece! Hard-hitting, and one which holds the LACMTA's feet to the fire! If you only read one thing about Measure M before voting—this should be the one.
I'll only quote a two paragraphs of Ms Nelson's great prose: “We think our ads are very clear about the fact that Measure M will reduce traffic, and the alternative will not,” said Yusef Robb, a spokesman for the Yes on M campaign, which funded several ads running in English and Spanish on cable and local channels.
Officials at Metro, who are barred from advocating for the measure (Mole's emphasis), offered a series of lukewarm assessments about the ad’s claims that an estimated $120 billion in transportation investments over four decades “will reduce the time you’re stuck in traffic by 15% a day.”
One LACMTA spokesperson termed the failure to mention the 40 year period required to actualise the 15% reduction as "minutiae". Which acts demonstrates the basic dishonesty of the LACMTA and layers an error of commission on an error of omission.
Like many politically related issues, here too, following the ownership of the "Yes campaign" and the source of the funding will shine a bright light on this matter. As far as being advocates for Measure Malo, one would be week advised to comb the media for public statements about how great it is going to be when the LACMTA has their hands in your pockets, FOREVER! A good place to start would be the Pasadena radio station mentioned above.
Your Mole attempted to do due diligence on the Ownership of the "Yes on M" website and displays it below.
The Los Angeles Times relates (Vartabedian) the latest events in the ongoing drama of the "Bullet Train".
In a richly detailed piece, Mr. Vartabedian, shows how grasping at straws is the go-to strategy of the CHSRA. La Taupe would subtitle this article smaller and slower is better.
A single quote will focus you on CHSRA's "plan": "...reducing the capacity of individual trains by roughly 50% and potentially the capacity of the entire Los Angeles-to-San Francisco route."
CHRSA, by shortening the platform length, has foreclosed on the possibility of adding cars to future trains. Although, in future, it would be possible to lengthen the platforms, most people understand that it is much more expensive to modify existing structures than build them right in the first place. Successive iterations of CHSRA's budget saving measures may result in a "Bullet Toonerville Trolley" such as we have in Los Angeles —without the Bullet, i.e., rapid feature.
Both of this month's Los Angeles Times articles are must reads! I would like to see in depth coverage of the LACMTA by a team headed by Ms Nelson and Mr. Vartabedian.
The spin-masters at the LACMTA must be spinning in their swivel chairs at the Taj Mahal after reading this article.
This is a great piece! Hard-hitting, and one which holds the LACMTA's feet to the fire! If you only read one thing about Measure M before voting—this should be the one.
I'll only quote a two paragraphs of Ms Nelson's great prose: “We think our ads are very clear about the fact that Measure M will reduce traffic, and the alternative will not,” said Yusef Robb, a spokesman for the Yes on M campaign, which funded several ads running in English and Spanish on cable and local channels.
Officials at Metro, who are barred from advocating for the measure (Mole's emphasis), offered a series of lukewarm assessments about the ad’s claims that an estimated $120 billion in transportation investments over four decades “will reduce the time you’re stuck in traffic by 15% a day.”
One LACMTA spokesperson termed the failure to mention the 40 year period required to actualise the 15% reduction as "minutiae". Which acts demonstrates the basic dishonesty of the LACMTA and layers an error of commission on an error of omission.
Like many politically related issues, here too, following the ownership of the "Yes campaign" and the source of the funding will shine a bright light on this matter. As far as being advocates for Measure Malo, one would be week advised to comb the media for public statements about how great it is going to be when the LACMTA has their hands in your pockets, FOREVER! A good place to start would be the Pasadena radio station mentioned above.
Your Mole attempted to do due diligence on the Ownership of the "Yes on M" website and displays it below.
What paranoia! All names are private. It appears that we need to find the names as well as following the money. Or is this simply a matter of more "minutiae"? This Mole things not! There is lots of money for all the insiders if Measure M wins. And it won't be spent on restrooms, escalators or pleasently quiet buses and trains either!
The Los Angeles Times relates (Vartabedian) the latest events in the ongoing drama of the "Bullet Train".
In a richly detailed piece, Mr. Vartabedian, shows how grasping at straws is the go-to strategy of the CHSRA. La Taupe would subtitle this article smaller and slower is better.
A single quote will focus you on CHSRA's "plan": "...reducing the capacity of individual trains by roughly 50% and potentially the capacity of the entire Los Angeles-to-San Francisco route."
CHRSA, by shortening the platform length, has foreclosed on the possibility of adding cars to future trains. Although, in future, it would be possible to lengthen the platforms, most people understand that it is much more expensive to modify existing structures than build them right in the first place. Successive iterations of CHSRA's budget saving measures may result in a "Bullet Toonerville Trolley" such as we have in Los Angeles —without the Bullet, i.e., rapid feature.
Both of this month's Los Angeles Times articles are must reads! I would like to see in depth coverage of the LACMTA by a team headed by Ms Nelson and Mr. Vartabedian.
A scene from "Expo Line crowding"
EXT. EXPO LINE PLATFORM - DAY
Passenger
(Whiny voice)
(Whiny voice)
It’s too crowded!
Think Japan, for example, a good transportation planner would NOT schedule trains all day long based on peak traffic, unless they were not too bright AND had unlimited money available. Get used to it, peak hours will be crowded! In years past, some kind of Bus Association wanted a bus every 10 minutes or some impossible schedule, so that a bus which ran on a 30 minute headway would now have six (6) buses spread out along the route instead of two. Both capex and opex go through the roof. Politicians, rank amateurs in the transportation business run the LACMTA, so solutions that they purpose will likely fail, cost too much to implement Or BOTH.
Bicycles, walking and Toonerville Trolleys won’t get people out of their cars! Good service and amenities will. If you are driving to work and need a bathroom break, just pull into a petrol station.
If you are taking a Toonerville Trolley to work and need a bathroom break, well, Bonne chance!
Your Mole says, professionalise the LACMTA, divide it into highways and public transportation and don’t give them a dime for ten (10) years during which interval the new organisation rationalises what presently exists.
The Times informs us (Vartabedian) that the bullet train route will now be from San Jose to an almond orchard! One cannot make these things up! Brief quotes regarding an almond field destination, will put you in the picture.
'The apparent absurdity of the abbreviated route was not lost on supporters. “It seems odd,” acknowledged Dan Richard, chairman of the rail authority, “to be stopping in the middle of an almond orchard.”'
Please follow the Works Cited links, (if provided) , below and read the complete articles by this excellent group of reporters.
« “Un moyen de réduire les impôts serait d’organiser une élection chaque année, car il semble que l’année des élections il n’y ait jamais d’augmentation d’impôts.”.»
De Anonyme
["One way to reduce taxes is to organize an election every year, because it seems that in election years there are never tax increases."]
Anonymous
Ars longa vita breva
Charles Le Brun (1619-02-24~1690-02-22) was a superior classical painter. Please see some of his works here.
To see more of M. Le Brun's work Cliquez ici.
for allowing us to see his beautiful works of art!
Merci bien à http://17emesiecle.free.fr/Le_Brun.php pour le matériel biographique.
Charles Le Brun (1619-02-24~1690-02-22) was a superior classical painter. Please see some of his works here.
for allowing us to see his beautiful works of art!
Merci bien à http://17emesiecle.free.fr/Le_Brun.php pour le matériel biographique.
¿Musica?
Let's listen to Julian Bream playing Francesco Tarrega's (1852-11-21~1909-12-15) Capricho Arabe
Let's listen to Julian Bream playing Francesco Tarrega's (1852-11-21~1909-12-15) Capricho Arabe
"Thank you!" to www.youtube.com for these beautiful works. We are also grateful to Jogurt Belinea, who uploaded the video.
Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪
The Mole rides again, so you don't have to look at a bus "flag" in Westwood and try to divine tis destination.
(dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
HILL & Dale I♪
(dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
HILL & Dale I♪
2016-09-02: Your Mole ponders the Crenshaw Line constructions and reinforces his idea, expressed within the last several months, that creating these hills and valleys, then laying track up and down them is inefficient and costly in several ways. A greater amount of propulsive energy is required to drag the load uphill and there is a corresponding use of energy to provide breaking force on the way down into the valley. to this Mole's way of thinking the cost associated with the energy wasted on overcoming inertia and powering the trolley up the incline then breaking on the way down, over the life of the system is ridiculous and is a breach of fiduciary on the part of the LACMTA. In effect, the brilliant LACMTA saves on the one time costs, capital expense —capex, only to accrue operating costs, operating expense —opex, day after day after day. Granted, building an elevated structure will cost more, but, perhaps not much more than building hills and valleys as shown above and below.
HILL & Dale II♪
What then are the payoffs. First of all the system would be, by definition, Rapid Transit, because it would not complete, at grade level, for the right of way. being Rapid Transit means that travel times would be deterministic, let's for the purposes of our discussion take "deterministic travel times" to mean we can fairly accurately estimate how long it will take us to get from A to B. This in not the case when the Toonerville Trolley has to stop for a red light and cross traffic at an intersection, which is the case in every instance that the LACMTA has built after the Green Line. The builders of the Green Line understood, but subsequent managements forgot.
The photo above is from the HART Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit. Please visit their site, where you can try first hand AND see what deterministic travel times mean by using the Transit Time Calculator. Sorry, in Los Angeles, such calculations are impossible —other than for the Green Line, and even then you would have to compile the data and perform your own calculations.
Mahalo a nui loa to HART for allowing us to see their construction photo, visit their impressive website and allowing us to use the calculator that can teach those who can learn why Rapid Transit is the way to go!
We have also seen an important reason NOT the presently constituted another dime, they will only waste it. N.B. the HART system has an stop at Honolulu International Airport!
Let's take a musical break and dedicate Nathan Aweau's Kaimana Hila to HART and listen to it ourselves. Nathan, MAHALO!
2016-09-04: I thought that the LACMTA used Shelter Clean to tidy up bus stops, but something went wrong here.
Trashy - I♪
2016-09-06: I found the same situation below. Good job, LACMTA! They deserve a raise, don't they? they don't? OK, no money, VOTA NO on M!
Trashy - II♪
VOTA NO on M!
The graffitists seem to have busy. But they got it right this time! Let's keep the LACMTA's hands out of out pockets. if they want our money they will mean have to get it the old fashioned way, viz., earn it by providing a good service.
2016-10-06 @ 14:49: When it comes to the LACMTA, whatever direction you turn, you can find something wrong. In this case, on the west side of Westwood BL at Lindbrook DR, one finds that the "flag", improperly reads that the bus is headed to Westwood instead of to the Sepulveda Expo Line Station (stop 9 on the schedule, below).
Above is a snippet of the 734 schedule, which may help the LACMTA figure it out.
2016-10-15 @10:23: Aboard a 232 Line bus, Southbound, providing an example of the way not to do it, an MV Transportation driver with absolutely NO METRO SUPERVISION and in spite of the fact that the ASA is operating —although much to loudly— shouts out the stops. He is impervious to the wishes of the passengers, some who are attempting to conduct personal or business telephone conversations. Or others, like su Topo, who just wants some quiet time in which to read.
Bus Service by "Wrong Way Corrigan"♪
734 Schedule Snippet♪
2016-10-15 @10:23: Aboard a 232 Line bus, Southbound, providing an example of the way not to do it, an MV Transportation driver with absolutely NO METRO SUPERVISION and in spite of the fact that the ASA is operating —although much to loudly— shouts out the stops. He is impervious to the wishes of the passengers, some who are attempting to conduct personal or business telephone conversations. Or others, like su Topo, who just wants some quiet time in which to read.
Lunch Time♪
2016-09-09 LAXCBC: There are signs which prohibit feeding the birds, but some do it anyway and, of course, their is no security presence to correct the violators.
Neither are there police officers around to prevent trucks, like the one shown above, from straying into the LAXCBC.
Bringing better service to others, by bypassing you♪
Illegal Entry♪
Neither are there police officers around to prevent trucks, like the one shown above, from straying into the LAXCBC.
Bringing better service to others, by bypassing you♪
So, equal taxation but unequal provision of service that is the LACMTA way. But it is time to bring an end to that approach. La Taupe has shown the way to do that —VOTE NO on any LACMTA/Metro propositions. This Mole has commented on the Rapid service in the past. Pointing out that Rapid lines don't always stop when the cross other LACMTA lines, nor do they stop at county facilities, e.g., the excellent Los Angeles County Libraries. Why not? Well one could ask the Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Association.
So what if the line took six minutes longer but, some students could get to a library sooner. And while they're at it, stops should be added for Los Angeles City Libraries too!
Each month we'll focus on some obvious problems that are not being addressed. Rather than discussing some of the LACMTA's vast projects, we can review some of their smaller one's, we can call those half-vast projects.
Linking the Green Line - NOT LAX!♪
2016-09-10 at Aviation Station: Above, we can see the linking of the Crenshaw Line to the Green Line, unfortunately, LAX will have to wait until we can ride four or Five seats to near LAX, then struggle with our luggage to ride a "People Mover" closer to the airport. Maybe we can trade the LACMTA to Honolulu for the HART staff? Probably not.
Revealing Or Concealing?♪
2016-09-14 Harbour Freeway Station: Here we see signage that is concealed preventing much from being revealed.
Each month we'll focus on some obvious problems that are not being addressed. Rather than discussing some of the LACMTA's vast projects, we can review some of their smaller one's, we can call those half-vast projects.
It is so typical of the LACMTA's "They (the ridership) will work it out" attitude, this construction has been ongoing for months but they have no staff to ease the ridership's daily trials. The LACMTA is a top-heavy organisation with not much between that, how shall I say, "gravy train level", and the various trades,drivers, mechanics etc., except contractors. Contractors are utilized for essential tasks only, think IT services.
The LACMTA is quick to tell everyone what a great job they are doing, especially during this period of measure R)IPOFF) or measure M)ALO) when they want to put their hand in the taxpayer's pocket, essentially forever.
In case you missed su Topo's position: He says VOTE NO on any measure which will give the LACMTA ANY MONEY WHATSOEVER!
They don't deserve it, they haven't earned it and they have left us with an inadequately managed, uncoordinated patchwork of buses and poorly conceived, poorly designed and badly implemented, Toonerville Trollies.
Where they should have given us rapid transit, and once knew how —the Green Line proves it, they fell into the trap of thinking that saving construction funds, by running trains at grade level whenever possible would allow those funds to be spent on other budget items, like ummm, salaries, bonuses, junkets etc.?
Some cities in the united States, exemplified by New York City, take the long view, and build difficult projects like the Second Avenue Subway, the LACMTA hides under their collective desks and shout "Everything is fraught with danger!".
Why can't LACMTA DRIVERS park?♪
This Mole believes that it is because they don't care! Every driver is trained and must pass a test, they have lots of experiences on the streets of Los Angeles. It is either lack of care or perhaps the LACMTA doesn't foster a climate of professionalism, doesn't reward good work or is too focused on obtaining funds that little time or energy is left for making things better.
Fly Away by MV Transportation♪
2016-09-25: Well, LAWA uses the same low-cost, non-union company to supply drivers to it’s Fly Away buses. It makes one continue to wonder what an airport is doing, running a bus service, in the midst of the LACMTA’s area.
LAWA charges, at least four times the LACMTA fare while using the same cost
reduction approach, viz., hiring contractors rather than employees, as does the
LACMTA —where ever they can.
One Mile with No Bus Stops♪
2016-09-25: Wanting to visit the new Aldi store on Century BL, la Taupe took a
117 Line bus there and it stopped on the south side of the street without a problem.
One Unreadable Sign♪
When your Mole returned however, he had to walk, carrying his purchases, for about a mile in the blazing sun; there were no signs anywhere, well there was one. Please remember, that the people who provide such miserable service or perhaps we should say such disservice, expect our tax monies FOREVER.
Is this a Bus Stop?♪
2016-09-29: Yes, located just north of Centenala on Latijera, it was a bus stop at one time, before the roadwork began. Now the road work is finished, except for the cleanup. The only way to board a bus here is: (1) to know its former status as a bus stop and (2) to flag down a bus that uses to stop here and (3) hope that the bus driver agrees with you regarding its status.
This is just another, of many projects that are under the rubric of LACMTA half-vast projects.
¡VOTA NO en measure M! - VOTE NO on measure M!
More Toonerville Trolleys?♪
The graffiti artist have been working on the posters aboard LACMTA conveyances! They have made an excellent point as well. Vehicles which run at grade level and stop for stop signs and signals are not Rapid Transit, no matter how much one spins the topic, the truth cannot be avoided. Rapid transit is the choice of major American cities, except for Los Angeles!
The LACMTA never solves any problems! Entering or exiting the LAXCBC these days is a real pain. One will almost certainly miss close connections when the never-ending stream of traffic won't allow you bus to enter the LAXCBC.
Exiting the LAXCBC can seemingly take forever as the traffic stream will not break to let a bus exit. Anyone with an IQ of 70 or greater could see that some type of bus actuated traffic signal would allow buses to enter or exit. But since that would make commuter's lives easier, it just won't happen.
Even something as simple as providing visible signage with wording along the lines of "Yield to entering transit buses" (East) and "Yield to exiting transit buses" (West), might help somewhat.
Just another reason to vote NO on Measure M (MALO)!
So, the LACMTA will tell you how great everything is and expect you to robotically vote for their ballot measure and they'll end up with tons of money to waste as they see fit.
Real transportation organisations build and improve on quality transportation, not move from one band-aided mess to another and then define it as "excellent". Real transportation organisations also MAINTAIN THEIR SYSTEMS, not "run them into the ground".
Su Topo firmly believes that the LACMTA monies are spent on executive salaries, unnecessary frills, equipment purchases, the 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 inundate her with tales of the wonders created by the LACMTA, in order to obtain that rider's vote for Measure M.
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.
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.
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!
ath
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.
%%et's take the train from Toronto's Weston Station to Pearson International Airport —the train is Rapid Transit folks! We can start the trip here. Toronto's population is 6,456,000, approximately one-third of the Los Angeles area's population. but that doesn't stop them from having a real Rapid Transit system which terminates at the airport, not a mile away. As opposed to our Toonerville Trolley system, Toronto's line originates from their Union Station, downtown.
Thanks to youtube.com for your great support! and to UrbanDigest for the
upload!
upload!
Cosmology
For more details please read the article here.
A report in the express.uk.com reminds us that severe solar storms can be accompanied by an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) which can have severe effects on modern electronics and communications. Another site, http://www.backdoorsurvival.com/prepping-for-an-emp-and-solar-flares/ says we could be "... swept backward in time by a century or two."
Not a pleasant thought and an event for which we are poorly prepared!
Not a pleasant thought and an event for which we are poorly prepared!
For more details please read the article here.
Thank you!, phys.org/ for allowing us to read this material.
Score Box OOS and related Lists of Shame
I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of Order Fare Boxes: Date/Time, Line/Bus #, Direction, e.g.,
route/bus#(date,time); direction
Note: No or few entries above do not necessarily mean all fare boxes are in operation.
route/bus#(date,time); direction
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 occurs 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 organisation 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 organisations having transactions with any of the entities about which I have written.
there are no exceptions.
Date: 2009-06-24 s/LametroMole
Works Cited
Nelson, Laura J. "Metro's sales tax could reduce your time stuck in traffic by 15% — but not until 2057". The Los Angeles Times. Oct. 21, 2016. Web.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-reduce-traffic-20161018-snap-story.html
Vatrabedian, Ralph. “State rail authority reduces size of future bullet train stations". Los Angeles Times. Oct. 20, 2016. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-capacity-cutback-20161020-snap-story.html
An artifact of the streets of Los Angeles, created by a brother Mole!
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The above is ### 30 ### in Braille
