2017-02-28

 

Vae Viator84 2017-02-28

Vae Viator84


From your Mole, to all who see this in hopes that you will enjoy your visit to this site.

 ίBienvenido!

 Bienvenue!

Welcome!

добро пожаловать!




AMERICA'S WORST!♪

There are many reasons why the LACMTA can claim this title ...


Monthly Passes♪  

Shown below, briefly, are the policies, with respect to monthly passes, of three agencies which su Topo holds in  high regard: 

The San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority — "Monthly passes are the most convenient way for regular customers to get unlimited access to Muni service, including cable cars, for a calendar month.";

New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority — "A 30-Day Metro Card can only be refilled with a 30-Day purchase.";

Chicago Transit Authority/Pace — " 30-Day Pass.";

While San Francisco has the most honest policy,  which la Taupe states as: " A month is a month."  All three have policies which offer fares through their vending machines.  Which result in vending machines being available in places where they are needed.  

 Further, the San Francisco Muni has a passenger friendly policy.  Please see an example ici.

 Also, N.B. A single ride fare on Muni is good for 90 minutes of travel, whether it be on a single route or a trip with multiple transfers across buses and light rail [emphasis Mole]. You can save $0.25 per trip by paying with a Clipper® Card or MuniMobile. 
  C.f. with the niggardly LACMTA only available Metro transfers, the free on that you can get if one funds her card with cash, before boarding and has a one hour limit which starts starts decrementing as soon as the fare is paid. The Metro policy is not well known by the drivers and may not even be available now.

While the the LACMTA has a sparse population of vending machines they have "over 400 sales location sprinkled around the county.  And while the LACMTA often poor-mouths its' financial status they share their fare revenue by paying commission to the vendors.

 The fare machines provided by the LACMTA are frequently poorly sited, in bright sun producing an unbelievable glare.  Or as this Mole likes to say, for the LACMTA, fifth class is good enough.


lots of rain,so waiting for a bright sun vending machine photo here.



METRO's Plans Means: More Toonerville Trolleys!♪

The graffiti artists have been working on the posters aboard LACMTA conveyances!  They 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 first choice of major American cities, except for Los Angeles!

The LACMTA is promising a 15% reduction in commute time —although my understanding is that it will require 40 years to accomplish the task.  Perhaps they might want to add a few more years because, as one can see in the photo above, the bar is set high.




METRO's Plans Means: More Streets Torn Up with No Bus Stops!♪

If only these taggers worked for the LACMTA we wouldn't be experiencing half the problems.  But then these taggers ride the buses, see and understand both the problems and their solutions. 

America's Worst LACMTA Transportation: Risible, NOT Rapid!♪


Punishment?♪

Now that the LACMTA has a fist-full of dollars will they, at last, 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 who 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.

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 wheelchairs could bounce around the bus and injure other 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.

 In 2008 the MTA, the NYCMTA, not the one in Los Angeles County, prepared a Power Point presentation laying out a plan for the next 40 years.  You can view that presentation here.

 I searched for a LACMTA 40 year plan but, rien trouvé!  Well, lots of verbiage was found and seemed to be mostly about how the LACMTA will spent the new found money that will flow from the taxpayers pockets.  You can judge the value of the plan  for your self by following this link to 81 pages of ?



Universal Drop-Off Point?♪

La Taupe has commented a number of times on changing the drop off point of Metro 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 and then drag their collective feet in the implementation.

That said, Bay 9 is shown above .  It could be the universal drop-off point for Metro buses.  That would place all Metro buses the shortest distance from arriving metro buses. If Bay 9 proves unsatisfactory then, the LACMTA will have to do some of its'  own work in finding a solution :-)  Err, don't hold your breath.

Please review these prior posts on a more efficient arrangement of the LAXCBC on: 2013-03; 2014-12; and 2015-10.


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??)

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!

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
(Photo: www.bigbluebus.com)

The man pictured above could ensure that trash containers are installed along BBB routes with a simple three-line memorandum.

White Line Incursion Series

Su Topo uses video to highlight the problem of scofflaw drivers endangering Metro bus passengers yet, no authority seems to want to take ownership of the problem. The issue is not unique to the particular site documented by your Mole, but is illustrative of a general problem. Your Mole encourages you to report similar problems to the appropriate agencies in your area(s) and hope that you will have better luck than he. In the youtube.com videos linked below one can see exactly what happens when the policing agencies fail to enforce traffic laws. 

Further, when the agency responsible for public transportation is so lacking in every skill necessary for success yet will apply their only tool to the job.  when you only tool is a PR flack; then every issue seem soluble by issuing a press release.

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.

2017-02 <Replay>

In this video and you'll see a rent-a-car shuttle and several cars, cutoff a 111 Line bus.   Several of the cars cutoff the bus after it begins to move.

This video will show a vehicle cutoff a 111 Line bus.

Here we can see another Class B licensed rent-a-car shuttle driver cross the white line and then a number of patient drivers follow the 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.

Thanks to www.youtube.com or their excellent video support!
La Taupe feels that it is appropriate to dedicate these video(s) to ALL the agencies that should be protecting us. So, they are dedicated to (1): Airport (LAWA) Police, (2) the L.A.P.D., (3) the L. A. County Sheriff’s Department and (4) Mr. Washington who is the current CEO of the LACMTA.

Su Topo has recommended a simple solution to the problem. That is, have the 111 Line buses pull up to pedestrian crosswalk, stop there stop and discharge passengers. Doing so eliminates the space in front of the bus which the always-in-a-hurry scofflaws use to cut in front of the bus. But, with the LACMTA nothing is simple. Although the solution could be implemented with nothing more than a memo to the 111/311 Line drivers, it is a task for which the LACMTA so far has proved to be inadequate.


Metro's Flag 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!].

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

In a Times piece (Nelson) that describes a decline in the LACMTA’s bus ridership: "Even if the rail network doubles in size, experts say, ample bus service will still be an essential cog in the transit system to shuttle passengers to and from train stations, to add capacity along major corridors, and to serve neighborhoods where rail won’t be built."

Ms Nelson’s excellent article covers reasons why people are avoiding the bus, including, indeterminate travel times which can make commuters late for work and security concerns.

The Los Angeles Times reports (Nelson¹) that, Tutor-Perini a contractor who, due to past legal issues with the LACMTA “… until now, had left him excluded from Metro’s rail building boom.”

Ms Nelson details the possible implications of the choice of this contractor on the LACMTA’s plans for its’ Subway to the V.A. Hospital.

 The Los Angeles Times reports (Nelson²) that the LACMTA will spend more money on security when the Los Angeles Police Department and the Long Beach Police Department  assumes some the the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department's security duties. "The costlier plan should significantly increase the number of officers patrolling the system, to about 314 for each 24-hour period, Wiggins said. The Sheriff’s Department now provides 140 to 200 deputies during the same time frame." But will it be enough security? 
Let's do some basic math.  314 Officers ÷ 3 shifts = 104 officers per shift.  [115.9 Miles of rail + an estimated —by this Mole— 3,083 miles of bus routes] is est. 3198 miles ÷ 104 Officers = approx. 22 miles per officer per shift.  There are lots of IFs in your Moles' estimates however is seems a pretty big job for only 104 officers!

 When one compares the staffing levels with New York City, which has a staff of 716, including civilians" to police "...approximately 5,000 square miles, including New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State and southern Connecticut, and serves a population of 14.4 million people"♣.

 ♣All New York City MTA Policing data from: http://web.mta.info/mta/police/about.html Thank you, New York City MTA!
The San Francisco Chronicle tells us (Rubenstein) that other transportation agencies have problems too. The problem was with the system that predicted bus arrival times in conjunction with the Nextbus provider.

 "The prediction system had malfunctioned because it was linked to a wireless network that provider AT&T deactivated after saying it was outdated. Muni acknowledged it knew the deactivation of the system was coming as long ago as 2012, but hadn’t expected it so soon."

 The differences between the Muni and the LACMTA are numerous and include the facts that: 1.) the Muni will recognise a problem and repair it; the Muni is basically honest in that they name their service provider, viz., NextBus, not rename it —NextTrip— in a dishonest and expensive attempt to claim it as their own. Of the 135 agencies who contract with NextBUS, how many name it something else?

 Nice work Mr. Rubenstein, concise and understandable!

The Times (Vartabedian) keeps us abreast of the Bullet Train’s seemingly never ending legal problems. “Opponents of the California bullet train alleged in legal papers filed Tuesday that the California legislature violated the state constitution when it passed a law last year amending and modifying the $9-billion high speed rail bond act that voters approved in 2008.”Even with this Mole’s limited legal background, it would seem that one could not make changes to language approved by the voters.

The Los Angeles Times seems to validate (Vartabedian¹) the adage that “It never rains but it pours” vis-à-vis the Bullet Train. Mr Vartabedian supplies details about the latest Bullet Train problem, which undoubtedly cause sleep deprivation for CHSRA.

In a Times story (Vartabedian²)) that stands alone yet is directly related to the Bullet Train, we find that, “[a] top Obama Administration executive at the U.S. Department of Transportation approved a $647-million grant for a California rail project in mid-January and less than two weeks later later went to work for a Los Angeles-based contractor involved in the project ...”. This is a must-read piece so that you can learn which DOT officials left the agency to join contractors.

One could not make these thing up!

The Times covers (Vartabedian³) a planned expenditure of $2.75 billion for Los Angeles properties which will be used for Bullet Train infrastructure.


Please follow the links, where provided, in "Works Cited”, below and read the work of all these hard-working reporters.




The Los Angeles Toonerville Trolley experience♪


«Si stupide que soit son existence, l'homme s'y rattache toujours.»  
Arthur Rimbaud (1732-04-05~1891-11-10)

[However stupid his existence may be, man is always attached to it.]

Merci beaucoup à http://evene.lefigaro.fr pour la citation! Et Merci bien à google.fr pour le matériel biographique.

Ars longa vita breva Jean-Honoré Fragonard  (1732-04-19~1806-08-22) was  a member of the Rococo school.  Here is his Psyche showing her sisters her gifts from cupid.

Thank you to www.nationalgallery.org.uk/  for allowing us to view this beautiful work!  Which site allows us to magnify the image and view various sections in enlarged form.
To see more of M. Fraconard's work Cliquez ici.
 Merci bien www.google.fr pour le matériel biographique.

¿Musica?
La Méditation de Thaïs was composed by Jules Massanet (1842-05-12~1912-08-13) with the majesty of the tour Eifflel, the violin of Renaud Capuçon, L'Orchestre National de France est dirigé par Daniele Gatti. Et Le choeur de Radio-France est dirigé par Ciro Visco results in movingly beautiful music. Please experience this performance here.

Thank you!" to www.youtube.com for this magnificent work. We also thank
Esther Pérez who uploaded the video. 

Merci bien à google.fr pour le matériel biographique.

Please, also enjoy Mireille Mathieu's Plaisir d'amour.chansonranc  Plaisir d'amour here.

 www.youtube.com, Again, Thank you!  Et Merci beaucoup  à Chansonranc, le chargeur.



Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪

The Mole rides again, so you don't have to wonder how long your eardrums will last after being exposed to the inordinately noisy Metro "contracted line buses".
(dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)

2017-02-15: LACMTA contractor MV Transportation is giving free rides today due to a programming SNAFU which disallows drivers from signing in to their buses.


 2017-02-17 La Taupe meets a man visiting from Kazakhstan and assists him on planning a trip from LAX to the green Line and on to the Blue Line.

 

                                    FlyAway bus parks at LAXCBC♪

This Mole can see no valid reason why a FlyAway bus should be parked at the LAXCBC.  Neither can he understand why LAWA is allowed to run a transit operation like FlyAway?



And even less reason why LACMTA funds should be used to direct riders to FlyAway buses.  Pleas see the "Trip Spoiler" output above.  Note that "FA" is the code for LAWA's FlyAway buses, which are competitors for the riders dollars. 

 The programing effort is paid for by the LACMTA while LAWA reaps the benefits of traffic that is steered to them at no charge.  If the LACMTA is charged with the responsibility of providing public transportation, let them do so.  Instead of pushing traffic to LAWA's service at no cost to them while forgoing revenue AND not enhancing public transportation.  The LACMTA could easily provide an airport bus service, they did in the past, and charge a slight premium.  Just another reason why the LACMTA is the nation's worst transportation agency.







                                    

                                          

LAXCBC Universal Drop Off Point♪

2017-02-20 La Taupe Keeps hoping that the LACMTA will rationalize the organization of the LAXCBC.  This may prove to be the triumph of experience over hope.


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.  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!

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!
OR

The LACMTA Tries Again; Asymptotically to LAX!

OR

Metro is the worst way from the City Center to the Airport, LAX, that is!


The purpose of this section is to make people aware that the LACMTA is not home to many problem solvers. I hope to accomplish this end by presenting the solutions adopted by other cities, some in foreign countries, in solving the city to airport rapid transportation challenge.

Cautionary Note: Those employed by the LACMTA or LAWA should NOT view the following video(s). The speed of the train(s), the fact that they neither share the right of way nor stop at stop lights, because they are truly rapid transit, will likely make you dizzy, nauseous, confuse and frighten you.

N.B. LACMTA staff and management, avoid cognitive dissonance, DO NOT CLICK on THE LINK BELOW!
Let's ride another airport train that will definitely make the LACMTA "planner's" faces and the faces OF CHSRA's planner's red with shame.  

 What you will see is the Chinese Mag-Lev train that has a maximum speed of 501 KPH, which speed converts to 311 MPH!

 This Mag-Lev rapid transit train serves the Shanghai's Pudong airport. See it here.

 This train leaves the U.S. so far behind China that it may be impossible for us to ever equal them.  祝贺中国.
While CHSRA stumbles along with 1960's technology, the LACMTA continues to build hill and dale, energy inefficient, roller coaster modeled Toonerville Tolleys and both agencies attempt to sell their puny efforts as "state-of-the-art".

 The hill and dale roller coaster modeled refers to the up and down track elevation: up and over "busy" streets and "at grade" elsewhere.  The at grade crossing, as everyone is aware, are dangerous and accidents are inevitable.  The energy inefficiencies are byproducts of not having a level running surface, power to accelerated up the hill and power to break into the dale.  

 I will try to obtain feedback from operators who daily face the hills and dales on lines other than the Crenshaw Line, which is slowly under construction. 

Thanks to youtube.com for your great support! and to Travel Monkey for the upload!

Cosmology

 Sky and Telescope has and excellent visual presentation showing how our local group of galaxies move through space.  Please see it here.

 www.universetoday.com tells us that that there is a new continent on earth, it is called Zeelandia.  Please see the details here.

 Score Box OOS and related Lists of Shame

I.D. Numbers of buses with Out of ServiceFare 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.

2017-01-24 125 Line  #9759 East Bound FARE BOX OOS.

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. “The Metro can take you farther than ever. Here's why ridership dropped — again ”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 2, 2017. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-2016-metro-ridership-decline-20170209-story.html

Nelson¹, Laura J. “Metro picks controversial contractor to build the next phase of the Westside's Purple Line ”. Los Angeles Times. Jan. 26, 2017. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-purple-line-20170126-story.html

Nelson², Laura J. “Metro approves a $797-million security plan that reduces the power of the Sheriff's Department”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 23, 2017. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-transit-police-20170223-story.html

Rubenstein, Steve. “Muni says arrival-time prediction system almost fixed”. San Francisco Chronicle. Jan. 2, 2017. Web. http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Muni-arrival-time-prediction-system-almost-fixed-10887000.php

Vartabedian, Ralph. “New legal challenge to California bullet train is filed in Superior Court ”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 1, 2017. Web.


Vartabedian¹, Ralph. “California Republicans ask Trump administration to block bullet train funding ”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 6, 2017. Web.http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-train-trump-20170206-story.html

Vartabedian², Ralph. “ ”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 9, 2017. Web.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-federal-rail-grant-conflict-20170209-story.html

Vartabedian³, Ralph. “Bullet train agency cleared to buy two parcels in downtown Los Angeles ”. Los Angeles Times. Feb. 10, 2017. Web.





An artifact of the streets of Los Angeles, created by a brother Mole!


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The above is ### 30 ### in Braille


# posted by LAMETROmole @ 10:00


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