2017-11-30
2017-11-30 - Via Viator92
Via Viator92
From your Mole, to all who see this in hopes that you will have a:
¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!
And that you will enjoy your visit to this site.
ίBienvenido!
Bienvenue !
いらっしゃいませ!
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.
2017-11-31
Your Mole has frequently been critical of the LACMTA for its failure to provide restrooms in train and subway stations, bus centers. Now, that we are facing hepatitis A, partly due to a lack of proper facilities.
THE QUESTION: Mr. Washington, when will you begin providing such facilities?
This Mole will generously provide you with coverage of steps taken in foreign countries to provide restrooms, in hopes that it will shame, er, encourage you to take action.
Loos in London♪
Information about London loos can be located at the website here.
Loos in Australia♪
Country wide, Australia claims 16,000 public loos. You can locate them using the web site here.
Toilettes En Paris♪
A nice website to aid in the location of Toilettes Publique can be found here.
And in Los Angeles, Big Area Few Loos♪
How about it, Mr. Washington? Your contribution, viz., providing lots of public toilets, can quickly bring us up to third world status!
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! Oh, you are very welcome Mr. Washington!
Photo credit: LACMTA, Edited to show bicyclist not wearing helmet.
Does the LACMTA underestimate the risk?♪
This Mole thinks so! Biking without a helmet anywhere, but especially in Los Angeles indicates a strong death wish! Just crossing a Los Angeles street as a pedestrian can be a harrowing experience. But the LACMTA wants to rent bikes and no doubt, senses a strong cash flow just ahead$ along with a strong desire NOT to let reality intervene and scare away any customers. $They always have that feeling. Think TransiTV!
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. D
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 bicycle 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 bicycle 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.
These incursions happen multiple times per day so it is only a matter of time before an accident occurs.
Airport auto rental shuttle drivers, FlyAway 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 nor 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.
LAWA Flyaway Bus with a METRO tribute!♪
Speaking of LAWA, here is a photo of a FlyAway bus WHICH DISPLAYS a tribute to Metro. Although someone has told me that this may be the work of graffitists.
More at grade rail?♪
The thoughtful graffitists have apparently worked on this bus. Elevated rail is always safer than at grade rail! And is results in rapid transit with deterministic travel times too. The graffitists seem to know that, but, by all indications, the LACMTA does not.
Dirty Bus Stop.♪
When one encounters a situation like this, try to rectify it by calling the number below which usually appears on the bus bench. When the stop is cleaned, the detritus inside the metal framework and under the blue litter can is almost never removed. The word "third rate" comes to mind.
Bus stop benches often have a contact number affixed to them. I can't say always because as you have seen, the LACMTA seems to lack effective processes —they could never conform to ISO 9000 requirements—.
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.
“A complicated subway project designed to seamlessly connect three rail lines in downtown Los Angeles will open a year later than expected, despite efforts to make up for time lost during construction, L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Tuesday.
The new opening date for the Regional Connector is December 2021, six months after the deadline established by federal officials and a year after the agency's target date of December 2020.”
Here is an example of an extremely well designed system, the Tokyo Subway System. Spend a little time studying it [use Ctrl-shift+ to enlarge the map] and you will see this Mole’s point. Basically, the rectangles are icons which represent stations, for simplicity, ignore the anglicized Japanese Station names, the names of the lines and note how many different coloured lines enter a given station icon. You will see that few stations do not serve as a transfer point! Even if a station icon seems to exit with a single line through it, they may be connected to an above-surface rail line (shown by thin light lines on the map) which is also a transfer point. Point made? ¡Gracias a Dios! that the LACMTA did not design Tokyo’s system.
The Los Angeles Times prints (Vartbedian) an excellent article on the most current CHSRA woes as they flounder in building the “Bullet Train”.
But they are not at all critical of the rail building plan, mass transit over rapid transit. Nor do they address, although “more convenient bus transportation” could subsume better bus coordination and transfer plan resulting in deterministic travel times.
The Los Angeles Times informs us (Nelson) that the LACMTA has missed another deadline —not a surprising event around the Taj Mahal. The project is the “Regional Connector”, which su Topo likes to call the “Band Aid”. Well designed systems are organically linked with planned transfer stations that facilitate connections. But of course, if one has never seen such a system much less been its passenger, then one ends up with the transportation mess we have in Los Angeles.
Below are two paragraphs from the story, but to fully appreciate Ms Nelson’s work you should follow the links in “Works Cited”, below, and review the entire article along with the graphics of this “money pit”.“A complicated subway project designed to seamlessly connect three rail lines in downtown Los Angeles will open a year later than expected, despite efforts to make up for time lost during construction, L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Tuesday.
The new opening date for the Regional Connector is December 2021, six months after the deadline established by federal officials and a year after the agency's target date of December 2020.”
Here is an example of an extremely well designed system, the Tokyo Subway System. Spend a little time studying it [use Ctrl-shift+ to enlarge the map] and you will see this Mole’s point. Basically, the rectangles are icons which represent stations, for simplicity, ignore the anglicized Japanese Station names, the names of the lines and note how many different coloured lines enter a given station icon. You will see that few stations do not serve as a transfer point! Even if a station icon seems to exit with a single line through it, they may be connected to an above-surface rail line (shown by thin light lines on the map) which is also a transfer point. Point made? ¡Gracias a Dios! that the LACMTA did not design Tokyo’s system.
The Times reports (Castillo) that a 40 year old woman was killed in an Expo Line accident.
This will not be the last time that this sad event occurs. At grade operations are definitely more hazardous and much slower than elevated lines, i.e., rapid transit.
The Los Angeles Times prints (Vartbedian) an excellent article on the most current CHSRA woes as they flounder in building the “Bullet Train”. Mr. Vartabedian writes: “Trains will run at top speed along a straight and level route beneath the Diablo Range, shooting through the nation’s longest and most advanced transportation tunnel.”
That was the good news!
Here is what your Mole believes to be the worst of the bad news:
“As the route passes near the massive San Luis Reservoir, the tunnel will cross the Ortigalata fault, which is estimated to have the potential for a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Tunnels through faults require detailed and costly engineering.”
This is a great piece, detailed and readable, from the reporter who knows his project. Please follow the link in “Works Cited”, below, and you will have a much better understanding of why this Mole believes that the project will ultimately fail. If the tunnel is ever built, this Mole will pass up riding through it.
The Los Angeles Daily News covers (City News) the LACMTA’s plan to patch up the Orange Line. It involves applying a concept for the 1800’s or earlier, viz., installing railroad stile crossing gates at intersections. This is done in an attempt to compensate for not building it as an elevated rapid transit system in the first place.
City News says: “Metro said the upgrades could cut 16 minutes off an end-to-end transit trip in each direction while also improving safety.”
La Taupe says that the operative word is “could”.
The article has lots more details, so please read it using the links in "Works Cited" below.
The LA Weekly has been around for a long time, it has been purchased and its future is in doubt. So, this may be one of the last times su Topo can cite it L.
The LA Weekly reports, (Aron) and headlines the piece with “The Downtown L.A. Streetcar Is a Really Dumb Idea”.
“Los Angeles Streetcar Inc., the 501(c)3 nonprofit (really just a collection of downtown business interests and real estate developers) that's the main force behind the streetcar plan, is trying to get that timeline moved up a bit, possibly to 2021 or so. The organization hopes to either secure federal funding (yeah, right), convince Metro to let the streetcar cut in line and get its money earlier, or work some sort of financial hoodoo and borrow money against either future Measure M funds or private investment. Huizar [City Councilman José Huizar, a force behind the project, Mole] , too, is hoping to fast-track his pet project.”
‘"Streetcars were once the pillar of Los Angeles' transportation system," Huizar said in a written statement. "I talk to Angelenos all the time who are really excited to see a piece of our history and culture resurrected through our L.A. Streetcar project. Beyond the nostalgia factor, the L.A. Streetcar will be a boost to tourism and a major economic driver for businesses along the route, as well as a critical first-last mile transportation connector for multiple rail and bus lines in downtown."’
This Mole completely agrees with the headline and has always thought of this project a a loop that covers an area to which few need to travel. Second opinion? It’s a waste of money too!
Good luck to all the LA Weekly reporters!
The Los Angeles Times prints an Opinion piece (Moore) which, as the headline reflects, calls for cheaper and more convenient bus transportation.
Which, in principal, agrees with your Mole’s thinking. What is not mentioned, leading la Taupe to believe that these gentlemen are only occasional transit riders, is that, especially aboard buses, they don’t call for better security. Better security arrangements could end drunkenness, arguments and fights aboard, unhygienic bags of leaking cans and bottles being brought aboard, passengers which hog seats, put their dirty shoes on seats, block aisles etc.
The authors also identify the political nature of the LACMTA’s board:
“Metro’s rail-centric approach to transit persists, it appears, primarily because of the makeup of its board of directors. Appointed by the mayor, the board members are mostly elected officials. No board member specifically represents transit riders.”
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 Los Angeles Toonerville Trolley experience♪
«J'aime qui m'aime, autrement non.»
Charles d'Orléans (1394-11-24~1465-01-05)
[I like who loves me, otherwise not.]
Charles d'Orléans (1394-11-24~1465-01-05)
[I like who loves me, otherwise not.]
Merci beaucoup à http://evene.lefigaro.fr pour la citation et google.fr pour le matériel biographique.
-
Ars longa vita breva
André Abellon (1375~1450-05-15) un peintre, un prêtre et finalement un saint du 13ème siècle. Voici son Marthe fustigeant la Tarasque.
André Abellon (1375~1450-05-15) un peintre, un prêtre et finalement un saint du 13ème siècle. Voici son Marthe fustigeant la Tarasque.
Review additional works by André Abellon and related materials by clicking on this link.
¿Musica?
This performance features the:
Opéra National de Paris Chorégraphie John Neumeier.
With the Opéra National de Paris Ballet Corps and the Opéra National de Paris Orchestra.
Thank you youtube.com for allowing us to view this performance. We also thank
Philipleboa, for uploading this work.
Merci bien à Opéra National de Paris, France 2 et, pour le matériel biographique, www.google.fr .
We can view Léo Delibes (1836-02-21~1891-01-16) Balet SYLVIA
on youtube.com using the link to the left.Opéra National de Paris Chorégraphie John Neumeier.
With the Opéra National de Paris Ballet Corps and the Opéra National de Paris Orchestra.
Thank you youtube.com for allowing us to view this performance. We also thank
Philipleboa, for uploading this work.
Merci bien à Opéra National de Paris, France 2 et, pour le matériel biographique, www.google.fr .
Here is something from a musical genre which I hope you'll like.
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.
Here is is an example of the musical genre heard on Seranata de Trios. Los Condes Serenata present A Mi Adorada.
Thank you youtube.com and to Sr. Jose A Gonzalez Rivas for the upload!
¡Muchas gracias a Serenata de Trios y KXLU for their terrific music and inspiration!
Here is is an example of the musical genre heard on Seranata de Trios. Los Condes Serenata present A Mi Adorada.
Thank you youtube.com and to Sr. Jose A Gonzalez Rivas for the upload!
¡Muchas gracias a Serenata de Trios y KXLU for their terrific music and inspiration!
Serenata de Trios on KXLU, (88.9 FM Los Angeles) features authentic acoustic musica, which your Mole really likes! :-)
Metro Area – Lower your expectations!♪
The Mole rides again, so that you that you will not look in vain for a stop number so you could text for the next bus trip bus arrival time.
(dates are ISO8601 format, times are expressed in the 24 hour system.)
No Stop Number?♪
2017-10-16 Su Topo waits at the Valley bus flag pictured above. It is HOT! Although he knows the text address, 41411 He can't find a stop number here. When the bus does arrives La Taupe asks the driver about the lack of stop number on the flag. The driver seems unaware of the the feature.
Texting for the bus arrival times has been a highly hyped feature and now stop numbers seem to be disappearing from the flags?? Is this yet another case of the LACMTA becoming enamoured with something that is too costly, too expensive or requires too much maintenance to continue? Think TransiTV!
No Stop Number here either?♪
Nor here♪
2017-10-22 La Taupe encounters the same lack of stop number signage on the 232 Line route along Pacific Coast Highway. He asks the driver about it, the driver looked at the Flag and replies: "They used to be here, maybe they took them down."
Perhaps we should ask the LACMTA to present us with more transparent records?
Parada sin numero♪
This is just another example of quite a number of bus flags which don't have stop numbers indicated. The intention was to be able to text the Next Bus, oops, I mean the Next Trip system. This Mole will never understand the reason was it was renamed from the original developers and owners designation, Next Bus, to Next Trip.
How about it Mr. Washington? The LACMTA Is quick to blow its own horn about almost anything but, here we have an example of the LACMTA's "silent discontinuance" of the texting for bus arrivals function; an ongoing (we thought) service. What is going on here?
Stop Number as a Texting Artifact!♪
These signs are rarely seen these days. But they can be found by the careful observer. Next month, 2017-12, la Taupe will provide his estimate of the costs involved in affixing these signs and removing them.
Searching metro.net for Texting♪
Searching metro.net for references to texting resulted in the above. So, there appears to be some gaps in the process, if there still exists a process. This looks like the work of that special group, the Office of Extraordinary Incompetence.
How about it Mr. Washington? The LACMTA Is quick to blow its own horn about almost anything but, here we have an example of the LACMTA's "silent discontinuance" of the texting for bus arrivals function; an ongoing (we thought) service. What is going on here?
Contact for a cleaner bus stop♪
0
0
Bus number 8301, Block 3, 117 Line♪
2017-11-18 10:00 @ LAXCBC. La Taupe waited patiently for the scheduled departure, 10:05, of the bus. It actually departed at 10:14. It was driven by Operator Number 82407.
Your Mole will take this occasion to remind the LACMTA how easy it would be for them to scroll the driver's number and departure time as a, you know, service to the ridership.
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.
At one time the LACMTA knew how to build RAPID Mass Transit, viz. the Green Line. Take the Green Line ratio of aerial portions of the line to total length of the line, let's call this the Mole's Index of Rapidity [MIR in acronimic form].
For the Green Line the ratio is 100/100! Not so with other recently built lines; the Expo and Crenshaw Lines which both have lower indices of Rapidity. Any value less than 1 shows that determinate travel times are impossible. The overall MIR for the LACMTA's built portion in miles is 20/105 which is equal to 0.1904 ... much less than 1! The result is a fifth class transportation system; one befitting a third-world country.
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.
Eye (and Ear) 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!
While the LACMTA attempts to hype its Toonerville Trolley system and CHSRA ponders the necessity of safety features, forward thinking planners in 2007 have already bullet trains at speeds in excess of those planned for California.
This section has been devoted to pointing that the LACMTA is far behind the rest of the world in rapid transit. La Taupe has pointed out that fact on innumerable occasions. Their approach, rather than providing Los Angeles with a transportation legacy of which to be proud, prides themselves on building cheap, loo-less infrastructure.
CHSRA struggles with "Bullet Train" technology of the past, while the rest of the world is building high-speed comfortable Mag-Lev trains.
Here is a list of world-wide Mag-Lev projects or plans. There is quite a bit of data available, so I'll leave it in place through the end of 2017, with the caveat that LACMTA related staff should avoid this information. People that design and build rail where the distance covered is greater than the point to point distance due to the roller coaster like hills underpinning the rails and due to at grade contention for the route resulting in non-deterministic travel times, will neither be comfortable with the concept nor the application of Mag-Lev transportation.
Your Mole says "Thank you!" to the University of Washington at Seattle for their Website to which I've linked.
Cosmology
You are here
Here, as described by universetoday.com:
"The Solar System (and Earth) is located about 25,000 light-years to the galactic center and 25,000 light-years away from the rim. So basically, if you were to think of the Milky Way as a big record, we would be the spot that’s roughly halfway between the center and the edge.
"Astronomers have agreed that the Milky Way probably has two major spiral arms – Perseus arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm – with several smaller arms and spurs. The Solar System is located in a region in between the two arms called the Orion-Cygnus arm. This arm measures 3,500 light-years across and is 10,000 light-years in length, where it breaks off from the Sagittarius Arm."
Thank you universetoday.com!
Wired.co.uk, in an eminently readable piece (Wollaston) tells us how the universe might end. Please read this informative article and come to your own conclusion base upon the three options offered.
Let's visit parallel universes, always fun, here is a link to an interesting article in space.com by Elizabeth Howell.
Then there is the possibility that someone may have found proof that a parallel universe actually exists. Writing in techtimes.com, Ted Ranosa covers the topic.
You are here
Here, as described by universetoday.com:
"The Solar System (and Earth) is located about 25,000 light-years to the galactic center and 25,000 light-years away from the rim. So basically, if you were to think of the Milky Way as a big record, we would be the spot that’s roughly halfway between the center and the edge.
"Astronomers have agreed that the Milky Way probably has two major spiral arms – Perseus arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm – with several smaller arms and spurs. The Solar System is located in a region in between the two arms called the Orion-Cygnus arm. This arm measures 3,500 light-years across and is 10,000 light-years in length, where it breaks off from the Sagittarius Arm."
Thank you universetoday.com!
Wired.co.uk, in an eminently readable piece (Wollaston) tells us how the universe might end. Please read this informative article and come to your own conclusion base upon the three options offered.
Let's visit parallel universes, always fun, here is a link to an interesting article in space.com by Elizabeth Howell.
Then there is the possibility that someone may have found proof that a parallel universe actually exists. Writing in techtimes.com, Ted Ranosa covers the topic.
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
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 = (+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:
LINE/OP ID XXXXX(L/T) date; XXXX-XX-XX(code);
LINE/OP ID XXXXX(L/T) date; XXXX-XX-XX(code);
Codes: S = not wearing seat belts; J = bad judgment (unsafe driving practices).
111/84559(L/T) 2017-09-08(J)
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
Wollaston, Victoria. “A Big Freeze, Rip or Crunch: how will the Universe end?”. Wired.co.uk. Oct. 10, 2016. Web. http://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-will-universe-end
Aron, Hillel. “The Downtown L.A. Streetcar Is a Really Dumb Idea”. Jul. 17, 2017. LA Weekly. Web. http://www.laweekly.com/news/a-streetcar-in-downtown-los-angeles-will-cost-200-million-is-it-worth-it-8429396
Castillo, Andrea. ” Fatal accident shuts down Metro Expo line near Crenshaw".
Oct. 07, 2017. The Los Angeles Times. Web. http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-metro-expo-crash-20171007-story.html
City News Service. “Metro plan to upgrade Orange Line intersections in the San Fernando Valley”. Los Angeles Daily News. Oct. 26, 2017. Web. http://www.dailynews.com/2017/10/26/metro-plan-to-upgrade-orange-line-intersections-in-the-san-fernando-valley/
Oct. 07, 2017. The Los Angeles Times. Web. http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-metro-expo-crash-20171007-story.html
Moore , James E. II and Rubin,Thomas A. “L.A.'s dwindling transit ridership isn't hard to fix. Make riding the bus cheaper and more convenient”. Nov. 10, 2017. The Los Angeles Times. Web. http://beta.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-oe-moore-rubin-metro-bus-service-20171110-story.html
Nelson, Laura J. Beset by utility problems, Metro's downtown subway project will open a year late. Nov. 9, 2017. The Los Angeles Times. Web. http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-regional-connector-20171109-story.html
Vartabedian, Ralph. “A 13.5-mile tunnel will make or break California's bullet train”. Oct 21, 2016. Los Angeles Times. Web. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-train-tunnel-20171021-story.html
Wollaston, Victoria. “A Big Freeze, Rip or Crunch: how will the Universe end?”. Wired.co.uk. Oct. 10, 2016. Web. http://www.wired.co.uk/article/how-will-universe-end
An artifact of the streets of Los
Angeles, created by a brother Mole!
### .. . ###
.
.
The above is ### 30 ### in Braille
# posted by LAMETROmole @ 11:17 
