2017-06-29
2017-06-30 Via Viator88
Grenville Tower
Our sympathies to those who have lost loved ones, a speedy recovery to the injured and a quick return to normalcy for all.
Via Viator88
From your Mole, to all who see this in hopes that you will enjoy your visit to this site.
ίBienvenido!
Bienvenue !
いらっしゃいませ!
~
To all my readers: Holiday Greetings for July
Happy Fourth of July!
And now our National Anthem played by Mexican American Mariachis,
followed by fireworks in Washington DC in 2014.
Joyeux fête nationale ! Vive la belle France !
followed by fireworks in Washington DC in 2014.
Joyeux fête nationale ! Vive la belle France !
Sur ce 14 juillet fête national française ici est Le Tour Eiffel - 14 juillet 2016 (Feu d'artifice)
Thanks to youtube.com!
The Mariachis and their downloader, Raiderzilla, and Stranger2024 for the DC Fireworks download.
Merci Beaucoup à Paris, pour le Tour Eiffel et Pironyian pour le téléchargement sur le serveur!
The Mariachis and their downloader, Raiderzilla, and Stranger2024 for the DC Fireworks download.
Merci Beaucoup à Paris, pour le Tour Eiffel et Pironyian pour le téléchargement sur le serveur!
When politicians involve themselves in technical matters, expect failures.
CEO's Question Time
Dear Mr. Washington:
I respectfully request answers to questions which puzzle me about the LACMTA operations. I would suggest that you present your answers to Los Angeles Times reporters who have my permission to edit, rephrase as long as the intent of the question is preserved and the publication rights to my questions without cost or obligation. With the understanding that the results of the Question and Answer interview be published in the Los Angeles Times. This allows the widest possible to your answers and I, as a Los Angeles Times subscriber, will also have easy access to your answers.
I note that various contractors clean bus stops. In too many cases, they seem to do a less than adequate job. In spite of that, I'm sure that you pay them.
From this webcite, https://myla311.lacity.org:We find: "If the trash containers are next to bus benches and black metal fixed to the sidewalk - refer to Martin Outdoor Media at 855-441-1300. Next to covered Bus shelter, typically black metal, mesh, or cement, refer to JSanchez@shelterclean.com at 866-633-0068."
2017-06-09 I wait for a bus, a Martin Outdoor truck, number 3, pulls up, the driver exits, tosses a medium size plastic bag in to the trash container, which is quite full looks around, does nothing more and leaves. I board my bus after taking a photo of the truck's license plate.
2017-06-15: Obviously, someone is dropping the cleaning ball here! The ITC is only used by LACMTA buses; it seems logical that the LACMTA has the responsibility for the clean-up. If so, the LACMTA's supervisory procedures for the cleanup are likely faulty!
The messy jumble near the trash can is a result of scavengers searching for recyclables. A better method of safe storage recyclables is badly needed.
The question: Mr. Washington, what sort of quality control does the LACMTA have to ensure that work paid for is actually performed?
P.S. It shouldn't rquire two years to begin improving service, just have your staff read all the back issues of this blog and they will have a work list to start on, like, right away! You are very welcome Mr. Washington!
I note that various contractors clean bus stops. In too many cases, they seem to do a less than adequate job. In spite of that, I'm sure that you pay them.
2017-06-09 I wait for a bus, a Martin Outdoor truck, number 3, pulls up, the driver exits, tosses a medium size plastic bag in to the trash container, which is quite full looks around, does nothing more and leaves. I board my bus after taking a photo of the truck's license plate.
Oh, I'll just stop and dump my trash, it's clean enough♪
It is full now, if it had been emptied the other day ...♪
It is full now, if it had been emptied the other day ...♪
2017-06-13: The other day, I didn't have time to take a photo of the trash can because my bus arrived. So I returned, today it was fuller. Please note the trash on the very bottom of the frame, they almost NEVER clean that area.
Another mess, this one at the Inglewood Transit Center♪
2017-06-15: Obviously, someone is dropping the cleaning ball here! The ITC is only used by LACMTA buses; it seems logical that the LACMTA has the responsibility for the clean-up. If so, the LACMTA's supervisory procedures for the cleanup are likely faulty!
The messy jumble near the trash can is a result of scavengers searching for recyclables. A better method of safe storage recyclables is badly needed.
The question: Mr. Washington, what sort of quality control does the LACMTA have to ensure that work paid for is actually performed?
Projects to which I am assigned very often require a before and after picture. The LACMTA should require these pictures too. These days everyone has a camera or their company can be required to provide one. The contractors will complain, but if it is a job requirement they will do it, or not get paid. They will spend much less money on a quality assurance person who stays in the office checking pictures as opposed to driving around checking bus stops. Su Topo's methodology used to evaluate the effectiveness of an approach is to ask, "are they doing the right thing"; to test the efficiency of an approach, ask "are they doing the thing right".
Oh, and you should pay a small bonus to the quality control person who finds fraud, such as using last month's clean photo with this month's messy photo. You will find that you will not have to call on the contractor to fire more than two or three employees before everyone gets the idea. You'll also notice that although they may remove the trash bag and replace it with a new one, they will leave the rubbish that collects under the trash container in place. Your QC staff will bring that to an end too.
AMERICA'S WORST!♪
There are many reasons why the LACMTA can claim this title!
It wasn't even that bright but, using the vending♪ machine was difficult.♪
Yes the LACMTA can purchase a machine and site it, but can they select a site that provides for optimal usability? Based upon this Mole's experience, he thinks not.
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 where traffic frequently crosses white lines and darts ahead of a sometimes moving bus; 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 drivers whereas the LACMTA seems incapable of doing so.
This would be an important addition to the scroll as the ridership WILL identify the rude and incompetent drivers whereas the LACMTA seems 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 ?
Riding LACMTA services is generally not that pleasant to begin with and is only made more unpleasant by experiencing the above "punishments".
Then, since the LACMTA is spending the taxpayers money on their Rent-a-Bike program, they appear to not be too rigorous in working through cost/benefits. For the $240 required annually for a monthly pass, in one could buy a nice Peugeot in less than two years or so. This is going to turn out to be another TransiTV, lots of hype on the front end and a lingering death. A symptom of the LACMTA's failure to learn by experience.
Then, since the LACMTA is spending the taxpayers money on their Rent-a-Bike program, they appear to not be too rigorous in working through cost/benefits. For the $240 required annually for a monthly pass, in one could buy a nice Peugeot in less than two years or so. This is going to turn out to be another TransiTV, lots of hype on the front end and a lingering death. A symptom of the LACMTA's failure to learn by experience.
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.
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.
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.
2017-06
In this video you will see a rent-a-car shuttle and cars, cutoff a 111 Line bus some of the cars may cutoff a bus while it is discharging passengers.
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.
Mr. Washington, 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.
Mass Transportation Magazine reports (NA) that the L.A. Metro to be Guest of Honor at European Mobility Exhibition in Paris in June 2018.
“As we continue our transportation revolution in L.A. County — embarking on construction of 40 major mobility projects in the next 40 years — we have so much to share with the transportation community around the world,” said Metro Board Chair John Fasana. “It’s an exciting time for public transit, as the world recognizes its importance to quality of life. We look forward to exchanging ideas with our compatriots in Europe and the U.S., as together we plan for a positive future."[Emphasis mine]
This Mole wonders what "Metro", who builds an over hill and dale, Toonerville Trolley type of light rail, would have to share with Europe; Europe, home of the French TGV [train à grande vitesse], Germany's ICE [Inter City Express] and Spain's AVE [Alta Velocidad Española], to mention just a few.
La Taupe thinks that someone should have done his homework before agreeing to be quoted. Quite the contrary, Metro has a great deal to learn from transportation in Europe; it is more a matter of being educable.
La Taupe thinks that someone should have done his homework before agreeing to be quoted. Quite the contrary, Metro has a great deal to learn from transportation in Europe; it is more a matter of being educable.
New LIRR Concourse opened 2017-06-15♪
As reported (Castillo) in amny.com, they get it done in the Big Apple. N.B. Lots of large easy to read signage in a bright environment. You can see the video from which I "sampled" the photo above by using the link in 'Works Cited", below. Many thanks to amny.com!
I was intrigued by a Jalopnik on-line piece (Petrony, Mate)which was headed "These Ten Cities Have The Best Public Transit In The World". Would you like to wager that you can guess the position of Los Angeles on the list. OK, write down your guess then use the link in works cited to read the article. Did you guess correctly? :-)
The Times provides (Mitchell) a nice rundown on everything you've wanted to know about electric buses —and buses manufactured by a U.S. company as well!
Our Own Crumbling Infrastructure♪
Elevator at the Harbour Freeway Busway Station
Note how filthy this thing is. The LACMTA never seems to fix or clean anything.
The Times develops (Vartabedian) the personnel problems faced by the CHSRA
in finding a new CEO now that Mr. Jeff Morales has left the position. The deputy CEO has been gone since December 2016; so that position too, is unfilled. Mr. Vartabedian does an excellent job covering the CHSRA's laundry list of undone tasks, financial and/or budgeting problems, scheduling challenges and etc. Please use the link in "Works Cited" to read this succinctly, excellent piece.
This Mole has seen lots of Rapid transportation built in Asia and arounf the world. These lines were always designed to cross to allow for organic transfer points. Everyone who is familiar with public rapid transit knows that not all source and destination points can offer a direct connection with a single seat ride. It is simply too inefficient to build that sort of system.
Paris (Schematic, below), transportation is a large multi-directional system. Common stations provide for passenger interchange by transferring from one line to another or to buses. It was started in 1823, so you can understand why the LACMTA must be considered transportation abecederarians.
Carte de transport de Paris♪
Mr. Vincent Barone's great picture of NYC's Count Down Clocks
Mr. Barone is an amny.com reporter who covers transportation. These clocks are something like the 720 Lines had on Wilshire BL, except that they work. The LACMTA never repaired its' bus timers and like so much of LACMTA's infrastructure they stopped working, were never repaired and were forgotten.
"The digital clocks are attached to stop poles, offering minute-to-minute countdowns and auditory announcements. The clocks will use the same bus GPS data that is displayed in smartphone travel apps.
NYC's count down clocks, although simple, seem more sophisticated than our NEXT BUS, oh, I mean Next TRIP method. They are continually updated unlike, Next Bus where one must resend text messages in order to obtain the latest ETA." Of course, Next Bus will allow for multiple bus arrivals at a given stop where a count down clock is more appropriate where only a single line serves a stop.
Thank you, Mr. Barone and amny.com for the photo and allowing me to quote a bit from your piece.
It may be even worse than some LACMTA subcontracted lines. Su Topo’s interest was the securement failures. His observations are that, although most Metro drivers offer to secure wheelchairs/scooters; for everyone they secure, ten ride unsecured.
This Mole has pointed out that unsecured mobility equipment compromises the safety of the equipment's passengers AND those who are regular bus passengers. Should an accident occur, it is possible for the heavy wheelchair or scooter to be tossed about the interior of the bus and cause injuries and possibly fatalities.
Let’s welcome Ms Karlamangla to her first-time appearance on these pages and look forward to reading more of her work in future.
The Times reports (Knoll) that a pedestrian walk on/near the Metrolink right-of-way was struck and killed by a train. Another sad and needless death! Let's welcome Ms Knoll, another first-timer on these pages. Please read her report by following the link in "Works Cited".
One has only look at LAX to see how badly transportation has been botched over the years. And it is getting worse. Try not to laugh as you read that people will have to carry their luggage between several Toonerville Trolleys before the final indignity of the "people mover" for the last mile. Detroit, which pioneered the people mover in 1966, 51 years ago. Comparable data for 2009 indicated that the people mover costs $4.26 per passenger mile while Detroit bus routes cost 82 cents per passenger mile and, for comparison, the New York City Subway system costs 30 cents per passenger mile.
Possibly the LACMTA can cobble together a LAX Connector to band aid this butchery together. But more likely is an outcome is that LAWA FlyAway buses will continue to siphon off, what should be the LACMTA's revenue stream.
Please follow the links in Works Cited, below and read all the details provided in this fine coverage by hard working reporters.
The Los Angeles Toonerville Trolley experience♪
«Académie française : la dénigrer mais tâcher d’en faire partie, si l’on peut.»
[French Academy: denigrate it but try to be part of it, if you can.]
Merci beaucoup à http://evene.lefigaro.fr pour la citation! Et merci bien à google.fr pour le matériel biographique.
-
Ars longa vita breva
Gustave Courbet a mené le mouvement Réaliste. (1819-06-10~1905-08-19) voici son L'Atelier du peintre
Merci bien à http://www.musee-orsay.fr/ pour nous permettre de voir ce chef-d'œuvre.Gustave Courbet a mené le mouvement Réaliste. (1819-06-10~1905-08-19) voici son L'Atelier du peintre
¿Musica?
Laissez-nous écouter de la Symphonie in C, composée par Paul Dukas (1865-10-01~1935-05-17). joué par la Radio Philharmonisch Orkest menée par Jean Fournet. cliquez ici.
Laissez-nous écouter de la Symphonie in C, composée par Paul Dukas (1865-10-01~1935-05-17). joué par la Radio Philharmonisch Orkest menée par Jean Fournet. cliquez ici.
Thank you!" to www.youtube.com for allowing us to appreciate this beautiful work. We also thank Bartje Bartmans who uploaded the audio.
Merci bien à www.google.fr pour le matériel biographique.
Seranata de Trios - KXLU . Musique en Eapañol Sunday evenings Pacific Time.
One can also listen on kxlu.com at Pacific Time or at the UTC day/time noted, record the broadcast if you can. Su topo uses VLC ) to Record Internet broadcasts for more a more convenient listening time. On April 16th this Mole listened to a great version of "Amor, Amor, Amor" by Trios San Jose. That version was not available, sigh, Groveshark is long gone. So, here is a more arranged version by Juilo Iglesias. Thank you youtube.com.
Serenata de Trios on KXLU, (88.9 FM Los Angeles) features authentic acoustic musica, which your Mole really likes! :-)
¡Muchas gracias a Serenata de Trios y KXLU!
Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪
The Mole rides again, so that it is he, not you, that is forced to listen to the endless prattle of passengers who use the driver as his audience of one.
(dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
2017-06-06: On board a 125 Line bus with its usual too loud ASA the driver tries to shout out the stop in competition with the ASA. Why? Who knows?
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!
2017-06-23 aboard a 232 Line bus. The man shown at the front of the bus talked, talked and talked to the driver. I don't see how she could drive at all with the continuous stream of questions and comments which emanated from this guy. He asked everything but how many RPM the bus wheels turned.
This line is contracted to M. V. Transportation.
Your Mole has been ignored by them in the past, but he reported his dissatisfaction again. (Vide Infra).
Non-Stop-Talker♪
This line is contracted to M. V. Transportation.
Your Mole has been ignored by them in the past, but he reported his dissatisfaction again. (Vide Infra).
The Highest and Best Use of Technology?♪
2017-06-26: One can only wonder why signage, like that shown above, is not prepared on a computer system. Rather than by someone who suffers from dysgraphia or who doesn't take pride in his work.
The sign was dangling by a thread when I stopped to take the photo; so, I had to repair it in order to take the picture. There was only a small piece of Sellotape available, so I just did the best that I could but it won't last long —certainly not two weeks.
The LACMTA has the anti-Midas touch to a degree seldom seen in large organizations. In this case it so easy to correct by using the computer printing capabilities that are readily available at the Taj Mahal (the LACMTA's Headquarters Building).
2017-06-27: Shakeup is the period when the mainly bus schedules change; the schedules changed on Sunday, two days ago. Yet the "new schedules" are not much in evidence. What sort of organisation goes through two shakeups a year, year after year and are unable to have the new schedules on the buses on the first day of implementation of the new schedule?
Metro's Website - Post Shakeup June, 2017♪
The kind of organisation which tells its ridership how great it's going to be, yet seldom, if ever, delivers on the promise.
When one downloads a bus schedule from metro.net, in this case for the 115 Line, the file wil be named something like:
https://media.metro.net/riding_metro/bus_overview/images/115.pdf In fact it would be better named as;
https://media.metro.net/riding_metro/bus_overview/images/115Effective2017-12-11.pdf
Past coverage of Metro's "Naming Conventions" on this Blog♪
Your Mole has discussed naming conventions several times, above is the coverage of two 2015 Shakeup cycles.
Next month I will present a better description of what one must go through in download schedules to an iPhone.
With CHSRA, It's worse than I thought! I wanted to see if they had any interesting youtube.com videos. Instead, I found that they have acronym overload; CHSRA is shared by the California High Speed Rail Authority and the California High School Rodeo Association! One could not make these things up!
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, LAWA or CHSRA 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.
FINAL WARNING: N.B. LACMTA, LAWA OR CHSRA staff and management, avoid cognitive dissonance, DO NOT CLICK on THE LINK BELOW!
The world is full of learning opportunities which are available and economical. Youtube.com is an important source of videos which have great educational potential.
Following on last month's TGV (train à grande vitesse) [High-speed Train] speed run, let's view a Mag-Lev primer on you.tube. It compares the German and Japanese Mag-Lev variants.
The video reinforced my thinking that CHSRA is behind the curve in using
steel-wheels-on-steel rails,"Bullet Train Technology". So, let's view the video and learn more about Mag-Lev.
Thanks to youtube.com for your great support! Also, thank you Evans Electric for uploading a superb video!
The video reinforced my thinking that CHSRA is behind the curve in using
steel-wheels-on-steel rails,"Bullet Train Technology". So, let's view the video and learn more about Mag-Lev.
Thanks to youtube.com for your great support! Also, thank you Evans Electric for uploading a superb video!
Perth, AU transportation map indicating Stations with loos.♪
The map above shows the stations which have restroom facilities in Perth, Australia. Perth's population is 2,066,564 which makes it about the 53.4% the size of Los Angeles with its' population of 3,862,839. Even though not all of the Perth stations have restrooms their facilities make Los Angeles look like a 4th world country.
Cosmology
This may be difficult to take but, the universe is structured something like Swiss cheese and our galaxy exists in a void area something like the holes in Swiss cheese reports www.sciencedaily.com. Not surprisingly, this structure was formulated by cosmologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, using data from the Millennium Simulation. Please follow this link to read the entire piece.
This link will provide more detail about the Millennium Simulation.
This may be difficult to take but, the universe is structured something like Swiss cheese and our galaxy exists in a void area something like the holes in Swiss cheese reports www.sciencedaily.com. Not surprisingly, this structure was formulated by cosmologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, using data from the Millennium Simulation. Please follow this link to read the entire piece.
This link will provide more detail about the Millennium Simulation.
Fare 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
2017-06-06 12:11 125 Line #11064East Bound FARE BOX OOS.
2017-06-14 12:40 125 Line #5776 East Bound FARE BOX OOS.
route/bus#(date,time); direction
2017-06-06 12:11 125 Line #11064East Bound FARE BOX OOS.
2017-06-14 12:40 125 Line #5776 East Bound FARE BOX OOS.
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 = (+URsticker 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 bloger 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
Wolf, Johnathan and Levine, Alexandra S. "New York Today: Penn Station Problems, Then and Now". New York Times. Apr. 26, 2017. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/nyregion/new-york-today-penn-station-problems-then-and-now.html
Barone, Vincent. “Countdown clocks coming to bus stops on Manhattan’s East Side”. amny.com. Jun. 20, 2017. Web. http://www.amny.com/transit/countdown-clocks-coming-to-bus-stops-on-manhattan-s-east-side-1.13751019
Castillo, Alfonso, A. "New concourse, an alternative to Penn Station, opens". amny.com Jun. 15, 2017. Web. http://www.amny.com/transit/new-concourse-an-alternative-to-penn-station-opens-1.13739427
Castillo, Alfonso, A. "New concourse, an alternative to Penn Station, opens". amny.com Jun. 15, 2017. Web. http://www.amny.com/transit/new-concourse-an-alternative-to-penn-station-opens-1.13739427
Karlamangla, Soumya. “Lawsuit blames transport giant LogistiCare for missed appointments and injuries suffered by Medi-Cal patients.” Los Angeles Times. Jun. 22, 2017. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-logisticare-lawsuit-20170622-story.html
Mitchell, Russ. "Will electric buses juice California's economy? Start-up Proterra hopes so". Los Angeles Times. Jun. 1, 2017. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-proterra-20170616-htmlstory.html
NA.“L.A. Metro to be Guest of Honor at European Mobility Exhibition in Paris in June 2018”. Mass Transit. Jun. 19, 2017. Web. http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12345112/la-metro-to-be-guest-of-honor-at-european-mobility-exhibition-in-paris-in-june-2018
Petrony,Mate."These Ten Cities Have The Best Public Transit In The World". Jalopnik.com NA. Web. http://jalopnik.com/these-ten-cities-have-the-best-public-transit-in-the-wo-1610824583
Knoll, Corina. “Man is struck and killed by Metrolink train in El Sereno”. Los Angeles Times. Jun. 23. 2017. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-metrolink-fatality-20170623-story.html
Vartabedian, Ralph.“Bullet train has an empty seat to fill”. Los Angeles Times. Jun. 3, 2017. Print./Web[Headline Varies]. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-train-executive-20170602-story.html
Wolf, Johnathan and Levine, Alexandra S. "New York Today: Penn Station Problems, Then and Now". New York Times. Apr. 26, 2017. Web. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/nyregion/new-york-today-penn-station-problems-then-and-now.html
An artifact of the streets of Los Angeles, created by a brother Mole!
### .. . ###
.
.
The above is ### 30 ### in Braille
# posted by LAMETROmole @ 14:59 
